Psychological experiments are a great way to gain insights into human behaviour. While many have been repeated, some cannot be conducted today due to ethical concerns. Regardless, their impact on psychology is undeniable. Today, these studies are used everywhere, including providing insights into depression, behavioural learning, and conformity. They are also widely used in marketing.

Here Are Most Famous Psychological Experiments

1. Little Albert Experiment (1920)

Dr John B Watson and Rosalie Rayner tested Ivan Pavlov's classical conditioning on a nine-month-old child. Initially, the toddler named Albert, enjoyed playing with white furry objects, but after repeatedly pairing these objects with loud noises, he began to fear them. This experiment demonstrated that people can be conditioned to fear things, helping explain irrational fears in adults.

2. Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)

Philip Zimbardo’s study at Stanford University investigated how people conform to societal roles. For the experiment, 24 male college students were assigned roles as either prisoners or guards in a simulated prison. Over the time, Zimbardo saw that people started confirming to their roles, forgetting their individual identities. Moreover, the experiment had to be shut down after six days due to escalating abuse. It demonstrated how ordinary people adapt to extreme roles, highlighting the power of social environments in shaping behaviour.

3. Asch Conformity Study (1951)

Solomon Asch studied whether people would conform to incorrect group decisions. In his experiment, Asch selected 50 male college students to participate in a “vision test.” Individuals would have to determine which line on a card was longer. However, the individuals at the center of the experiment did not know that the other people taking the test were actors following scripts, and at times selected the wrong answer on purpose. Despite knowing the answer, one-third of participants conformed to the incorrect group choice. This showed how individuals often change their opinions to fit in with others.

4. The Bobo Doll Experiment (1961, 1963)

Conducted by famous psychologist Albert Bandura, this research demonstrated how children learn behaviors through observation. For the experiment, he pbserved children who watched adults behaving aggressively toward a Bobo doll. There were others who saw adults engaging in rather amicable behaviour towards the doll. When put in a room with the doll, children who saw agressive behaviour behaved in the same manner with the doll as compared to those who didn't. This study reinforced the idea of social learning, showing that people, especially children, learn by observing others.

5. The Learned Helplessness Experiment (1965)

Martin Seligman studied how animals learn to feel helpless after repeated negative experiences. He performed his experiments on dogs, who were given light electric shock if they heard a bell. They would sometimes give up after another negative outcome, rather than searching for the positive outcome. Over the time, they stopped trying to escape even when the situation changed. This concept, known as learned helplessness, sheds light on depression, explaining how past experiences can make people feel powerless.

6. The Milgram Experiment (1963)

Stanley Milgram's study tested obedience to authority. Participants were told to administer increasingly severe shocks to a person (who was actually an actor) for incorrect answers in a word game. Despite hearing distressing sounds, 65% of participants obeyed the authority figure. Milgram’s findings help explain how people can follow orders even when they go against their moral beliefs, believing that the person in authority is more knowledgeable.

7. The Halo Effect Experiment (1977)

Richard Nisbett and Timothy Wilson studied the halo effect, a cognitive bias where our overall impression of a person influences our judgments about them. In their experiment, students rated a teacher more favourably when he was warm and respectful, and less favourably when he was cold and rude. This showed how first impressions affect how we perceive other traits.

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