literature review topics for psychology

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Writing Research Papers

• Writing a Literature Review

When writing a research paper on a specific topic, you will often need to include an overview of any prior research that has been conducted on that topic.  For example, if your research paper is describing an experiment on fear conditioning, then you will probably need to provide an overview of prior research on fear conditioning.  That overview is typically known as a literature review.  

Please note that a full-length literature review article may be suitable for fulfilling the requirements for the Psychology B.S. Degree Research Paper .  For further details, please check with your faculty advisor.

Different Types of Literature Reviews

Literature reviews come in many forms.  They can be part of a research paper, for example as part of the Introduction section.  They can be one chapter of a doctoral dissertation.  Literature reviews can also “stand alone” as separate articles by themselves.  For instance, some journals such as Annual Review of Psychology , Psychological Bulletin , and others typically publish full-length review articles.  Similarly, in courses at UCSD, you may be asked to write a research paper that is itself a literature review (such as, with an instructor’s permission, in fulfillment of the B.S. Degree Research Paper requirement). Alternatively, you may be expected to include a literature review as part of a larger research paper (such as part of an Honors Thesis). 

Literature reviews can be written using a variety of different styles.  These may differ in the way prior research is reviewed as well as the way in which the literature review is organized.  Examples of stylistic variations in literature reviews include: 

• Summarization of prior work vs. critical evaluation. In some cases, prior research is simply described and summarized; in other cases, the writer compares, contrasts, and may even critique prior research (for example, discusses their strengths and weaknesses).
• Chronological vs. categorical and other types of organization. In some cases, the literature review begins with the oldest research and advances until it concludes with the latest research.  In other cases, research is discussed by category (such as in groupings of closely related studies) without regard for chronological order.  In yet other cases, research is discussed in terms of opposing views (such as when different research studies or researchers disagree with one another).

Overall, all literature reviews, whether they are written as a part of a larger work or as separate articles unto themselves, have a common feature: they do not present new research; rather, they provide an overview of prior research on a specific topic . 

How to Write a Literature Review

When writing a literature review, it can be helpful to rely on the following steps.  Please note that these procedures are not necessarily only for writing a literature review that becomes part of a larger article; they can also be used for writing a full-length article that is itself a literature review (although such reviews are typically more detailed and exhaustive; for more information please refer to the Further Resources section of this page).

Steps for Writing a Literature Review

1. Identify and define the topic that you will be reviewing.

The topic, which is commonly a research question (or problem) of some kind, needs to be identified and defined as clearly as possible.  You need to have an idea of what you will be reviewing in order to effectively search for references and to write a coherent summary of the research on it.  At this stage it can be helpful to write down a description of the research question, area, or topic that you will be reviewing, as well as to identify any keywords that you will be using to search for relevant research.

2. Conduct a literature search.

Use a range of keywords to search databases such as PsycINFO and any others that may contain relevant articles.  You should focus on peer-reviewed, scholarly articles.  Published books may also be helpful, but keep in mind that peer-reviewed articles are widely considered to be the “gold standard” of scientific research.  Read through titles and abstracts, select and obtain articles (that is, download, copy, or print them out), and save your searches as needed.  For more information about this step, please see the Using Databases and Finding Scholarly References section of this website.

3. Read through the research that you have found and take notes.

Absorb as much information as you can.  Read through the articles and books that you have found, and as you do, take notes.  The notes should include anything that will be helpful in advancing your own thinking about the topic and in helping you write the literature review (such as key points, ideas, or even page numbers that index key information).  Some references may turn out to be more helpful than others; you may notice patterns or striking contrasts between different sources ; and some sources may refer to yet other sources of potential interest.  This is often the most time-consuming part of the review process.  However, it is also where you get to learn about the topic in great detail.  For more details about taking notes, please see the “Reading Sources and Taking Notes” section of the Finding Scholarly References page of this website.

4. Organize your notes and thoughts; create an outline.

At this stage, you are close to writing the review itself.  However, it is often helpful to first reflect on all the reading that you have done.  What patterns stand out?  Do the different sources converge on a consensus?  Or not?  What unresolved questions still remain?  You should look over your notes (it may also be helpful to reorganize them), and as you do, to think about how you will present this research in your literature review.  Are you going to summarize or critically evaluate?  Are you going to use a chronological or other type of organizational structure?  It can also be helpful to create an outline of how your literature review will be structured.

5. Write the literature review itself and edit and revise as needed.

The final stage involves writing.  When writing, keep in mind that literature reviews are generally characterized by a summary style in which prior research is described sufficiently to explain critical findings but does not include a high level of detail (if readers want to learn about all the specific details of a study, then they can look up the references that you cite and read the original articles themselves).  However, the degree of emphasis that is given to individual studies may vary (more or less detail may be warranted depending on how critical or unique a given study was).   After you have written a first draft, you should read it carefully and then edit and revise as needed.  You may need to repeat this process more than once.  It may be helpful to have another person read through your draft(s) and provide feedback.

6. Incorporate the literature review into your research paper draft.

After the literature review is complete, you should incorporate it into your research paper (if you are writing the review as one component of a larger paper).  Depending on the stage at which your paper is at, this may involve merging your literature review into a partially complete Introduction section, writing the rest of the paper around the literature review, or other processes.

Further Tips for Writing a Literature Review

Full-length literature reviews

• Many full-length literature review articles use a three-part structure: Introduction (where the topic is identified and any trends or major problems in the literature are introduced), Body (where the studies that comprise the literature on that topic are discussed), and Discussion or Conclusion (where major patterns and points are discussed and the general state of what is known about the topic is summarized)

Literature reviews as part of a larger paper

• An “express method” of writing a literature review for a research paper is as follows: first, write a one paragraph description of each article that you read. Second, choose how you will order all the paragraphs and combine them in one document.  Third, add transitions between the paragraphs, as well as an introductory and concluding paragraph. 1
• A literature review that is part of a larger research paper typically does not have to be exhaustive. Rather, it should contain most or all of the significant studies about a research topic but not tangential or loosely related ones. 2   Generally, literature reviews should be sufficient for the reader to understand the major issues and key findings about a research topic.  You may however need to confer with your instructor or editor to determine how comprehensive you need to be.

Benefits of Literature Reviews

By summarizing prior research on a topic, literature reviews have multiple benefits.  These include:

• Literature reviews help readers understand what is known about a topic without having to find and read through multiple sources.
• Literature reviews help “set the stage” for later reading about new research on a given topic (such as if they are placed in the Introduction of a larger research paper). In other words, they provide helpful background and context.
• Literature reviews can also help the writer learn about a given topic while in the process of preparing the review itself. In the act of research and writing the literature review, the writer gains expertise on the topic .

Downloadable Resources

• How to Write APA Style Research Papers (a comprehensive guide) [ PDF ]
• Tips for Writing APA Style Research Papers (a brief summary) [ PDF ]
• Example APA Style Research Paper (for B.S. Degree – literature review) [ PDF ]

Further Resources

How-To Videos     

• Writing Research Paper Videos
• UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide: Literature Reviews

External Resources

• Developing and Writing a Literature Review from N Carolina A&T State University
• Example of a Short Literature Review from York College CUNY
• How to Write a Review of Literature from UW-Madison
• Writing a Literature Review from UC Santa Cruz  
• Pautasso, M. (2013). Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review. PLoS Computational Biology, 9 (7), e1003149. doi : 1371/journal.pcbi.1003149

1 Ashton, W. Writing a short literature review . [PDF]     

2 carver, l. (2014).  writing the research paper [workshop]. , prepared by s. c. pan for ucsd psychology.

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What is a Literature Review?

If this is your first time having to do a literature review, you might be wondering what a "literature review" actually is. Typically, this entails searching through various databases to find peer-reviewed research within a particular topic of interest and then analyzing what you find in order to situate your own research within the existing works.

