Course map

Each record is linked to the public OpenStax Psychology 2e sections where its topic is taught. Use it to go from a study to the concept it illustrates, the practice that borrowed or echoed it, the qualifications, and then the reading.

How to use this map

81 records map to 24 sections in 11 chapters, with 103 links in total.78 of the links were confirmed by opening the section and finding the topic discussed there; the rest point to the nearest related section and say so. Section titles and addresses were read from the public chapter indexes. No textbook page numbers are given, and no claim is made about any private edition.

The course map is separate from the historical evidence. A section tells you where a topic sits in an introductory course. It does not show that a company used a finding, or that a popular claim is true. For that, read the evidence and sources on each record.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology

1.2 History of Psychology

1902: James on healthy-mindedness and the mind-cure movementContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.Names William James and functionalism; it does not discuss healthy-mindedness or mind-cure.
1913: Watson's behaviorist manifestoContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section presents Watson as a leading proponent of shifting psychology's focus from the mind to observable behavior.
1921: Watson joins J. Walter ThompsonContext. Practice, contested. The section discusses this topic.Presents Watson as a leading proponent of behaviorism. It says nothing about his advertising career.

Chapter 2: Psychological Research

2.1 Why Is Research Important?

2017: Netflix chooses the artwork each member seesContext. Practice, company self-report. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it advises asking about a source's expertise and what it might gain, which applies to a company describing its own tests. It does not discuss A/B testing.
2020: TikTok explains how the For You feed recommends videosContext. Platform, company self-report. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it urges asking about a claimant's expertise and what they might gain, which applies to a company describing its own system.
2023: TikTok's default 60-minute prompt for under-18sContext. Policy, contested. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it urges asking about a claimant's expertise and what they might gain, which applies to company claims and to litigation allegations.
2024: State lawsuits against TikTok and the Kentucky filingContext. Case, contested. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it urges asking about a claimant's expertise and what they might gain, which applies to litigation allegations and company replies.

2.2 Approaches to Research

2014: Facebook's emotional contagion experimentMethod. Study, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section covers experiments as the method that supports cause and effect claims; it does not discuss effect size.
2015: Bakshy, Messing and Adamic on news exposure on FacebookMethod. Study, contested. The section discusses this topic.The section covers correlational research and what it cannot show about cause and effect, relevant to an observational exposure comparison.
2019: Dark Patterns at Scale: a crawl of 11,000 shopping sitesMethod. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.The section covers experiments as the method that supports cause and effect claims, and correlational research as the weaker design.
2022: Boeker and Urman's sock-puppet audit of TikTok personalizationMethod. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it says experiments give a high degree of control over variables, and that correlational data cannot show cause and effect. It does not mention control groups by name.

