RESEARCH BASE

Search 3,721 documents across 34 fields — every claim tier-rated by evidence

3,721 Documents 34 Sections 43,625 Citations 34,852 Keywords Indexed 4 Evidence Tiers

3,633 are the core, quality-scored corpus (34 lettered sections — see How We Work); the remaining 88 are cross-corpus synthesis documents (68 InterDocs, 12 Connections, 8 Theories) also indexed here.

393 results for "social psychology" — page 2 of 20

ZC_1_14 Credible Social Science

ZC_1_14 — Social Media Psychology

Social media usage is now near-universal among adolescents and young adults in developed nations (95% of US teens, Pew 2023), making its psychological effects one of the most debated topics in contemporary psychology. Th

social media Facebook Instagram TikTok Twitter screen time
ZC_1_17 Credible Social Science

ZC_1_17 — Conspiracy Theory Epidemiology: Why People Believe and How Conspiracism Spreads

Conspiracy theories — explanatory frameworks that attribute significant events to the secret machinations of powerful, malevolent groups — are not a modern pathology but a recurring feature of human cognitive and social

conspiracy theory conspiracism misinformation social psychology epistemic threat motivated reasoning
ZC_1_19 Credible Social Science

ZC_1_19 — Moral Psychology

Moral psychology — the scientific study of how humans develop, experience, and exercise moral judgment — has undergone a revolution since the early 2000s, shifting from Lawrence Kohlberg's rationalist stage theory (1958–

moral-psychology moral-foundations trolley-problem moral-intuition jonathan-haidt moral-development
ZC_1_03 Verified Social Science

ZC_1_03 — Cross-Cultural Psychology — Universal vs Culture-Specific Mind

Cross-cultural psychology investigates how cultural contexts shape psychological processes and whether any mental phenomena are truly universal. The central tension—between universal human nature (etic perspective) and c

cross-cultural social-science Hofstede cultural dimensions WEIRD Henrich Vygotsky
ZC_1_09 Verified Social Science

ZC_1_09 — Psychology of Leadership

Leadership psychology investigates the traits, behaviors, and situations that enable individuals to influence, motivate, and direct others toward collective goals — one of the most extensively studied and practically imp

leadership social-science transformational leadership transactional leadership charismatic leadership servant leadership authentic leadership
ZC_1_04 Verified Social Science

ZC_1_04 — Crowd Psychology & Mass Movements

Crowd psychology — the study of how individuals behave differently when part of a large group — has been a central concern of social science since Gustave Le Bon's The Crowd (1895), one of the most influential and contro

crowd social-science mass movement Le Bon Canetti Hoffer collective behavior
ZC_1_02 Verified Social Science

ZC_1_02 — Cult Psychology — Manipulation, Totalism, and Recovery

Cult psychology examines how high-demand groups employ systematic influence techniques to recruit, retain, and control members. Key frameworks include Robert Jay Lifton's eight criteria of thought reform, Steven Hassan's

cult social-science thought reform brainwashing Robert Jay Lifton Steven Hassan BITE model
T_4_09 Verified Psychology & Social

T_4_09 — Psychology of Power and Authority

The psychology of power and authority examines how social hierarchy, dominance, obedience, and institutional authority shape human behavior. Two landmark experiments defined the field: Stanley Milgram's obedience studies

power authority obedience Milgram Stanford prison experiment Zimbardo
T_4_06 Verified Psychology & Social

T_4_06 — Cross-Cultural Psychology

Cross-cultural psychology investigates how culture shapes human thought, emotion, and behavior — and which psychological processes are universal versus culturally specific. The field distinguishes between etic approaches

cross-cultural psychology cultural psychology individualism collectivism Hofstede WEIRD
T_4_07 Verified Psychology & Social

T_4_07 — Social Identity Theory and Prejudice

Social Identity Theory (SIT) explains how individuals derive self-concept from group memberships and how this drives intergroup behavior — including prejudice, discrimination, and conflict. Developed by Henri Tajfel and

social identity theory prejudice discrimination Tajfel Turner minimal group paradigm
T_4_14 Credible Psychology & Social

T_4_14 — Social Comparison Theory: Festinger, Upward/Downward Comparison, and Social Media

Social comparison theory, introduced by Leon Festinger (1954), proposes that humans have a fundamental drive to evaluate their abilities and opinions — and in the absence of objective, non-social standards, they do so by

social comparison Festinger upward comparison downward comparison self-evaluation envy
T_4_11 Credible Psychology & Social

T_4_11 — Propaganda and Persuasion: Techniques, Psychology, and Modern Information Warfare

Propaganda — the systematic dissemination of information (true, distorted, or fabricated) to shape public attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in service of a particular agenda — and persuasion — the art and science of chan

propaganda persuasion influence Cialdini Bernays public relations
T_4_20 Verified Psychology & Social

T_4_20 — Cult Psychology & Thought Reform

Cult psychology examines the mechanisms by which high-demand groups — religious, political, therapeutic, or commercial — recruit, indoctrinate, retain, and sometimes harm members through systematic thought reform techniq

cult psychology thought reform brainwashing coercive persuasion undue influence Robert Lifton
T_4_15 Credible Psychology & Social

T_4_15 — The Psychology of Cooperation and Trust: Game Theory, Reciprocity, and Institutions

Cooperation — acting in ways that benefit others at a cost to oneself — is both theoretically puzzling (why would natural selection favor organisms that sacrifice fitness for others?) and practically essential (every hum

cooperation trust game theory prisoner's dilemma reciprocity altruism
T_2_03 Verified Psychology & Social

T_2_03 — Attachment Theory — Bowlby, Ainsworth & Social Bonds

Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby (1958, 1969) and empirically validated by Mary Ainsworth (1978), proposes that humans are biologically predisposed to form close emotional bonds with caregivers — and that the

attachment theory Bowlby Ainsworth Strange Situation secure attachment insecure attachment
T_2_08 Verified Psychology & Social

T_2_08 — Neuropsychology and Brain Damage

Neuropsychology studies the relationship between brain structure/function and behavior — using patterns of cognitive impairment following brain damage to infer how the intact brain organizes mental processes.

neuropsychology brain damage traumatic brain injury TBI stroke aphasia
T_2_07 Verified Psychology & Social

T_2_07 — Psychology of Addiction

Addiction — compulsive engagement with a substance or behavior despite harmful consequences — is now understood as a chronic brain disorder involving neuroplastic changes in reward, motivation, memory, and executive cont

addiction psychology substance use disorder dopamine reward incentive sensitization tolerance dependence
T_2_04 Verified Psychology & Social

T_2_04 — Positive Psychology & Wellbeing Science

Positive psychology — the scientific study of what makes life worth living — was formally launched by Martin Seligman in his 1998 APA presidential address, shifting psychology's traditional focus from pathology and dysfu

positive psychology Seligman flourishing PERMA flow Csikszentmihalyi
T_1_08 Verified Psychology & Social

T_1_08 — Personality Psychology and the Big Five

Personality psychology seeks to understand individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving — and why these patterns remain relatively stable across time and situations.

personality psychology Big Five Five-Factor Model OCEAN openness conscientiousness
T_1_03 Credible Psychology & Social

T_1_03 — Transpersonal Psychology — Beyond the Personal Self

Transpersonal psychology extends psychological inquiry beyond the individual ego to encompass states of consciousness, spirituality, and experiences transcending ordinary personal identity. Emerging in the late 1960s fro

transpersonal psychology Maslow self-transcendence Stanislav Grof holotropic breathwork Ken Wilber