If you want to be smart, you need to know
All twenty core studies - so here we go …..

Social Psychology was right at the beginning,
Studies that looked at groups and belonging.
Zimbardo studied how guards treated prisoners wearing smocks,
And Milgram looked for men who would follow orders and give shocks.
Piliavin researched helping behaviour on the subway in New York,
Tajfel discovered how prejudice can drive a schoolboy's thoughts.

Cognitive Psychology followed after a while,
Looking at studies about language and the mind.
Gardner & Gardner taught Washoe the Chimp to sign,
Baron-Cohen studied autistic childrens' theory of mind.
Loftus and Palmer asked leading questions about speed,
Whilst Deregowski found out how pictures were perceived.

Developmental psychology was next to be given a turn,
Studies looking at how Children develop and learn.
Samuel and Bryant tried not to ask the same question twice,
Bandura tested what happened when role models were not nice.
Hodges & Tizard studied childrens' attachments over years,
And Freud tried to find out why white horses produced fear.

Next on the list came studies of physiology,
Focusing upon body, brain and psychology.
Sperry was fascinated by patients with split brains,
Whilst PET scans of criminals were studied by Raine.
Dement and Kleitman looked at eye movements and dreaming,
Whilst Schachter & Singer tested emotions and feelings.