Psychology Atlas
Claims this atlas currently marks as unsettled or as tested and found false. A debated fact is one scholars hold competing positions on; a debunked one has been checked against the record and found not to hold. Both are kept in view rather than quietly smoothed over, with the reasoning that put each one where it stands.
26 statements marked Debated.
Sexual Strategies Theory, Core ClaimSexual strategies theory (SST) is an evolutionary theory of human mating created by David Buss and David Schmitt in 1993.
Sexual Strategies Theory, Theories and Concepts
Standing
Concerns Core Claim
Currently States Sexual strategies theory (SST) is an evolutionary theory of human mating created by David Buss and David Schmitt in 1993.
Rival social role theory (Alice Eagly and Wendy Wood) attributes the same sex differences in mating psychology to social structure rather than evolved adaptation; see the recorded dissent.
Source Wikipedia: Sexual Strategies Theory
Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, Key FindingThe strength of the original delay-of-gratification-to-later-outcomes link is contested once socioeconomic background is accounted for.
Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, Studies and Experiments
Standing
Concerns Key Finding
Currently States The strength of the original delay-of-gratification-to-later-outcomes link is contested once socioeconomic background is accounted for.
A larger, more socioeconomically diverse 2018 replication by Tyler Watts, Greg Duncan and Haonan Quan found statistically insignificant correlations with behavioral problems, and effects on other outcomes that were smaller than in the original studies and shrank further once early cognitive ability, family background and home environment were controlled for; a 2024 study concluded the test does not reliably predict adult functioning.
Source Wikipedia: Stanford Marshmallow Experiment
Stanford Prison Experiment, Key FindingZimbardo concluded that the prison-like situation itself, not the individual personality traits of the participants, caused the guards' abusive behavior and the prisoners' distress, though later archival research disputes how spontaneous that behavior really was.
Stanford Prison Experiment, Studies and Experiments
Standing
Concerns Key Finding
Currently States Zimbardo concluded that the prison-like situation itself, not the individual personality traits of the participants, caused the guards' abusive behavior and the prisoners' distress, though later archival research disputes how spontaneous that behavior really was.
Zimbardo's own situational-causation reading is the study's famous conclusion, but the finding is now heavily disputed; see the linked open question.
Source Wikipedia: Stanford prison experiment
Stereotype Threat Theory, Core ClaimPeople aware of a negative stereotype about a group they belong to can underperform on a task where that stereotype is relevant, because anxiety over possibly confirming the stereotype consumes working memory that would otherwise support performance.
Stereotype Threat Theory, Theories and Concepts
Standing
Concerns Core Claim
Currently States People aware of a negative stereotype about a group they belong to can underperform on a task where that stereotype is relevant, because anxiety over possibly confirming the stereotype consumes working memory that would otherwise support performance.
A 2019 meta-analysis restricting itself to studies using subtle stereotype manipulations found the effect size shrank to small or negligible, and Sackett and colleagues note a large achievement gap remained even under Steele and Aronson's own mitigated testing conditions; other meta-analyses report the effect holds up. Whether the original, larger effect size reflects publication bias rather than the phenomenon itself is a live methodological dispute, not a settled question.
Source Wikipedia: Stereotype Threat
The Little Albert Experiment, Key FindingThe child's true identity is contested: a 2009 investigation identified him as Douglas Merritte, an infant with a neurological impairment that may confound the study's findings, while a 2014 investigation instead identified him as Albert Barger, a neurologically typical child, and historians have not settled which identification is correct.
The Little Albert Experiment, Studies and Experiments
Standing
Concerns Key Finding
Currently States The child's true identity is contested: a 2009 investigation identified him as Douglas Merritte, an infant with a neurological impairment that may confound the study's findings, while a 2014 investigation instead identified him as Albert Barger, a neurologically typical child, and historians have not settled which identification is correct.
Beck, Levinson and Irons (2009) proposed Douglas Merritte; Powell, Digdon, Harris and Smithson (2014) proposed Albert Barger on the strength of matching hospital admission records. The two identifications are incompatible.
Source Wikipedia: Little Albert experiment
Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Core ClaimIntelligence comprises at least eight distinct, relatively independent modalities rather than one general ability measurable by a single test.
Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Theories and Concepts
Standing
Concerns Core Claim
Currently States Intelligence comprises at least eight distinct, relatively independent modalities rather than one general ability measurable by a single test.
Gardner himself has acknowledged the theory has few enthusiasts among psychometricians and conceded there was little hard validating evidence for it as of a 2004 review; the theory remains influential in educational practice despite this.
Source Wikipedia: Theory of Multiple Intelligences