Ten Famous Psychology Findings That It ’s Been Difficult To Replicate

via giphy
By Christian Jarrett
Every now and again a psychology finding is published that immediately grabs the world’s attention and refuses to let go – often it’s a result with immediate implications for how we can live more happily and peacefully, or it says something profound about human nature. Said finding then enters the public consciousness, endlessly recycled in pop psychology books and magazine articles.
Unfortunately, sometimes when other researchers have attempted to obtain these same influential findings, they’ve struggled. This replication problem doesn’t just apply to famous findings, nor does it only affect psychological science. And there can be relatively mundane reasons behind failed replications, such as methodological differences from the original or cultural changes since the original was conducted.
But given the public fascination with psychology, and the powerful influence of certain results, it is arguably in the public interest to summarise in one place a collection of some of the most famous findings that have proven tricky to repeat. This is not a list of disproven or dodgy results. It’s a snapshot of the difficult, messy process of behavioural science.
Power posing will make you bolder

Put your hands on your hips, widen your stance. Do you feel bolder now? Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy and others have published numerous studies that appear to show that our body position can affect our emotional state. On...

Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - September 16, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: researchdigestblog Tags: Feature Replications Source Type: blogs