2.3 Analyzing Findings

1911: Hollingworth's caffeine study for Coca-Cola and the Chattanooga trialMethod. Study, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section explains control groups, placebos and double-blind designs.
1995: Tesco launches ClubcardMethod. Case, contested. The section discusses this topic.The analyzing findings section explains correlation versus causation, relevant to members who were already loyal choosing to join.
2004: The Coke and Pepsi brain-scan study and the Pepsi paradoxMethod. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.Covers correlation versus causation and experimental design, which frame how to read brain-activity correlates.
2006: The Netflix PrizeContext. Case, documented. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it says correlations have predictive value, with a grades example, which is the loose link to predicting ratings from past data.
2007: Preschoolers taste the same food in McDonald's wrappersMethod. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.Covers experimental logic and correlation versus causation, relevant to the paired design and the television-exposure association.
2009: New York City calorie labeling: Elbel and Dumanovsky studiesMethod. Policy, contested. The section discusses this topic.Covers correlation versus causation and experimental logic; relevant to a before-and-after survey design versus a comparison city.
2010: The UK Behavioural Insights TeamMethod. Practice, documented. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers causation, replication and mentions random assignment briefly, but does not discuss randomized trials in public policy.
2010: Power posing: a small study, a TED talk and a failed replicationMethod. Study, contested. The section discusses this topic.Discusses replication, the replication crisis, statistical significance and sample size; it does not mention power posing.
2010: San Francisco's Happy Meal toy ordinanceMethod. Policy, documented. The section discusses this topic.Covers experimental logic and correlation versus causation, relevant to reading a small before-and-after survey of a policy change.
2011: Calorie posting at Starbucks: the Bollinger, Leslie and Sorensen studyMethod. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.Covers correlation, causation and experimental logic; the study is a before-and-after comparison with other cities, not a randomized experiment.
2011: The iPhone op-ed and reverse inference in neuromarketingMethod. Myth check, unsupported claim. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers correlation, causation and replication. It is a general research-methods link, not about brain imaging or reverse inference.
2012: Berns and Moore: brain activity and later song salesMethod. Study, independent experiment. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers correlation and prediction, statistical significance and replication. It does not discuss brain imaging studies.
2015: Netflix describes its recommender system and its business valueMethod. Platform, company self-report. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it has a heading stating that correlation does not indicate causation, which applies to Netflix's reported link between viewing time and retention.
2017: Netflix autoplay, "Are you still watching?" and sleepMethod. Platform, interpretation. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it has a heading stating that correlation does not indicate causation, which applies to the survey link between binge viewing and sleep.
2019: Orben and Przybylski on screen time and adolescent well-beingMethod. Study, contested. The section discusses this topic.The analyzing findings section explains correlation versus causation and experiments, the core of this dispute; effect size is not covered there.
2019: YouTube radicalisation audits and YouTube's borderline content postMethod. Study, contested. The section discusses this topic.The analyzing findings section covers correlation versus causation and experiments, relevant to observational audits.
2022: How large are nudge effects? Meta-analyses and nudge-unit trialsMethod. Study, contested. The section discusses this topic.Discusses replication at length and mentions a meta-analysis once as an example. It does not cover effect sizes or publication bias in detail.
2023: The Meta 2020 US election studies on feedsMethod. Study, contested. The section discusses this topic.The analyzing findings section covers experiments, random assignment and statistical significance, which this study relies on.

2.4 Ethics

1911: Hollingworth's caffeine study for Coca-Cola and the Chattanooga trialEthics. Study, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section covers informed consent and protection from harm in research. It does not mention this study.
1920: Watson and Rayner's Little Albert studyEthics. Study, documented. The section discusses this topic.Covers informed consent and protection from harm in research generally. It does not mention Little Albert or Watson.
1963: Milgram's obedience experimentEthics. Study, contested. The section discusses this topic.The reviewer opened the page: it covers informed consent, deception, debriefing and review boards. It does not name Milgram.
2014: Facebook's emotional contagion experimentEthics. Study, documented. The section discusses this topic.The ethics section covers informed consent and institutional review boards, the issues raised here.

Chapter 4: States of Consciousness

4.6 Other States of Consciousness

1884: The Nancy school: hypnosis as suggestionContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section has a Hypnosis heading and says therapists may use relaxation and suggestion.
1922: Coué and conscious autosuggestionContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.Describes hypnosis and suggestion, the tradition Coué came from; it does not discuss Coué.

Chapter 5: Sensation and Perception

5.1 Sensation versus Perception

1957: Vicary's subliminal popcorn claimContext. Myth check, unsupported claim. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it discusses subliminal messages, notes speculation about advertising use, and says hidden messages have little effect on behavior outside the laboratory.

Chapter 6: Learning

6.2 Classical Conditioning

1920: Watson and Rayner's Little Albert studyConcept. Study, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section describes the study, the generalization to furry objects and a Santa Claus mask, and says it would be considered unethical today.
1928: Watson's Psychological Care of Infant and ChildContext. Idea, contested. The section discusses this topic.Covers Watson, Rayner and conditioned emotional responses in Little Albert. It does not discuss his child-care book.
2007: Preschoolers taste the same food in McDonald's wrappersContext. Study, independent experiment. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section on associative learning; the section was not opened and no source read links the study to this mechanism.

