Appendix B: Key Studies Reference
Major studies discussed in this book, with citation, sample, key finding, and replication status.
| Study | Citation | Sample | Key Finding | Replication Status | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnum effect | Forer (1949) | 39 students | Generic descriptions rated 4.26/5 accurate | Extensively replicated | 1 |
| Press release exaggeration | Sumner et al. (2014) | 462 press releases | 40% contained exaggerated claims | Replicated pattern | 2 |
| Marshmallow test replication | Watts, Duncan, & Quan (2018) | 918 children | Effect largely explained by SES | Large-scale replication | 2 |
| Power posing | Carney, Cuddy, & Yap (2010) | 42 participants | Hormonal changes from power poses | Failed to replicate (Ranehill et al., 2015) | 2 |
| Open Science Collaboration | OSC (2015) | 100 studies replicated | Only 36% replicated successfully | Landmark study | 3 |
| Ego depletion RRR | Hagger et al. (2016) | 23 labs, 2,141 participants | d = 0.04 (essentially zero) | Failed to replicate | 3, 27 |
| Neuroscience seductive allure | Weisberg et al. (2008) | Multiple studies | Irrelevant neuro-language increases credibility | Replicated | 11 |
| Left-brain/right-brain | Nielsen et al. (2013) | 1,011 brain scans | No hemispheric dominance in personality | Replicated absence | 11 |
| Brain training (Lumosity) | Owen et al. (2010) | 11,000+ participants | No far transfer from brain training | Consistent with meta-analyses | 11 |
| Mozart Effect meta-analysis | Pietschnig et al. (2010) | Meta-analysis | Very small effect, mood-driven, not Mozart-specific | Meta-analytic summary | 11 |
| Learning styles review | Pashler et al. (2008) | Systematic review | No support for meshing hypothesis | Consistent null findings | 12 |
| Smartphone proximity | Ward et al. (2017) | Multiple experiments | Phone presence reduces cognitive capacity | Replicated | 14 |
| Social media and wellbeing | Orben & Przybylski (2019) | 350,000+ adolescents | r ≈ 0.04 (very small) | Large-scale analysis | 21 |
| Serotonin and depression | Moncrieff et al. (2022) | Umbrella review | No consistent evidence for serotonin hypothesis | Umbrella review of reviews | 17 |
| Antidepressant effectiveness | Cipriani et al. (2018) | 522 trials, 116,000+ | All 21 drugs outperformed placebo | Most comprehensive meta-analysis | 17 |
| ACEs study | Felitti & Anda (1998) | 17,337 adults | Dose-response: more ACEs → higher health risk | Replicated in multiple samples | 19 |
| Love languages psychometrics | Bunt & Hazelwood (2017) | Exploratory study | Poor factor structure; matching not supported | Limited independent testing | 22 |
| Similarity-attraction | Montoya et al. (2008) | Meta-analysis | Similarity predicts attraction; complementarity doesn't | Extensively replicated | 23 |
| Growth mindset (national) | Yeager et al. (2019) | 12,000+ students | d = 0.03 overall; 0.10 for at-risk students | Largest pre-registered study | 26 |
| Grit-conscientiousness overlap | Credé et al. (2017) | Meta-analysis | r = 0.77–0.90 overlap | Meta-analytic finding | 27 |
| Deliberate practice | Macnamara et al. (2014) | 88 studies | Practice explains 1–26% depending on domain | Meta-analytic finding | 27 |
| Habit formation | Lally et al. (2010) | 96 participants | 18–254 days (median 66) | The primary study on this question | 28 |
| Implementation intentions | Gollwitzer & Sheeran (2006) | Meta-analysis | d = 0.65 for goal achievement | Well-replicated | 28 |
| Positive visualization backfire | Oettingen et al. (2001) | Multiple studies | Positive fantasy reduces effort and energy | Replicated | 29 |
| Affirmation backfire | Wood et al. (2009) | Experimental | Backfire for low self-esteem | Replicated finding | 29 |
| Lie detection accuracy | Bond & DePaulo (2006) | 206 studies | 54% accuracy (barely above chance) | Meta-analytic finding | 34 |
| Criminal profiling accuracy | Snook et al. (2007) | Meta-analysis | Profilers not better than non-profilers | Meta-analytic finding | 35 |
| NLP review | Witkowski (2010) | 63 articles | No evidence for NLP claims | Consistent null findings | 36 |