Watch the following video to learn more:

Video Transcript

What is Peer Review?

Most of your literature review will involve searching for sources that have gone through the peer-reviewed process. These are typically academic articles that have been published in scholarly journals and have been vetted by other experts with knowledge of the topic at hand.

How Do I Find Psychology Literature?

The following database are a great place to start to find relevant, peer-reviewed literature within the broad research area of psychology:

• APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window From the American Psychological Association (APA), PsycINFO contains nearly 2.3 million citations and abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations in psychology and related disciplines. It is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health.
• DynaMed This link opens in a new window A clinical reference tool of more than 3000 topics designed for physicians and health care professionals for use primarily at the point-of-care. DynaMed is updated daily and monitors the content of over 500 medical journal and systemic evidence review databases.
• EMBASE This link opens in a new window EMBASE is a major biomedical and pharmaceutical database indexing over 3,500 international journals in the following fields of health sciences and biomedical research. It is considered as the European version of Medline.
• MEDLINE with Full Text This link opens in a new window A bibliographic database that contains more than 26 million references to journal articles in life sciences with a concentration on biomedicine. A distinctive feature of MEDLINE is that the records are indexed with NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH®).

• PubMed This link opens in a new window PubMed® comprises more than 30 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.
• Web of Science This link opens in a new window Web of Science is a comprehensive research database. It contains records of journal articles, patents, and conference proceedings, It also provides a variety of search and analysis tools. Web of Science Core Collection is a painstakingly selected, actively curated database of the journals that researchers themselves have judged to be the most important and useful in their fields
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Writing a Literature Review

What is a literature review.

• Research Topic | Research Questions
• Outline (Example)
• What Types of Literature Should I Use in My Review?
• Project Planner: Literature Review
• Writing a Literature Review in Psychology
• Literature Review tips (video)

Table of Contents

• What is a literature review?
• How is a literature review different from a research article?
• The two purposes: describe/compare and evaluate
• Getting started Select a topic and gather articles
• Choose a current, well-studied, specific topic
• Search the research literature
• Read the articles
• Write the literature review
• Structure How to proceed: describe, compare, evaluate

Literature reviews survey research on a particular area or topic in psychology. Their main purpose is to knit together theories and results from multiple studies to give an overview of a field of research.

How is a Literature Review Different from a Research Article?

Research articles:

• are empirical articles that describe one or several related studies on a specific, quantitative, testable research question
• are typically organized into four text sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion

The Introduction of a research article includes a condensed literature review. Its purpose is to describe what is known about the area of study, with the goal of giving the context and rationale for the study itself. Published literature reviews are called review articles. Review articles emphasize interpretation. By surveying the key studies done in a certain research area, a review article interprets how each line of research supports or fails to support a theory. Unlike a research article, which is quite specific, a review article tells a more general story of an area of research by describing, comparing, and evaluating the key theories and main evidence in that area.

The Two Purposes of a Literature Review

Your review has two purposes:

(1) to describe and compare studies in a specific area of research and

(2) to evaluate those studies. Both purposes are vital: a thorough summary and comparison of the current research is necessary before you can build a strong evaluative argument about the theories tested.

Getting Started

(1) Select a research topic and identify relevant articles.

(2) Read the articles until you understand what about them is relevant to your review.

(3) Digest the articles: Understand the main points well enough to talk about them.

(4) Write the review, keeping in mind your two purposes: to describe and compare, and to evaluate.

SELECT A TOPIC AND COLLECT ARTICLES

Choose a current, well-studied, specific topic.

Pick a topic that interests you. If you're interested in a subject, you're likely to already know something about it. Your interest will help you to choose meaningful articles, making your paper more fun both to write and to read. The topic should be both current and well studied. Your goal is to describe and evaluate recent findings in a specific area of research, so pick a topic that you find in current research journals. Find an area that is well defined and well studied, meaning that several research groups are studying the topic and have approached it from different perspectives. If all the articles you find are from the same research group (i.e., the same authors), broaden your topic or use more general search terms.

You may need to narrow your topic. The subject of a short literature review must be specific enough, yet have sufficient literature on the subject, for you to cover it in depth. A broad topic will yield thousands of articles, which is impossible to survey meaningfully. If you are drowning in articles, or each article you find seems to be about a completely different aspect of the subject, narrow your topic. Choose one article that interests to you and focus on the specific question investigated. For example, a search for ‘teenage alcohol use’ will flood you with articles, but searching for ‘teenage alcohol use and criminal behavior’ will yield both fewer and more focused articles.

You may need to broaden your topic. You need enough articles on your topic for a thorough review of the research. If you’re unable to find much literature on your topic, or if you find articles you want that are not easy to find online, broaden your topic. What’s a more general way to ask your question of interest? For example, if you’re having a hard time finding articles on ‘discrimination against Asian-American women in STEM fields,’ broaden your topic (e.g., ‘academic discrimination against Asian-American women’ or ‘discrimination against women in STEM.’)

Consider several topics, and keep an open mind. Don't fall in love with a topic before you find how much research has been done in that area. By exploring different topics, you may discover something that is newly exciting to you!

Search the Research Literature

Do a preliminary search. Use online databases to search the research literature. If you don’t know how to search online databases, ask your instructor or reference librarian. Reference librarians are invaluable!

Search for helpful articles. Find one or more pivotal articles that can be a foundation for your paper. A pivotal article may be exceptionally well written, contain particularly valuable citations, or clarify relationships between different but related lines of research. Two sources of such articles in psychology are:

• Psychological Bulletin •
• Current Directions in Psychological Science (published by the American Psychological Society) has general, short articles written by scientists who have published a lot in their research area

How many articles? Although published review articles may cite more than 100 articles, literature reviews for courses are often shorter because they present only highlights of a research area and are not exhaustive. A short literature review may survey 7-12 research articles and be about 10-15 pages long. For course paper guidelines, ask your instructor.

Choose representative articles, not just the first ones you find. This consideration is more important than the length of your review.

Choose readable articles. Some research areas are harder to understand than others. Scan articles in the topic areas you are considering to decide on the readability of the research in those areas.

READ THE ARTICLES

To write an effective review, you’ll need a solid grasp of the relevant research. Begin by reading the article you find easiest. Read, re-read, and mentally digest it until you have a conversational understanding of the paper. You don’t know what you know until you can talk about it. And if you can’t talk about it, you won’t be able to write about it.

Read selectively. Don't start by reading the articles from beginning to end. First, read just the Abstract to get an overview of the study.

Scan the article to identify the answers to these “Why-What-What-What” questions:

• Why did they do the study? Why does it matter?
• What did they do?
• What did they find?
• What does it mean?

The previous four questions correspond to these parts of a research article:

• Introduction: the research question and hypotheses

Create a summary sheet of each article’s key points. This will help you to integrate each article into your paper.

TIP: Give Scholarcy a try.

Read for depth. After you understand an article’s main points, read each section in detail for to gain the necessary indepth understanding to compare the work of different researchers.

WRITE THE LITERATURE REVIEW

Your goal is to evaluate a body of literature; i.e., to “identify relations, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies” and “suggest next steps to solve the research problem” (APA Publication Manual 2010, p. 10). Begin writing when you have decided on your story and how to organize your research to support that story.