6.3 Operant Conditioning

1979: The McDonald's Happy MealConcept. Practice, documented. The section discusses this topic.Covers reinforcers, including secondary reinforcers such as tokens. This is course relevance only: no source opened says the toy works this way.
1981: American Airlines launches AAdvantageConcept. Practice, documented. The section discusses this topic.The operant conditioning section covers reinforcement, schedules and token economies, which are the textbook vocabulary for reward schemes.
1995: Tesco launches ClubcardConcept. Case, contested. The section discusses this topic.The operant conditioning section covers reinforcement and token economies, the textbook vocabulary for reward schemes.
2003: Fogg's Persuasive Technology and captologyConcept. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.The operant conditioning section covers reinforcement, which is the learning vocabulary behind many behavior-design ideas.
2006: The endowed progress effect and the car wash loyalty cardConcept. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.The operant conditioning section covers rewards and sticker charts in behavior modification.
2006: The goal-gradient hypothesis and coffee loyalty cardsConcept. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.Covers reinforcement, secondary reinforcers and schedules, the learning background for reward-approach behavior.
2006: The Netflix PrizeContext. Case, documented. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: operant conditioning. The Prize concerns prediction accuracy, not conditioning.
2008: Starbucks Card Rewards and My Starbucks RewardsConcept. Practice, company self-report. The section discusses this topic.Covers reinforcement, secondary reinforcers such as tokens and schedules.
2010: San Francisco's Happy Meal toy ordinanceConcept. Policy, documented. The section discusses this topic.Covers reinforcement and secondary reinforcers such as tokens. This is course relevance only: no source opened says the ordinance rests on this idea.
2012: Schüll's Addiction by Design and the slot machine analogyConcept. Idea, interpretation. The section discusses this topic.The operant conditioning section covers variable ratio schedules and uses a slot machine example.
2019: McDonald’s connects personalized menus and app rewardsConcept. Case, company self-report. The section discusses this topic.The section explains behavior-consequence associations and exchangeable token reinforcers. It does not establish McDonald’s intentions or program effects.

6.4 Observational Learning (Modeling)

1961: Bandura's Bobo doll experimentConcept. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.The reviewer opened the page: it describes the Bobo doll experiment, observational learning and the debate over media violence.

Chapter 7: Thinking and Intelligence

7.3 Problem Solving

1974: Tversky and Kahneman on heuristics and biasesConcept. Study, documented. The section discusses this topic.Covers heuristics, the availability heuristic, anchoring bias, representative bias and a table of decision biases.
1979: Prospect theory and loss aversionContext. Idea, contested. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Covers heuristics and a table of decision biases, the nearest textbook material. It does not discuss prospect theory or loss aversion by name.
1981: Framing: the Asian disease problem and price labelsContext. Study, documented. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Covers decision biases such as anchoring, the nearest textbook material. It does not mention framing by name.
1982: The decoy (attraction) effectContext. Study, contested. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Covers decision biases and heuristics, the nearest textbook material. It does not discuss decoy or attraction effects.
1985: Thaler on mental accounting and transaction utilityContext. Idea, documented. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers heuristics and biases in decision making but does not discuss mental accounting.
2000: Choice overload and the jam tasting studyContext. Study, contested. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers heuristics and biases in decision making but does not discuss choice overload.
2003: Defaults in pension enrolment and organ-donation consentContext. Study, documented. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Covers decision biases such as anchoring, the nearest textbook material. It does not discuss defaults or status quo effects by name.
2008: Nudge: Thaler and Sunstein's book on choice architectureContext. Idea, documented. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers heuristics and biases in decision making but does not discuss nudges or choice architecture.

7.4 What Are Intelligence and Creativity?

2008: The learning styles meshing claimContext. Myth check, unsupported claim. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers Gardner's multiple intelligences and notes educators still use them despite criticism, but it does not mention learning styles.

