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It is suggested that replication projects may be valuable in teaching research methods, and also address the current need in psychology for more independent verification of published studies. Their use in an undergraduate methods course is described, involving student teams who performed direct replications of four well-known experiments, yielding results which were subsequently published online. Illustrative data are given for the one successful replication and three failures obtained, and practical suggestions are given for incorporating replication projects into a methods course as an alternative to the usual term project. It is also noted that the published success rates of replication attempts appear to be higher for those studies that were performed as class projects.

This study explored predictions made from Lucille Iremonger's Phaeton theory (1970), which argues that individuals who show exceptional personal achievement in certain fields frequently have experienced childhoods that were marked by parental loss through death and desertion. Three groups were examined: eminent American writers, presidents of the USA, and the 100 Americans who were judged by Life magazine to have been the most influential in 20th century society. Bereavement was common in the childhoods of these outstanding individuals, but was also high, or even higher, for those individuals who achieved somewhat less eminence (less successful writers, and presidential also-rans). More than half the total set of the presidents and also-rans were orphans. Eminent Americans showed substantial although lower levels of parental loss, and nearly three-quarters had experienced difficult childhoods that were marked by some form of loss. Eminent Americans, like the presidents, tended to be first-borns; they also showed elevated levels of divorce, suicide, and name changing. The results provide support for the Phaeton theory, but suggest that the child's struggle to overcome other losses than bereavement may also promote eminence, as may the presence of significant mentors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has suggested that motivational processes outside an individual's conscious awareness may be primed so as to enhance or impair cognitive performance. The present study involved a conceptual replication of the 2010 study of Ciani and Sheldon (Experiments 1 and 2), employing the same materials and task, to test whether exposure to the letter A before an analogies test improved performance and the letter F impaired it, relative to the neutral letter J. It also examined the effect of pre-exposing participants before testing to a positive or negative verbal passage concerning letter grades. Priming was not found to have any effect: the participants (N = 116), under both pre-exposure conditions, gave analogies scores which were virtually identical whether they had been primed with A, F, or J, thus contradicting the previous results. It is concluded that there is a pressing need for more replications of priming experiments as well as other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents extracts from the eighteenth century writings of ethologist Joseph Addison, to show his empirical, deductive approach to the study of animal behavior. Identification of the topics examined by Addison; Examination of quoted representative examples of Addison's observations; Main statements by Addison regarding animal behavior in three Spectator essays. Listing of the essays.

In 2 data sets, citations of the major articles and books in cognitive psychology were found to rise to a peak at 5-8 years following publication. After this period of time, there is a gradual disappearance over the following years. The peaking effect was found to be greater for the more prominent works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]