Organization

Organize the literature review to highlight the theme that you want to emphasize – the story that you want to tell. Literature reviews tend to be organized something like this:

Introduction:

• Introduce the research topic (what it is, why does it matter)
• Frame the story: narrow the research topic to the studies you will discuss
• Briefly outline how you have organized the review
• Headings. Use theme headings to organize your argument (see below)
• Describe the relevant parts of each study and explain why it is relevant to the subtopic at hand.
• Compare the studies if need be, to discuss their implications (i.e., your interpretation of what the studies show and whether there are important differences or similarities)
• Evaluate the importance of each study or group of studies, as well as the implications for the subtopic, and where research should go from here (on the level of the subtopic)

Conclusion: Final evaluation, summation and conclusion

Headings. Use headings to identify major sections that show the organization of the paper. (Headings also help you to identify organizational problems while you’re writing.) Avoid the standard headings of research articles (Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion). Use specific, conceptual headings. If you are reviewing whether facial expressions are universally understood, headings might include Studies in Western Cultures and Studies in Non-Western Cultures. Organize your argument into topics that fit under each heading (one or more per heading).

Describe. For each section or subtopic, briefly describe each article or line of research. Avoid sudden jumps betewen broader and narrower ideas. Keep your story in mind to help keep your thoughts connected.

Compare. For each section or topic, compare related studies, if this is relevant to your story. Comparisons may involve the research question, hypotheses, methods, data analysis, results, or conclusions. However, you don’t want to compare everything. That wouldn’t be a story! Which parts are relevant? What evidence supports your arguments? Identifying strengths and weaknesses of each study will help you make meaningful comparisons.

If you're having trouble synthesizing information, you probably don't understand the articles well. Reread sections you don’t understand. Discuss the studies with someone: you don’t know what you know until you can talk about it.

Evaluate. Descriptions/comparisons alone are not illuminating. For each section or topic, evaluate the studies you have reviewed based on your comparisons. Tell your reader what you conclude, and why. Evaluating research is the most subjective part of your paper. Even so, always support your claims with evidence. Evaluation requires much thought and takes on some risk, but without it, your paper is just a book report.

Final evaluation and summation. On a broader scale, relating to your main theme, tell your reader what you conclude and why. Reiterate your main claims and outline the evidence that supports them.

Conclusion. How does your evaluatio change or add to current knowledge in the field field? What future studies are implied by your analysis? How would such studies add to current knowledge of the topic?

The purpose of a literature review is to survey, describe, compare, and evaluate research articles on a particular topic. Choose a current topic that is neither too broad nor too narrow. Find the story that you want to tell. Spend a lot of time reading and thinking before you write. Think critically about the main hypotheses, findings, and arguments in a line of research. Identify areas of agreement among different articles as well as their differences and areas for future study. Expect to revise your review many times to refine your story. A well-written literature review gives the reader a comprehensive understanding of the main findings and remaining questions brought about by research on that topic.

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Psychology Research Guide

• Literature Review
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Literature Review Overview

A literature review involves both the literature searching and the writing. The purpose of the literature search is to:

• reveal existing knowledge
• identify areas of consensus and debate
• identify gaps in knowledge
• identify approaches to research design and methodology
• identify other researchers with similar interests
• clarify your future directions for research

List above from Conducting A Literature Search , Information Research Methods and Systems, Penn State University Libraries

A literature review provides an evaluative review and documentation of what has been published by scholars and researchers on a given topic. In reviewing the published literature, the aim is to explain what ideas and knowledge have been gained and shared to date (i.e., hypotheses tested, scientific methods used, results and conclusions), the weakness and strengths of these previous works, and to identify remaining research questions: A literature review provides the context for your research, making clear why your topic deserves further investigation.

Before You Search

• Select and understand your research topic and question.
• Identify the major concepts in your topic and question.
• Brainstorm potential keywords/terms that correspond to those concepts.
• Identify alternative keywords/terms (narrower, broader, or related) to use if your first set of keywords do not work.
• Determine (Boolean*) relationships between terms.
• Begin your search.
• Review your search results.
• Revise & refine your search based on the initial findings.

*Boolean logic provides three ways search terms/phrases can be combined, using the following three operators: AND, OR, and NOT.

Search Process

The type of information you want to find and the practices of your discipline(s) drive the types of sources you seek and where you search.

For most research you will use multiple source types such as: annotated bibliographies; articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers; books; blogs; conference papers; data sets; dissertations; organization, company, or government reports; reference materials; systematic reviews; archival materials; curriculum materials; and more. It can be helpful to develop a comprehensive approach to review different sources and where you will search for each. Below is an example approach.

Utilize Current Awareness Services  Identify and browse current issues of the most relevant journals for your topic; Setup email or RSS Alerts, e.g., Journal Table of Contents, Saved Searches

Consult Experts   Identify and search for the publications of or contact educators, scholars, librarians, employees etc. at schools, organizations, and agencies

• Annual Reviews and Bibliographies   e.g., Annual Review of Psychology
• Internet   e.g., Discussion Groups, Listservs, Blogs, social networking sites
• Grant Databases   e.g., Foundation Directory Online, Grants.gov
• Conference Proceedings   e.g., International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT), The European Conference on Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences via IAFOR Research Archive
• Newspaper Indexes   e.g., Access World News, Ethnic NewsWatch, New York Times Historical
• Journal Indexes/Databases and EJournal Packages   e.g., PsycArticles, ScienceDirect
• Citation Indexes   e.g., PsycINFO, Psychiatry Online
• Specialized Data   e.g., American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment survey data, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive
• Book Catalogs – e.g., local library catalog or discovery search, WorldCat
• Library Web Scale Discovery Service  e.g., OneSearch
• Web Search Engines   e.g., Google, Yahoo
• Digital Collections   e.g., Archives & Special Collections Digital Collections, Archives of the History of American Psychology
• Associations/Community groups/Institutions/Organizations   e.g., American Psychological Association

Remember there is no one portal for all information!

Database Searching Videos, Guides, and Examples

• Comprehensive guide to the database
• Sample Searches
• Searchable Fields
• Education topic guide
• Child Development topic guide

ProQuest (platform for ERIC, PsycINFO, and Dissertations & Theses Global databases, among other databases) search videos:

• Basic Search
• Advanced Search
• Search Results
• Performing Basic Searches
• Performing Advanced Searches
• Search Tips

If you are new to research , check out the Searching for Information tutorials and videos for foundational information.

Finding Empirical Studies

In ERIC : Check the box next to “143: Reports - Research” under "Document type" from the Advanced Search page

In PsycINFO : Check the box next to “Empirical Study” under "Methodology" from the Advanced Search page

In OneSearch : There is not a specific way to limit to empirical studies in OneSearch, you can limit your search results to peer-reviewed journals and or dissertations, and then identify studies by reading the source abstract to determine if you’ve found an empirical study or not.

Summarize Studies in a Meaningful Way

The Writing and Public Speaking Center at UM provides not only tutoring but many other resources for writers and presenters. Three with key tips for writing a literature review are:

• Literature Reviews Defined
• Tracking, Organizing, and Using Sources
• Organizing and Integrating Sources

If you are new to research , check out the Presenting Research and Data tutorials and videos for foundational information. You may also want to consult the Purdue OWL Academic Writing resources or APA Style Workshop content.

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PSY 306: Cognitive Psychology

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• What is a Literature Review?
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• The 5 Steps to Writing a Literature Review
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• A literature review is a critical, analytical summary and synthesis of the current knowledge of a topic. As a researcher, you collect the available literature on a topic, and then select the literature that is most relevant for your purpose. Your written literature review summarizes and analyses the themes, topics, methods, and results of that literature in order to inform the reader about the history and current status of research on that topic.

What purpose does a literature review serve?

• The literature review informs the reader of the researcher's knowledge of the relevant research already conducted on the topic under discussion, and places the author's current study in context of previous studies.
• As part of a senior project, the literature review points out the current issues and questions concerning a topic. By relating the your research to a knowledge gap in the existing literature, you should demonstrate how his or her proposed research will contribute to expanding knowledge in that field.
• Short Literature Review Sample This literature review sample guides students from the thought process to a finished review.
• Literature Review Matrix (Excel Doc) Excel file that can be edited to suit your needs.
• Literature Review Matrix (PDF) Source: McLean, Lindsey. "Literature Review." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2015. https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/literature-review.
• Academic Writer (formerly APA Style Central) This link opens in a new window Academic Writer (formerly APA Style Central) features three independent but integrated centers that provide expert resources necessary for teaching, learning, and applying the rules of APA Style.
• Sample Literature Reviews: Univ. of West Florida Literature review guide from the University of West Florida library guides.
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) Sample literature review in APA from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL)

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Psychology - How to Write a Literature Review

Subject guide.