Chapter 10: Emotion and Motivation

10.1 Motivation

1943: Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the pyramid he did not drawConcept. Myth check, unsupported claim. The section discusses this topic.Says Maslow's needs are often depicted as a pyramid and notes criticism of the theory, which is the popular form this record questions.
1981: American Airlines launches AAdvantageContext. Practice, documented. The section discusses this topic.The motivation section discusses extrinsic rewards and the overjustification effect.
2006: The endowed progress effect and the car wash loyalty cardContext. Study, independent experiment. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers extrinsic rewards and mentions goals only in passing.
2006: The goal-gradient hypothesis and coffee loyalty cardsContext. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.Discusses goals and extrinsic rewards in motivation.
2008: Starbucks Card Rewards and My Starbucks RewardsContext. Practice, company self-report. The section discusses this topic.Discusses extrinsic rewards and goals in motivation.
2011: Share a Coke: names on bottlesContext. Case, company self-report. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: motivation and rewards. It does not discuss name effects.

Chapter 11: Personality

11.2 Freud and the Psychodynamic Perspective

1923: Bernays, Freud and public relationsConcept. Idea, interpretation. The section discusses this topic.Covers Freud's theory of the unconscious and repression. It does not mention public relations or advertising.

11.3 Neo-Freudians: Adler, Erikson, Jung, and Horney

1962: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator moves into wide useConcept. Practice, contested. The section discusses this topic.Covers Jung's introversion and extraversion and says Jung's view of these types is the basis of the MBTI.

11.7 Trait Theorists

2007: Grit as perseverance and passion for long-term goalsConcept. Study, contested. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it presents the Big Five, including conscientiousness and its link with academic success, but it does not mention grit.

11.9 Personality Assessment

1962: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator moves into wide useContext. Practice, contested. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers personality assessment but was not found to discuss the MBTI.

Chapter 12: Social Psychology

12.2 Self-presentation

1971: The Stanford prison experimentConcept. Study, contested. The section discusses this topic.The reviewer opened the page: it describes the 1971 Stanford prison experiment, the guard and prisoner roles, and criticisms of recruitment and the guard guidelines.

12.3 Attitudes and Persuasion

1929: The Easter Parade smokers of 1929 (torches of freedom)Context. Myth check, contested. The section discusses this topic.Covers attitude change and persuasion with advertising examples. It does not discuss public relations stunts or women's smoking.
1936: Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence PeopleContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.Covers attitudes and persuasion, the research field nearest to advice on influencing people; it does not discuss Carnegie or self-help advice.
1953: The Yale persuasion studies and Communication and PersuasionConcept. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it covers the Yale attitude change approach and Hovland's model of how source, message and audience affect persuasion.
1957: Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonanceConcept. Idea, contested. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it presents Festinger's 1957 cognitive dissonance theory and ways of reducing dissonance, though not Brehm by name.
1984: Cialdini's Influence and the principles of persuasionConcept. Idea, contested. The section discusses this topic.The reviewer opened the page: it cites Cialdini for foot-in-the-door and consistency and covers the Freedman and Fraser study. It does not discuss social proof or reciprocity.
1985: New Coke and the return of Coca-Cola ClassicContext. Case, company self-report. The section discusses this topic.Covers attitudes and persuasion, including advertising examples, which bear on brand meaning.
1986: The Elaboration Likelihood ModelConcept. Idea, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.The page covers the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the central and peripheral routes and advertising examples such as celebrity endorsement.
2003: Fogg's Persuasive Technology and captologyContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.The attitudes and persuasion section covers persuasion and the elaboration likelihood model; captology applies persuasion to software.
2004: The Coke and Pepsi brain-scan study and the Pepsi paradoxContext. Study, independent experiment. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers persuasion and advertising, but not taste tests or brain scans of brand effects.
2010: Harry Brignull names dark patternsContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section covers advertising and sales tactics such as foot-in-the-door and how they change choices, the nearest textbook context.
2011: Share a Coke: names on bottlesContext. Case, company self-report. The section discusses this topic.Covers attitudes and persuasion with advertising examples.
2011: Calorie posting at Starbucks: the Bollinger, Leslie and Sorensen studyContext. Study, independent experiment. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: persuasion and attitude change. It does not cover information labeling.
2015: Bakshy, Messing and Adamic on news exposure on FacebookContext. Study, contested. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers persuasion and attitude change, not selective exposure to news or feed ranking.
2019: Dark Patterns at Scale: a crawl of 11,000 shopping sitesContext. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.The section covers sales tactics such as foot-in-the-door and how communication changes choices.
2022: FTC staff report on dark patterns and the EU Digital Services ActContext. Policy, documented. The section discusses this topic.The persuasion section covers sales tactics and how communication influences choices; regulators address the interface equivalent.

