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Purpose: To investigate the psychological effects of perceived power, focusing on the struggle between prisoners and prison officers. Findings: Both prisoners and guards quickly embraced their roles, leading to unethical behavior from the guards and extreme stress and emotional distress for the prisoners.

Purpose: To study delayed gratification and how it relates to future success. Findings: Children who were able to delay gratification achieved better life outcomes, as measured by SAT scores, educational attainment, body mass index, and other life measures.

Purpose: To investigate classical conditioning in humans, specifically whether fear can be conditioned. Findings: Little Albert developed a fear of white rats, and the fear generalized to similar objects, after a loud noise was paired with the appearance of a white rat.

Purpose: To determine if people overestimate the extent to which their beliefs, opinions, preferences, values, and habits are normal and typical of those of others. Findings: People tend to overestimate the popularity of their own beliefs and preferences.

Purpose: To teach students about discrimination and prejudice. Findings: When favored by the teacher, the 'superior' group performed better academically and became mean-spirited, while the 'inferior' group's performance suffered along with their self-esteem.

Purpose: To study the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform. Findings: A significant number of participants conformed to the majority view, even when the majority was obviously wrong.

Purpose: To measure the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructs them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience. Findings: A large number of participants were willing to obey authority figures even when it meant inflicting pain on another person.

Purpose: To investigate depth perception in human and animal species. Findings: Even young animals and infants with little crawling experience perceive depth and are reluctant to cross the visual cliff, indicating that depth perception is at least partly innate.

Purpose: To study how changes in work environment would affect the productivity of factory workers. Findings: The productivity improved when changes were made but also when the study was concluded; suggesting that the increased productivity was due to the workers knowing they were being observed.

Purpose: To determine the effect of control or lack thereof on subsequent attempts to learn. Findings: Animals subjected to uncontrollable stressors developed a learned helplessness and exhibited decreased motivation to attempt new tasks.

Purpose: To study whether individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. Findings: The presence of others does indeed reduce the likelihood that someone will help, often due to diffusion of responsibility and social influence.

Purpose: To study the effects of social isolation and maternal deprivation on development in rhesus monkeys. Findings: Secure attachment depends more on the physical comfort provided by the caregiver than the provision of basic needs like food.

Purpose: To investigate if social behaviors such as aggression can be acquired by observation and imitation. Findings: Children who observed aggressive behavior were more likely to exhibit aggressive actions immediately afterwards.

Purpose: To examine intergroup conflict and cooperation. Findings: When two groups competed, hostility and negative stereotypes developed, but when they had to cooperate on superordinate goals, prejudice decreased.