What is a literature review? 

A literature review discusses published research studies on a specific topic or subject area.  

What is the purpose of writing it?

The goal of the lit review is to describe, summarize, and evaluate previous research in a given area.  It should explain important conclusions about your topic as well as identify any gaps in the research or areas for future study.

Choose a Topic and Find Articles

Choose a topic that interests you and remember to keep an open mind.  Depending on how much research there is, you may need to narrow or broaden your topic.  

• PsycArticles This link opens in a new window Scholarly journal articles on psychology topics.
• ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window The largest single periodical resource available, bringing together complete databases across all major subject areas, including Business, Health and Medical, Social Sciences, Education, Science and Technology, and Humanities.
• Google Scholar Search for scholarly articles and books. Be aware that the full text may not always be available.

Read the Articles

You want to read and understand each of your articles.  A good starting point is to answer these 3 questions about each article:

1. What was the study's research question?  In other words, what were they trying to find out?

2. What was the study's method?  Briefly describe HOW they collected data and WHO their participant group was.

3. What do the results mean?  Or what conclusions can we draw from the results?

Write the Lit Review

Connect:   Think about what YOUR research question is for your lit review.  Each article you found should connect to your topic/theme in some way and you should be able to describe your topic as a research question and your articles as answers to that question.  Your summary for each article should show how they further our knowledge in relation to your topic.

Organize:   Can you organize your articles into a few distinct groups?  It could be by treatment method or age/ethnic group or other factor.  The way you organize will depend on your topic and the research, but it will help you if you can group articles in some way.  

Analyze:  Think beyond just summary and about what we still don't know about this topic.  Are there gaps in the research?  Do too many studies use just one method of gathering data?  What else is important to know?  The "Discussion" section of your articles may help guide you in your analysis.

Additional Sources

• College Drinking Games Literature Review Lit Review published in a scholarly journal. Good example of how lit reviews work in the field.
• How to Write a Literature Review from Psychology in Action Good advice on choosing a topic and searching for articles.
• Writing a Literature Review in Psychology from University of Washington Helpful info on all aspects of writing a lit review. Great resource.
• Literature Reviews from UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center This is not specific to Psychology, but has good tips on organizing your paper.
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What is a Literature Review?

The scholarly conversation.

A literature review provides an overview of previous research on a topic that critically evaluates, classifies, and compares what has already been published on a particular topic. It allows the author to synthesize and place into context the research and scholarly literature relevant to the topic. It helps map the different approaches to a given question and reveals patterns. It forms the foundation for the author’s subsequent research and justifies the significance of the new investigation.

A literature review can be a short introductory section of a research article or a report or policy paper that focuses on recent research. Or, in the case of dissertations, theses, and review articles, it can be an extensive review of all relevant research.

• The format is usually a bibliographic essay; sources are briefly cited within the body of the essay, with full bibliographic citations at the end.
• The introduction should define the topic and set the context for the literature review. It will include the author's perspective or point of view on the topic, how they have defined the scope of the topic (including what's not included), and how the review will be organized. It can point out overall trends, conflicts in methodology or conclusions, and gaps in the research.
• In the body of the review, the author should organize the research into major topics and subtopics. These groupings may be by subject, (e.g., globalization of clothing manufacturing), type of research (e.g., case studies), methodology (e.g., qualitative), genre, chronology, or other common characteristics. Within these groups, the author can then discuss the merits of each article and analyze and compare the importance of each article to similar ones.
• The conclusion will summarize the main findings, make clear how this review of the literature supports (or not) the research to follow, and may point the direction for further research.
• The list of references will include full citations for all of the items mentioned in the literature review.

Key Questions for a Literature Review

A literature review should try to answer questions such as

• Who are the key researchers on this topic?
• What has been the focus of the research efforts so far and what is the current status?
• How have certain studies built on prior studies? Where are the connections? Are there new interpretations of the research?
• Have there been any controversies or debate about the research? Is there consensus? Are there any contradictions?
• Which areas have been identified as needing further research? Have any pathways been suggested?
• How will your topic uniquely contribute to this body of knowledge?
• Which methodologies have researchers used and which appear to be the most productive?
• What sources of information or data were identified that might be useful to you?
• How does your particular topic fit into the larger context of what has already been done?
• How has the research that has already been done help frame your current investigation ?

Examples of Literature Reviews

Example of a literature review at the beginning of an article: Forbes, C. C., Blanchard, C. M., Mummery, W. K., & Courneya, K. S. (2015, March). Prevalence and correlates of strength exercise among breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors . Oncology Nursing Forum, 42(2), 118+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.sonoma.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=HRCA&sw=w&u=sonomacsu&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA422059606&asid=27e45873fddc413ac1bebbc129f7649c Example of a comprehensive review of the literature: Wilson, J. L. (2016). An exploration of bullying behaviours in nursing: a review of the literature.   British Journal Of Nursing ,  25 (6), 303-306. For additional examples, see:

Galvan, J., Galvan, M., & ProQuest. (2017). Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences (Seventh ed.). [Electronic book]

Pan, M., & Lopez, M. (2008). Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (3rd ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Pub. [ Q180.55.E9 P36 2008]

Useful Links

• Write a Literature Review (UCSC)
• Literature Reviews (Purdue)
• Literature Reviews: overview (UNC)
• Review of Literature (UW-Madison)

Evidence Matrix for Literature Reviews

The  Evidence Matrix  can help you  organize your research  before writing your lit review.  Use it to  identify patterns  and commonalities in the articles you have found--similar methodologies ?  common  theoretical frameworks ? It helps you make sure that all your major concepts covered. It also helps you see how your research fits into the context  of the overall topic.

• Evidence Matrix Special thanks to Dr. Cindy Stearns, SSU Sociology Dept, for permission to use this Matrix as an example.
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Social Psychology Research Topics

Choosing topics for social psychology research papers or projects for class can be challenging. It is a broad and fascinating field, which can make it challenging to figure out what you want to investigate in your research.

Social psychology explores how individual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are affected by social influences. It explores how each person's behavior is affected by their social environment.

This article explores a few different social psychology topics and research questions you might want to study in greater depth. It covers how to start your search for a topic as well as specific ideas you might choose to explore.

How to Find a Social Psychology Research Topic

As you begin your search, think about the questions that you have. What topics interest you? Following your own interests and curiosities can often inspire great research questions.

Choose a Sub-Topic

Social psychologists are interested in all aspects of social behavior. Some of the main areas of interest within the field include social cognition, social influence, and social relationships investigating subtopics such as conformity, groupthink, attitude formation, obedience, prejudice, and so on.

• Social cognition : How do we process and use information about social experiences? What kinds of biases influence how we engage with other people?
• Social influence: What are the key social factors that influence our attitudes and behavior? What are group dynamics and how do we understand patterns of behavior in groups?
• Social relationships : What are the different types of social relationships? How do they develop and change over time?

To help ensure that you select a topic that is specific enough, it can be helpful to start by confining your search to one of these main areas.

Browse Through Past Research

After narrowing down your choices, consider what questions you might have. Are there questions that haven't been fully answered by previous studies? At this point, it can be helpful to spend some time browsing through journal articles or books to see some examples of past findings and identify gaps in the literature.

You can also find inspiration and learn more about a topic by searching for keywords related to your topic in psychological databases such as PsycINFO or browsing through some professional psychology journals.