12.4 Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience

1895: Le Bon's The CrowdContext. Idea, contested. The section discusses this topic.Covers group influence and deindividuation, linked to mob behavior. It does not mention Le Bon, contagion or suggestion.
1951: Asch's line-judgment studiesConcept. Study, independent experiment. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it describes Asch's line-judgment experiment and says 76 per cent conformed at least once, which matches the count of 94 of 123 in the monograph.
1963: Milgram's obedience experimentConcept. Study, contested. The section discusses this topic.The reviewer opened the page: it describes Milgram's obedience experiment at Yale and says 65 per cent continued to the maximum voltage.
1984: Cialdini's Influence and the principles of persuasionContext. Idea, contested. The section discusses this topic.The reviewer opened the page: it defines compliance and discusses informational social influence. It does not mention Cialdini or name his principles.
2006: The MusicLab artificial music marketContext. Study, independent experiment. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers conformity and informational social influence, but not cultural markets, popularity rankings or music downloads.

12.5 Prejudice and Discrimination

1922: Lippmann's Public OpinionConcept. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section defines a stereotype as a belief about individuals based on group membership. It does not mention Lippmann.

Chapter 13: Industrial-Organizational Psychology

13.1 What Is Industrial and Organizational Psychology?

1900: Harlow Gale's advertising questionnaires and trialsContext. Study, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section covers early applied psychology and advertising, naming Scott and Munsterberg. Gale is not named.
1903: Scott's The Theory of AdvertisingContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section says Scott was one of the first to apply psychology to advertising and describes his early books on psychology in business.
1913: Hollingworth's Advertising and SellingContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.The section covers early applied psychology and advertising, naming Scott and Munsterberg. Hollingworth is not named.
1921: Watson joins J. Walter ThompsonContext. Practice, contested. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section on applied psychology in business. It does not mention Watson or J. Walter Thompson.
1946: Ernest Dichter and motivation researchContext. Practice, contested. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it discusses the early application of psychology to advertising (Walter Dill Scott), the wider field Dichter worked in, but does not mention Dichter or motivation research.

13.4 Human Factors Psychology and Workplace Design

2016: Deep Neural Networks for YouTube RecommendationsContext. Platform, company self-report. The section discusses this topic.The section covers human-machine interface design in general; it does not address recommender systems, and the paper names no psychological theory.

Chapter 14: Stress, Lifestyle, and Health

14.5 The Pursuit of Happiness

1902: James on healthy-mindedness and the mind-cure movementContext. Idea, documented. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it discusses optimism and positive psychology but does not mention James or mind-cure.
1952: Peale's The Power of Positive ThinkingContext. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.Covers optimism and positive psychology, the research setting that positive-thinking claims are later compared with; it does not mention Peale.
2000: Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi launch positive psychologyConcept. Idea, documented. The section discusses this topic.Introduces positive psychology as the study of strengths and names Seligman as the psychologist who pushed it; it does not discuss the critiques.
2004: Held and Ehrenreich on the pressure to think positivelyContext. Idea, documented. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers positive psychology and optimism, but it does not discuss critics such as Held.
2005: The critical positivity ratio of 2.9013Context. Study, contested. Nearest related section; it does not discuss this topic by name.Nearest related section: it covers positive affect and well-being, but it does not mention the positivity ratio or its critique.