Roger R. Hock, professor of Psychology at New England College, recounts and illuminates forty of the most elegant and influential studies that have shaped our understanding of human behavior during psychology's brief past. Each study chosen for this book is presented in a meaningful and accessible style within a consistent format that includes: a brief introduction and overview of historical events leading up to the study, the theory and hypotheses underlying the research, a description of the design and methods used to carry out the research, a clear, understandable summary of the study's significance to the field of psychology and to a wider understanding of human behavior, a discussion of subsequent related research launched by the study as well as criticisms of the research, a brief demonstration of the study's on-going influence through a sampling of current studies that have incorporated the original research, and a list of references for further reading.