Narrow Down Your Specific Topic

Once you have a general topic, you'll need to narrow down your research. The goal is to choose a research question that is specific, measurable, and testable. Let's say you want to study conformity; An example of a good research question might be, “Are people more likely to conform when they are in a small group or a large group?” In this case, the specific topic of your paper would be how group size influences social conformity .

Review the Literature on Your Chosen Topic

After choosing a specific social psychology topic to research, the next step is to do a literature review. A literature review involves reading through the existing research findings related to a specific topic.

You are likely to encounter a great deal of information on your topic, which can seem overwhelming at times. You may find it helpful to start by reading review articles or meta-analysis studies. These are summaries of previous research on your topic or studies that incorporate a large pool of past research on the topic.

Talk to Your Instructor

Even if you are really excited to dive right in and start working on your project, there are some important preliminary steps you need to take.

Before you decide to tackle a project for your social psychology class, you should always clear your idea with your instructor. This initial step can save you a lot of time and hassle later on.

Your instructor can offer clear feedback on things you should and should not do while conducting your research and might be able to offer some helpful tips. Also, if you plan to implement your own social experiment, your school might require you to present to and gain permission from an institutional review board.

Thinking about the questions you have about social psychology can be a great way to discover topics for your own research. Once you have a general idea, explore the literature and refine your research question to make sure it is specific enough.

Examples of Social Psychology Research Topics

The following are some specific examples of different subjects you might want to investigate further as part of a social psychology research paper, experiment, or project:

Implicit Attitudes

How do implicit attitudes influence how people respond to others? This can involve exploring how people's attitudes towards different groups of people (e.g., men, women, ethnic minorities) influence their interactions with those groups. For example, one study found that 75% of people perceive men to be more intelligent than women .

In your own project, you might explore how implicit attitudes impact perceptions of qualities such as kindness, intelligence, leadership skills, or attractiveness.

Prosocial Behavior

You might also choose to focus on prosocial behavior in your research. This can involve investigating the reasons why people help others. Some questions you could explore further include:

• What motivates people to help others?
• When are people most likely to help others?
• How does helping others cause people to feel?
• What are the benefits of helping other people?

How do people change their attitudes in response to persuasion? What are the different techniques that can be used to persuade someone? What factors make some people more susceptible to persuasion than others?

One way to investigate this could be through collecting a wide variety of print advertisements and analyzing how​ persuasion is used. What types of cognitive and affective techniques are utilized? Do certain types of advertisements tend to use specific kinds of persuasive techniques ?

Another area of social psychology that you might research is aggression and violence. This can involve exploring the factors that lead to aggression and violence and the consequences of these behaviors. Some questions you might explore further include:

• When is violence most likely to occur?
• What factors influence violent behavior?
• Do traumatic experiences in childhood lead to more aggressive behavior in adulthood?
• Does viewing violent media content contribute to increased aggressive behavior in real life?

Prejudice and discrimination are areas that present a range of research opportunities. This can involve studying the different forms that prejudice takes (e.g., sexism, racism, ageism ), as well as the psychological effects of prejudice and discrimination. You might also want to investigate topics related to how prejudices form or strategies that can be used to reduce such discrimination.

Nonverbal Behavior

How do people respond when nonverbal communication does not match up to verbal behavior (for example, saying you feel great when your facial expressions and tone of voice indicate otherwise). Which signal do people respond to most strongly?

How good are people at detecting lies ? Have participants tell a group of people about themselves, but make sure some of the things are true while others are not. Ask members of the group which statements they thought were true and which they thought were false.

Social Norms

How do people react when social norms are violated? This might involve acting in a way that is outside the norm in a particular situation or enlisting friends to act out the behaviors while you observe.

Some examples that you might try include wearing unusual clothing, applauding inappropriately at the end of a class lecture, cutting in line in front of other people, or some other mildly inappropriate behavior. Keep track of your own thoughts as you perform the experiment and observe how people around you respond.

Online Social Behavior

Does online social networking make people more or less likely to interact with people in face-to-face or other offline settings? To investigate this further, you could create a questionnaire to assess how often people participate in social networking versus how much time they spend interacting with their friends in real-world settings.

Social Perception

How does our appearance impact how people respond to us? Ask some friends to help you by having two people dress up in dramatically different ways, one in a professional manner and one in a less conventional manner. Have each person engage in a particular action, then observe how they are treated and how other people's responses differ.

Social psychologists have found that attractiveness can produce what is known as a halo effect . Essentially, we tend to assume that people who are physically attractive are also friendly, intelligent, pleasant, and likable.

To investigate this topic, you could set up an experiment where you have participants look at photographs of people of varying degrees of physical attractiveness, and then ask them to rate each person based on a variety of traits, including social competence, kindness, intellect, and overall likability.

Think about how this might affect a variety of social situations, including how employees are selected or how jurors in a criminal case might respond.

Social psychology is a broad field, so there are many different subtopics you might choose to explore in your research. Implicit attitudes, prosocial behavior, aggression, prejudice, and social perception are just a few areas you might want to consider.

A Word From Verywell

Social psychology topics can provide a great deal of inspiration for further research, whether you are writing a research paper or conducting your own experiment. In addition to some of the social psychology topics above, you can also draw inspiration from your own curiosity about social behavior or examine social issues that you see taking place in the world around you. 

American Psychological Association.  Frequently asked questions about institutional review boards .

Storage D, Charlesworth TES, Banaji M, Cimpian A.  Adults and children implicitly associate brilliance with men more than women .  J Exp Soc Psychol . 2012;90:104020. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104020

Talamas SN, Mavor KI, Perrett DI. Blinded by beauty: Attractiveness bias and accurate perceptions of academic performance . PLoS ONE . 2016;11(2):e0148284. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0148284

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a survey of research on a given topic. It allows you see what has already been written on a topic so that you can draw on that research in your own study. By seeing what has already been written on a topic you will also know how to distinguish your research and engage in an original area of inquiry.

Why do a Literature Review?

A literature review helps you explore the research that has come before you, to see how your research question has (or has not) already been addressed.

You will identify:

• core research in the field
• experts in the subject area
• methodology you may want to use (or avoid)
• gaps in knowledge -- or where your research would fit in

Elements of a Successful Literature Review

According to Byrne's  What makes a successful literature review? you should follow these steps:

• Identify appropriate search terms.
• Search appropriate databases to identify articles on your topic.
• Identify key publications in your area.
• Search the web to identify relevant grey literature. (Grey literature is often found in the public sector and is not traditionally published like academic literature. It is often produced by research organizations.)
• Scan article abstracts and summaries before reading the piece in full.
• Read the relevant articles and take notes.
• Organize by theme.
• Write your review .

from Byrne, D. (2017). What makes a successful literature review?. Project Planner . 10.4135/9781526408518. (via SAGE Research Methods )

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Research Paper Guide

Psychology Research Topics

Last updated on: Dec 19, 2023

Psychology Research Topics - 170+ Ideas for Your Paper

By: Nathan D.

17 min read

Reviewed By: Jacklyn H.

Published on: Feb 10, 2023

Choosing psychology research topics is not as easy as one might think. If you have to write a good research paper, choosing a good topic is the foremost step. You may have several ideas in your mind while thinking of a topic for the research paper.

Good  research paper writing  needs a good topic. If you have chosen a broad topic, you will have to do a lot of research and background study. It is better to choose a narrow topic to focus on a particular subject while researching and writing.

Psychology is a vast subject that discusses different multidisciplinary issues and brings together a wide range of topics.

You can conduct analysis and research before deciding your topic. This is the reason that it is better to go for a narrow topic. It is also easier for the researcher to research the topic in psychology and conduct analysis with proper details.

On this Page

How to Choose a Topic?

