Social Psychology
Featured
Revisit Dutton and Aron's iconic 1974 "shaky bridge" experiment through a 2025 lens. This critical review explores how fear became mistaken for attraction, where the study’s methods fall short, and what modern psychological research reveals about arousal and emotion today.
We trace the scientific origins, dissect the cognitive and neural mechanisms that sustain confirmation bias, survey real-world consequences in a digital age, and examine the latest evidence on how (and how not) to debias ourselves.
Explore Social Identity Theory. Understand how group dynamics shape identity, behaviour, and prejudice. A clear, research-based guide for curious minds.
What is learned helplessness? Discover its origins, psychological impact, and real-world effects in education, work, and mental health. Learn strategies to overcome helplessness and regain control.
Discover the power of the Mere Exposure Effect—how repeated exposure to a stimulus influences preferences in music, marketing, relationships, and politics. Learn the psychology behind it, its real-world applications, and ethical concerns. Dive into expert insights and research-backed findings to understand how familiarity shapes your choices.
Explore cyberpsychology, the study of how digital technology impacts human behaviour, identity, and mental health. From social media effects and gaming psychology to virtual reality therapy and cybersecurity trust, discover key insights, ethical concerns, and future trends in this rapidly evolving field.
Discover Mood Management Theory (MMT) and how media influences our emotions. Learn how people use movies, music, social media, and video games to regulate their mood. Explore research-backed insights, modern applications, and key criticisms of MMT in today’s digital world.
Discover the key differences between criminal psychology and criminology in this comprehensive guide. Learn how each field approaches the study of crime, their focus areas, career paths, and how they work together to understand and prevent criminal behaviour.
Explore the controversies surrounding the Stanford Prison Experiment, including its methodological flaws, ethical violations, and cultural impact. Discover how this infamous study shaped psychology, sparked debate, and redefined research ethics.
Discover the fundamental attribution error, a common cognitive bias that leads us to misjudge others by overestimating personality traits and underestimating situational factors. Learn how this bias shapes relationships, workplace dynamics, and cultural perceptions, and explore strategies to build empathy and make fairer judgments.
Discover the criticisms of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, including its methodological flaws, statistical artefacts, and popular misinterpretations. Explore expert insights into this cognitive bias, its limitations, and the nuances behind overconfidence in self-assessment.
Discover the psychology behind the Dunning-Kruger Effect, a cognitive bias where individuals overestimate their abilities due to a lack of self-awareness. Learn its causes, real-life examples, and tips to counteract its impact in education, the workplace, and decision-making.
Discover the major criticisms of cognitive dissonance theory, from theoretical ambiguities to cultural and methodological challenges. Learn how recent advancements in neuroscience and psychology are reshaping its relevance and applications.
Explore the psychology behind altruism, including theories, neural mechanisms, and developmental insights. Discover why humans engage in selfless acts and the factors that drive altruistic behaviour in society.
Learn about schemas in psychology—mental frameworks that shape how we perceive and process information. Explore types of schemas, their role in memory, attention, and problem-solving, and their impact on social interactions and mental health.
Explore the concept of normative determinism, examines the scientific evidence supporting or refuting it, and discusses its implications for understanding human behaviour and societal dynamics.
Delve into the evolutionary origins of laughter, its psychological mechanisms and its profound social impacts.
Delve into the psychological mechanisms of Milgram's (1963) findings, and how subsequent research has expanded our understanding of these critical aspect of human behaviour
Delve into the core concepts of attachment theory, examine different attachment styles, explore the implications for adult relationships, and review contemporary research findings.
Discover the meaning of cognitive dissonance, a psychological phenomenon causing mental discomfort from conflicting beliefs. Learn its definition, real-life examples, and how it influences decision-making, behaviour, and personal growth.
Explore the intricacies of diffusion of responsibility, discussing its psychological underpinnings, historical context, and real-world implications, and criticisms, while also offering strategies to mitigate its effects.
Explore Gordon Allport’s The Nature of Prejudice (1954)—a landmark book on prejudice, discrimination, stereotypes, and intergroup relations. Learn how his Contact Hypothesis and psychological insights continue to shape social psychology today.
Explore Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory in this detailed guide. Learn about key concepts like observational learning, modelling, and self-efficacy, and discover how the theory has shaped psychology, education, healthcare, and more.
The Zimbardo prison experiment was a landmark study in social psychology, conducted by Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues at Stanford University in 1971. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of situational factors on human behaviour, by simulating a prison environment and assigning participants to the roles of either guards or prisoners.
The Bobo Doll Experiment, conducted by Albert Bandura, Dorothea Ross, and Sheila A. Ross in 1961, remains one of the most influential studies in the history of social psychology. Discover the ground-breaking 1961 Bobo Doll Experiment by Bandura, which revealed how children learn aggression through observation. A cornerstone of social psychology.
Explore the major criticisms of the Asch Conformity Experiments, including issues with ecological validity, cultural bias, ethical concerns, and interpretive limitations. Learn how these iconic studies on group pressure may oversimplify the complexity of social influence.