The more people who see an emergency, the less likely any one of them is to help.
In 1968 John Darley and Bibb Latané found that people who believed others could also help were slower to act in a staged emergency. Responsibility feels shared — and diluted.
Why it matters: In an emergency, point to one person and ask them directly for help.
Bystander intervention in emergencies: diffusion of responsibility — John Darley and Bibb Latané (1968) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1968
A signal before mealtime taught dogs to expect food.
Studying digestion, Ivan Pavlov noticed dogs began to salivate at signals that came before food. Repeated pairing taught them to respond to the signal alone — classical conditioning.
Why it matters: Many habits and fears are learned this way — which means they can be unlearned too.
Conditioned Reflexes — Ivan Pavlov (1927) English translation, 1927
A famous test of patience turned out to be more complicated.
In Walter Mischel's Stanford studies around 1970, children who waited longer for a second treat later did better on some measures. A larger 2018 study found the link was much smaller once family background was considered.
Why it matters: Good science updates its conclusions when better evidence arrives.
Delay of gratification studies — Walter Mischel; Tyler Watts, Greg Duncan and Haonan Quan (1972; 2018) Psychological Science, 2018 (replication)