You can choose a topic from any social branch of psychology. You can also select a topic that is related to some sort of mental illness or mental disorder.

The topic may be complex and require a lot of research and analytical study. But the writer can cover all the aspects of the specific topic.

Choosing a good topic is the essential step when you start writing a research proposal. An interesting and new topic is what catches your teacher’s attention. And it gets your idea accepted, apart from, of course, a well-written proposal itself.

Studying some good psychology topics for your papers is the first step when conducting research. Once you have selected the topic, the next step is writing the research paper.

Discover Captivating Topics in a Click!

Psychology Research Topics For High School Students

High school students often explore psychology through research as a great way to learn more. With so many interesting topic, it can be hard to decide which one to study. 

Here are some ideas for psychological research topics that may help narrow down your search.

• How does color affect human behavior?
• Examine the mental health of children with disabilities
• Analyzing the effects of racism on an individual's mental health 
• The role of technology in student learning
• Investigating the correlation between depression and social media usage 
• Is there a connection between video games and violence?
• Understanding the impact of childhood trauma on adult behavior 
• Exploring gender identity in adolescence 
• How does sleep deprivation affect mental health?
• Examine the psychological effects of media consumption on teenagers

Psychology Research Topics for College Students

If you are a psychology student struggling to develop a topic for your research, the following ideas will be helpful. The professional writers of 5StarEssays.com have gathered some exceptional topics to help college students draft compelling papers.

• The social identity theory of Tajfel and Turner.
• Significance of strong self-perception?
• REM phase and continuous sleep disruption.
• How does the brain function when a person is in love?
• Differences in the functioning of the brain of a man and woman.
• How do different forms of amnesia damage brain activity?
• Can PTSD lead to Alzheimer’s disease?
• Impact of yoga on human psychology.
• An autistic brain under MRI.
• Causes and effects of sleep paralysis
• How to treat multiple personality disorders?
• Symptoms and treatment of ADHD
• Social factors that trigger panic attacks.
• Symptoms, causes, and treatment of dementia
• Similarities and differences among midlife crises of a man and a woman.

Research Topics In Psychology For University Students

Psychology allows us to explore the depths of human behavior and gain insight into why people think, feel, and act the way they do. For university students interested in exploring this area further, there are many interesting research topics to choose from. 

Here are some options to consider:

• The Role of Genetics in Mental Health
• How Technology Impacts Mental Health Outcomes
• The Psychological Impact of Racism
• Cyberbullying Prevention Strategies
• Sleep and Memory
• The Influence of Social Media on Adolescents’ Self-Esteem
• The Effects of Music on Emotion
• Mental Health Stigma in the Workplace
• The Role of Gender in Mental Health
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a Treatment for Stress

Criminal Psychology Research Paper Topics

• The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Criminal Behavior 
• Examining the Impact of Poverty and Socioeconomic Disadvantage on Crime Rates 
• Exploring the Role of Technology in Modern Day Crime 
• Investigating Media Portrayals of Criminals and their Effectiveness 
• Analyzing Trends and Patterns in Juvenile Delinquency 
• Examining the Effectiveness of Drug Abuse Treatment Programs on Criminal Behavior 
• Understanding the Relationship between Mental Illness and Crime 
• Exploring Effective Strategies for Rehabilitating Criminals in Prisons 
• Investigating the Impact of Religion on Criminal Mindsets 
• Examining Gender Differences in Criminal Behavior 

Biological Psychology Research Paper Topics

• The Role of Neurotransmitters in Emotional Regulation 
• Brain Development and the Impact of Early Childhood Experiences 
• Exploring Neural Network Connectivity and Its Role in Behavior 
• How Do Cortical Mechanisms Contribute to Cognitive Processes? 
• The Effects of Stress on Memory Formation 
• The Impact of Social Interactions on the Development of Mental Illness 
• Examine the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Functioning 
• Investigating Neuroplasticity in Response to Environmental Stimuli 
• Exploring Hormone-Induced Changes in Brain Activity  
• The Role of Neurotransmitters in Addiction 
• Exploring Sex Differences in Brain Circuitry and its Impact on Behavior.

Social Psychology Research Topics

• Racism and its effects
• What is Homophobia?
• Social issues involving or related to culture
• What is social depression?
• What is social cognition?
• How does social anxiety affect people?
• Gender roles in our society
• Gender discrimination and its causes
• How does peer pressure affect teenagers?
• Effect of marital disputes on children
• How do violent video games affect children and their brain development?
• Effect of violent cartoons on children's behavior and mental state
• How does divorce affect the emotional development of a child?
• Social anxiety and social depression on an introverted child
• How does bullying affect the social interaction of teenagers in high school or college?

Cognitive Psychology Research Topics

• What are the effects of attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder on the development of a child?
• Discuss the effects of Autism.
• How is color psychology effective in cognitive development studies?
• What is the attention span, and how to measure it?
• Memory loss and different ways to recover it
• How do memories affect the behavior of individuals?
• Which factors can help improve problem-solving abilities in children?
• What is a speech disorder, and how does it affect cognitive development?
• What is critical thinking, and how to measure its ability in cognitive psychology?
• How can subconsciousness affect decision-making ability?
• Increasing violence among teenagers and children
• What causes bullying behavior among children?
• Factors that can contribute to delay in the mental development of a child.
• The effect of romantic movies on a child
• Is single parenting suitable for a child’s mental development?

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Controversial Psychology Research Paper Topics

• The influence of video games on aggression in teenagers
• Gender roles in society: An analysis of stereotypes
• The impact of race and ethnicity on mental health
• The effects of television violence on children’s behavior
• Attitudes towards death penalty: Should it be abolished?
• Causes and effects of anxiety disorders
• The effectiveness of psychotherapy in treating depression
• The role of media in promoting body image dissatisfaction among youth
• Is intelligence determined mainly by genetics or environment?
• Impact of poverty on psychological development
• Workplace bullying and its consequences for employees’ mental health 

Cultural Psychology Research Paper Topics

• Analyzing the Role of Social Communication Platforms in Shaping Culture 
• Examining the Impact of Cultural Diversity on Mental Health 
• Exploring Linguistic Influences on Cognitive Development 
• Investigating How Media Portrayal Affects Cultural Expectations and Ideologies 
• Assessing the Influence of Different Cultural Values on Identity Development 
• Studying the Relationship between Cultural Practices and Gender Roles 
• Examining Intergenerational Transmission of Culture through Family Dynamics 
• Analyzing the Effects of Political and Economic Structures on Cultural Beliefs and Behaviors 
• Understanding How Social Norms Impact Moral Decision Making 
• Investigating the Impact of Religion on Cultural Attitudes and Practices 

Developmental Psychology Research Topics

• Bullying and its effect on mental development.
• The role of media and cartoons in increasing violence.
• How violent video games and cartoons can make children violent?
• Underlying causes that can create a serial killer
• Causes of increase in the psychopathic behavior of teenagers and youth
• Stereotypes and gender roles in our society
• Abusive parents and child development
• Effects of child abuse on the mental development of a child
• Factors that can accelerate the aging process
• Is psychology related to the aging process?
• Long term effects of mental health issues
• How can drugs affect our youth’s mental health in the long run?
• The effects of medication on your mental health
• Effects of postpartum depression on mental health
• How does sleeping disorder lead to other mental illnesses?

Found a topic to write about but don’t know how to start? Here’s an informative video on how to write your research paper.

Abnormal Psychology Research Topics

• What are the causes of the increasing anorexia rate in children?
• Causes of anorexia in adults
• Causes of anxiety disorder and how to overcome it
• Why is there an increase in eating disorders among the youth?
• What are the factors that contribute to an eating disorder?
• Is lying related to the psychology of a person?
• Causes of the rise in teenage suicides
• Is asexuality related to the psychology of a person?
• Psychology and suicidal thoughts
• How to control anxiety and depressing thoughts regarding death?
• What factors can cause multiple personality disorders?
• Violent video games are a cause of mood disorders among children.
• Reasons for phobias and how to deal with them
• Causes of PTSD in offices or workplace
• Is stalking considered a psychological disorder?

