Psychology — Origins of Mind Science
Asking what makes us human in the AI era — 20 famous experiments
Each experiment distilled to one hanja. Cross-linked with cheonjamun.
The Marshmallow Test: Does 4-Year-Old Patience Predict Success?
Walter Mischel 1972 — self-control and future achievement
In 1972 at Stanford's Bing Nursery, Walter Mischel placed one marshmallow in front of 4-year-olds: eat it now, or wait 15 minutes and get two. Decades...
The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Why the Ignorant Feel So Confident
Cornell 1999 — the paradox of incompetence and confidence
In 1995 Pennsylvania, robber McArthur Wheeler covered his face in lemon juice, believing it would make him invisible to security cameras. Dunning and ...
Anchoring: The First Number Determines Everything
Kahneman & Tversky 1974 — irrelevant numbers shape every judgment
Kahneman and Tversky spun a rigged roulette wheel that landed on 10 or 65, then asked subjects "What percent of UN countries are in Africa?" The 10-gr...
Cognitive Dissonance: We Rewrite Our Beliefs to Match Our Actions
Leon Festinger 1957 — what cult members did when the world didn't end
In 1954 Chicago, a cult expected aliens to rescue them at midnight Dec 21. Festinger's team infiltrated. Midnight passed. Aliens didn't come. Did beli...
Priming: Reading "Old" Makes You Walk Slowly
Bargh 1996 — how the unconscious tugs our actions
In 1996 NYU, Bargh gave students a 5-word sentence task. Group A's word list contained "Florida, forgetful, bald, gray, wrinkle" — old-age primes. Aft...
The Trolley Problem: One to Save Five?
Foot 1967 → Greene 2001 — morality in two brain systems
In 1967 Oxford, philosopher Philippa Foot asked: a runaway trolley will kill 5. Pull a lever to divert it; 1 dies on the other track. 89% pull. Varian...
False Memory: Vivid Memories of Things That Never Happened
Elizabeth Loftus 1974 — memory is reconstruction, not recording
In 1974, Loftus showed students a car-crash video. Same video. Only the verb changed: "contacted" vs "smashed." Group A averaged 31 mph, Group E (smas...
Stanford Prison: How Good People Turn Cruel in Days
Philip Zimbardo 1971 — the experiment shut down in 6 days
In August 1971, Philip Zimbardo built a fake prison in Stanford's psychology basement. 24 ordinary students were randomly assigned guard or prisoner r...
Milgram's Obedience: How Far Will We Go Under Authority?
Yale 1961 — 65% complied with lethal-dose shock orders
In August 1961, Stanley Milgram watched the Eichmann trial and asked: "Were Germans uniquely cruel, or would anyone do this?" In Yale's basement, ordi...
The Bystander Effect: 38 Watched, None Called
Kitty Genovese 1964 — when more help means less help
On March 13, 1964 at 3am in Queens NYC, 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was attacked over 30 minutes. The NYT reported "38 witnessed, none called." Four ye...
Asch Conformity: When Obviously Short Becomes Long
Solomon Asch 1951 — 75% conformed to a wrong answer at least once
In 1951, Asch showed 8 students a simple visual task: "Which line matches the reference?" The answer was obvious. But 7 of 8 were confederates who con...
Broken Windows: Do Small Disorders Invite Big Crimes?
Wilson & Kelling 1982 — the most influential and controversial urban crime theory
In 1969, Zimbardo left identical cars in the Bronx (poor) and Palo Alto (rich). The Bronx car was looted in 10 minutes. The Palo Alto car sat untouche...
Harlow's Monkeys: Love Is Not Milk, It's Warmth
Wisconsin 1958 — attachment outweighs survival
In 1950s American psychology, behaviorism reigned: "Babies attach to whoever feeds them" (secondary reinforcement). Harlow doubted it. He gave baby mo...
Pavlov's Dogs: Bell, Drool, and Learning
Russia 1897 — an accidental discovery that created learning science
Pavlov was a digestive physiologist, not a psychologist. He won the 1904 Nobel for studying dog salivation. By accident, he noticed dogs salivated at ...
Mirror Neurons: My Brain Moves When I Watch Yours
Rizzolatti 1996 — an accidental discovery of the empathy neurons
In early 1990s Parma, Rizzolatti's team was mapping which neurons fire when macaques grasp objects. One lunch break, a researcher reached for an ice c...
The Bobo Doll: Children Copy What They See
Bandura 1961 — the origin of media violence debate
In 1961, Bandura split 72 preschoolers into three groups. A: watched an adult attack a giant inflatable Bobo doll. B: adult ignored the doll. C: no ad...
On Being Sane in Insane Places — Rosenhan 1973
Stanford 1973 — the experiment that shook psychiatry
In 1973, Rosenhan and 7 normal volunteers (a housewife, students, psychologists) checked into 12 psychiatric hospitals. The only lie — "I hear a voice...
Learned Helplessness: Free to Escape, Yet Doesn't
Seligman 1967 — the first neural model of depression
In 1967, Seligman placed dogs in two stages. Stage 1: inescapable mild shock. Stage 2: same shock, but a small barrier to safety. Dogs didn't jump. Th...
The Placebo Effect: Fake Pills, Real Healing
Henry Beecher 1955 — when belief becomes biology
In 1944 at Anzio, Italy, Army surgeon Henry Beecher ran out of morphine. Desperate, he injected saline, telling soldiers it was morphine. 75% reported...
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