This page includes links to classic studies in psychology, as well as to professional psychological organizations, graduate school information, and psychology resources.

Classic Studies in Psychology

As I started searching for the classic studies that I particularly like (see below), I found a database containing lots of psych studies: Classics in the History of Psychology. This database includes many of the older studies, but the newer ones are not included because of copyright issues. If your particular favorites aren't listed below, check the full database and see if it's there. No, I didn't include Freudian stuff--none of that was scientifically based and Freud has gotten more than enough publicity already.

• John Watson's "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It" [1913] (After Watson was fired from the university because of his affair with a grad student, he used his behavioristic psychology to develop marketing strategies. If you object to the long commercial breaks during Survivor or American Idol, blame Dr. Watson. The behavioristic model that he proposed also turned out not to be good child-rearing practices. The two sons that he had when he later married the grad student both suffered from severe depression. Go figure.)
• Henry H. Goddard "The Kallikak Family: "A Study in the Heredity of Feeble-Mindedness" [1913] (This is really scary! Goddard's research was used to justify forced sterilization of "undesirable" people--and he falsified his data!)
• Ivan Pavlov's Research in Classical Conditioning [1927] (This research provides the groundwork for an understanding of how we're programmed for just about everything.)
• J. Ridley Stroop "Studies of Interference in Serial Verbal Reactions" [1935] (An early study that was important in the development of cognitive psychology. My cognitive psych students will recognize the experiment from a class exercise.)
• Carl Rogers "Significant Aspects of Client-Centered Therapy" [1946] (Source of Roger's "unconditional positive regard"--if we practiced this, the world would be a much nicer place.)
• George A. Miller "The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information" [1956] (My cognitive psych students will remember this study--it's a cognitive psychology classic. Bonus points to anyone who can recall the full name of the article!)
• Solomon Asch's Conformity Study [1958] (Asch shows how we really want conformity, even when it doesn't make sense. I really like this study, don't you?)
• Albert Bandura "Transmission of Aggression through Imitation of Aggressive Models" [1961] (This study shows why it's important to be aware of what children watch on TV!)
• Stanley Milgram's Obedience Study [1961, 1974] (A "shocking" expose that demonstrates why blind obedience is not a positive societal goal, why we should always think for ourselves, and why we should teach our children to think for themselves.)
• Phillip Zimbardo's Prison Study web site and paper. [1973] (This horrifying study on authority had to be cut short after the "guards" became too aggressive in their treatment of the "prisoners." Notice how carefully Zimbardo selected study participants to make sure that they were psychologically normal and well-balanced. Scary thought, isn't it?)

Professional Organizations

• American Psychological Association
• Association for Psychological Science

Graduate School

• FastWeb (scholarship search page)
• Educational Testing Service (GRE)
• Psi Chi (National Honor Society in Psychology)
• CollegeBoard (college search site)

Other Psychology Resources

• Psychology Research Method
• APA Style
• Psychology with Style: A Hypertext Writing Guide
• Mind Tools
• History of Psychology Calendar