Clinical Psychology Research Topics

• Psychology can be used to get control of chronic pain.
• Recent studies suggest that anxiety and panic attacks can be treated using cognitive therapy.
• Is behavioral therapy effective in treating criminals?
• Antidepressants can be addictive, and their usage should be avoided.
• Factors that contribute to post-traumatic stress disorder
• What are the therapy practices effective in dealing with depression?
• Effect of an abusive relationship on the psychology of the victim
• Are antidepressants effective as a remedy for therapy?
• Insomnia – How to treat it in a clinical scenario?
• Which therapy practices are effective in treating addictions?
• Panic attacks and anxiety disorder - How to treat them through therapies?
• Psychological disorders and their clinical treatments
• Causes of Social anxiety and how to treat them?
• Phobias and Paranoias - Treatment through medication and therapy.
• Schizophrenia and the recommended therapies.

Child Psychology Research Topics

• Describe the legal, ethical, and psychological aspects of adoption.
• Negligence of parents is the main cause of childhood obesity. Agreed?
• What are the reasons behind the rising depression in children?
• Explain the introvert personality. What are the consequences of being an introvert, especially in children?
• What are the psychological effects of child abuse? Explain the preventive and remedial measures of childhood abuse.
• What are the consequences of a self-centered mother on a child’s mental wellbeing?
• Explain the phases of a child’s psychological development and growth.
• Does the birth order have any effect on a child’s personality and accomplishments? If yes, then explain how and why?
• How do violent music and video games impact a child’s behavior and mind?
• What are the different kinds of torture, and what are their effects on a child’s mind and adult life?
• Causes of increasing depression among the youth
• What are the physical symptoms of a mental disorder in children?
• Causes of antisocial behavior among teenagers
• Causes and effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children
• Impact of spanking on child’s psychology.

Sports Psychology Research Topics

• What are the future trends in sports psychology? Explain the arguments in light of the high chances of head injuries in football, hockey, and rugby.
• What are the recent changes in team sport and locker room dynamics in sports? Explain your claims with solid evidence and present some future implications also.
• What are the reasons for low health in low-income neighborhoods? How can we use sports and physical activities to promote good health?
• What are the effects and role of the Olympics in promoting sports in the nations that are not active in sports due to underfunding? How can they change their state and invest in games?
• What role do the psychological tests play in determining whether a new athlete coming from the collegiate level will be prone to steroids or violence?
• What are the psychological implications of having a well-known coach on the team? Does it matter if the coach is famous?
• What are the problems faced by young and new coaches? Do they feel pressured and are more prone to injuries? State the reasons with examples.
• Explain the term team chemistry. What is the role of team chemistry in building a sound team and supporting the teammates?
• What are the tactics that athletes can use to control and manage their emotions effectively? Discuss the role of negative emotions in violent sports like boxing.
• How has sport psychology evolved in the last twenty years?
• Significance of sports psychology to promote mental health.
• Effects of steroids on the mental activity of athletes. How does it negatively affect you? What can be done to avoid it?
• Relationship issues and the sports performance of an athlete. How are they related?
• Are panic attacks common in a sportsman’s life? How to deal with them?
• How does a sleeping disorder influence the stamina of the sportsman?

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Experimental Psychology Research Topics

• Can colors play a role in enhancing a person’s mood? Explain how the color blue can make a person feel relaxed and calm.
• Explain the notorious human experiments in history. What are their ethical shortcomings?
• What is the impact of breakfast on a person's overall day-to-day activities?
• What is the relationship between the use of social media and the rising cases of violence in adolescents?
• It is said that geniuses are made, not born. How true is this statement?
• Explain the term Mood Freezing and its implications.
• What is hindsight bias, and how can it be prevented?
• What is a double foot-in-door, and how is it used to manipulate someone?
• What affects the heuristic? Explain it with examples.
• Human cloning can be the answer for childless couples. How true is the statement?
• Causes and effects of dehumanization in Stanford prison.
• Analysis of Milgram’s shock experiment on the unfamiliar environment.
• How can aggression be controlled?
• Obedience and compliance as a function of social status.
• How does group belonging influence an individual’s behavior?

Forensic Psychology Research Topics

• The increasing susceptibility that has led to more home-grown terrorists emerging
• The effectiveness of rehabilitation in prisons and the criminal justice system
• Juvenile murders and what factors affect areas with higher rates of murders carried out by children.
• How does a role in law enforcement impact an individual’s private life?
• Is enough being done to minimize the risks of those in special education ending up in the penal system?
• What is the cause of mass killings in the U.S.?
• Is society neglecting domestic violence that is aimed towards men?
• Explain the role of the internet, movies, and video games in augmenting copycat crimes.
• What is internet police? Explain some useful strategies for effective internet policing.
• What is the role of upbringing in preventing the making of a serial killer? Can a better upbringing prevent it?
• Rules of conduct to follow by the forensic psychologist in the court.
• Risk factors for unreliable evidence.
• Reliability and legitimacy of an eyewitness’s memory.
• The credibility of the statement of a mentally challenged eyewitness.
• Rules to follow by psychologists when verbally interacting with criminals in court.

Interesting Psychology Research Topics

• The effects of media exposure on mental health 
• The role of social media in the formation of relationships 
• How childhood experiences shape personality development 
• The impact of personality traits on academic performance 
• Relationship between drug use and criminal behavior 
• Understanding the motivations behind substance abuse 
• The effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy 
• Exploring the effects of different parenting styles 
• Investigating the role of memory in decision making 
• Examining gender roles and their impact on behavior 
• Analyzing the relationships between emotion and cognition

Another easy way to choose psychology research paper topics for your research paper is to write about a famous historical person.

The topic, as narrow as it is, allows the researcher to focus on specific areas. You can also choose to research and write about a psychology career. A case study on an individual by providing a detailed analysis using your research techniques will be great.

Some additional  research paper topics  will help you carry out meaningful and interesting research.

Tips to Write a Research Paper

However, there are no universal processes for writing a good research paper, but you can follow the following steps:

1. Develop an outline

Before you start writing your research paper, it’s important to develop an outline that will guide your writing process.  An outline should include the main points and arguments you want to make throughout the paper. It will help keep your ideas organized and help you stay on track.

2. Research thoroughly

Research is the most important part of writing a research paper. 

Make sure you do your due diligence in researching thoroughly and that you’re gathering reliable sources from trusted experts or academics.

3. Develop a thesis statement

Once you have researched, it’s time to develop a thesis statement that’ll act as the main argument throughout your paper. This should be clear and concise while still conveying all the most important points you want to make.

4. Write a first draft

Once you’ve developed an outline and a thesis statement, it’s time to start writing your first draft. This is where you can really get creative and start fleshing out your ideas and arguments in full sentences. 

Remember not to get too bogged down in the details. Just focus on getting your ideas on paper.

5. Use citations

Once you’ve finished your research, it’s important to correctly cite all your sources. 

This will ensure that you’re giving credit where it’s due. It will also help your readers verify the accuracy of your research.

6. Revise and proofread

Once you’ve finished your first draft, it’s time to go back over it and make any necessary revisions or edits. Make sure that all of your arguments are still clear and supported by evidence and that your paper flows in a logical and coherent manner. 

Additionally, make sure you check for any typos, spelling errors, and grammatical mistakes.

After you’ve revised and proofread your research paper, it’s time to submit it! 

Make sure that you follow all the required submission guidelines of the publication or professor you’re submitting to.

Let’s sum it up!

Writing a research paper can seem like an arduous task, but you can write a winning paper with enough determination and focus. Remember to always back up your points with evidence and create a logical flow in order for your message to be effectively communicated. 

With hard work and dedication, you can create an impactful research paper that will engage your readers. So make sure to take the time to hone your skills and craft a compelling piece of writing!

If you need help, here is a complete guide to writing a research paper that includes everything you need to write a perfect paper. 

Not every student has the writing skills or time to dedicate to a research paper. In this case, seeking help from professional writers is the best available option.

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Here are some basic tips for selecting a topic to research. 

Choose a topic that interests you. If it's something you like, you'll enjoy it.

Consider how much information you need. For example, your professor may require 5 scholarly articles. It's best to know what you need before you even start looking.

Choose a back-up topic just in case you can't find enough good information on your first choice.

Limit your topic if you feel overwhelmed by information.  A few good ways to narrow topics are either by population , such as "schizophrenia in children," by treatments , such as "behavioral treatments for schizophrenia," or by outcomes , such as  "effects of schizophrenia on memory."

Start: your research early to eliminate stress and anxiety.

Source: Some information adapted from Allegheny University's Writing in Psychology website.

Stumped about your topic? Here are a few websites that might give you some ideas to consider.

• APA Topics The American Psychological Association has a list of the most popular topics in research.

After choosing a topic and before doing your literature search, it will be a good idea to do some background research. This will ensure that you understand your topic well and can come up with the proper keywords for your search.

There are several places you can consult for background research.

• Your textbook.
• Several JCTC campuses have subject-specific encyclopedias that are devoted to psychology exclusively. Usually you will find this in the library's reference collection under the call number BF . Ask a librarian for assistance.
• Wikipedia (although remember that quality varies widely among the entries on this free online encyclopedia).
• Database sources like the ones listed below. These are of much better quality than Wikipedia , and can be accessed off-campus 24/7.  See below: 

Why use this database? EBSCOhost is the Learning Commons entire collection of EBSCOhost databases in one place. What you need to know: This would be useful for those who want to use EBSCOhost databases but may be unsure of which one(s) to use.

EBSCOhost includes the databases:

• Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
• CINAHL (the authoritative resource for nursing and allied health professionals, students, educators and researchers
• Health Source - Consumer Edition

Why use this database?  Gale is the Learning Commons entire collection of Gale databases in one place.  What you need to know:  This would be useful for those who want to use Gale databases but may be unsure of which one(s) to use. The cross-search function allows you to search across several of the Gale products at once.

Some of Gale's subcollections are:

• Psychology Collection
• Health Reference Center Academic
• Nursing and Allied Health Collection

NOTE: If working off-campus, enter your KCTCS ID and Password (same one you use for email or Blackboard) when prompted.

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The top 10 journal articles from 2023 examined the effects of social media, CBT for substance use, and the psychology of gig work

APA’s 89 journals published more than 5,500 articles in 2023. Here are the top 10 most read

Vol. 55 No. 1 Print version: page 22

1. Looking through a filtered lens: Negative social comparison on social media and suicidal ideation among young adults.

Spitzer, E. G., et al.

Young adults who engage in comparisons to others on social media and thus feel bad about themselves are more likely to think about suicide, this research in Psychology of Popular Media (Vol. 12, No. 1) suggests. Researchers surveyed 456 college students about their frequency of social media use and used scales to assess participants’ tendency to engage in negative social comparison on Instagram and Facebook, suicidal ideation, and thwarted belongingness (i.e., feeling as if lacking connections or meaningful relationships with others). Results indicated that participants who engaged in negative social comparisons were more likely to report suicidal ideation than those who did not. Specifically, on Instagram, those who negatively compared themselves to others the most also showed the highest levels of association between thwarted belongingness and suicidal ideation. These findings suggest the need for limits on social media use and education around its mental health effects. DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000380

2. Self-compassion and women’s experience of social media content portraying body positivity and appearance ideals.

Rutter, H., et al.

The type of social media content women view can affect their self-compassion—how kind to themselves and accepting of their flaws they are—suggests this study in Psychology of Popular Media (advance online publication). In two experiments, a total of 247 women viewed content consistent with appearance ideals (fitspiration body photos; faces with makeup), appearance-neutral content (landscapes), or body-positive content (body-positive body photos, body-positive quotes, faces without makeup). In both experiments, women who viewed content consistent with appearance ideals reported a state of worse self-compassion and worse thoughts about themselves than those who viewed body-positive or appearance-neutral content. Women who already had daily low self-compassion or high disordered-eating symptoms were the most affected by viewing content consistent with appearance ideals. On the contrary, viewing body-positive content increased the state of self-compassion relative to viewing appearance-neutral content. DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000453

3. Reducing social media use improves appearance and weight esteem in youth with emotional distress.

Thai, H., et al.

Reducing smartphone social media use to 1 hour per day might improve body image and weight esteem in youth with emotional distress who are heavy social media users, this study in Psychology of Popular Media (advance online publication) suggests. The researchers randomly assigned 220 participants (ages 17 to 25 who used social media at least 2 hours per day) to either a 4-week intervention in which they limited their social media use to 1 hour per day or to a control condition with unrestricted access to social media. After the 4-week intervention, the group with restricted social media use felt better about their appearance and weight relative to before the intervention, whereas the other group showed no changes. Thus, reducing smartphone social media use appears to be a good method to improve how youths feel about their appearance and weight and could become a component in the prevention and treatment of body image-related disturbances. DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000460

4. Interventions to reduce the negative impact of online highly visual social networking site use on mental health outcomes: A scoping review.

Herriman, Z., et al.

In this review, published in Psychology of Popular Media (advance online publication), researchers identified 39 studies published between 2011 and 2022 that examined how interventions designed to reduce the negative impact of online highly visual social networking site (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) use impact mental health. Most of the studies were conducted on Western adults younger than age 35 and varied widely in terms of the variables assessed, making it difficult to highlight overall conclusions. Nevertheless, results indicate that interventions focused on reducing the exposure to highly visual social media platforms benefited well-being but may also reduce social connectedness. Interventions focused on social media literacy programs may reduce addiction and improve body image. Other interventions that adopted varied psychological approaches did not appear to lead to significant results. The researchers also highlighted the gaps in research that should be addressed to improve the efficacy of such interventions, including a need for interventions that are more guided by psychological theories and assessments of these interventions that are rigorous and include diverse populations. DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000455

5. On the outside looking in: Social media intensity, social connection, and user well-being: The moderating role of passive social media use.

Roberts, J. A., & David, M. E.

According to this study in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science (Vol. 55, No. 3) , heavy passive social media use may be linked with a weaker sense of social connection and well-being. In two survey-based studies with 226 participants in the United States, researchers found that passive engagement with social media (viewing social media but not regularly posting or interacting through the platform) was associated with less social connection, lower well-being, and higher stress. In a third, experimental study, with 160 participants, the researchers asked participants to use social media heavily (10 minutes) or lightly (5 minutes) and engage with it actively or passively. The results indicated that heavy social media use had a negative impact on feelings of social connection when used passively but a positive effect when used actively. DOI: 10.1037/cbs0000323

6. Social media usage is associated with lower knowledge about anxiety and indiscriminate use of anxiety coping strategies.

Wolenski, R., & Pettit, J. W.

Social media might not be the best source to learn about anxiety and how to reduce it, this study in Psychology of Popular Media (advance online publication) suggests. Young adults (N=250) responded to an online survey in which they reported their sources of information about anxiety, the strategies they use to cope with anxiety, and their anxiety symptoms and severity. The researchers also tested participants’ knowledge about anxiety. Participants rated the internet (e.g., Wikipedia, medical websites) as their most used information source, followed by friends and family, therapy, and social media. Participants with an anxiety diagnosis or severe symptoms sought information on social media more frequently than the other participants. Across all participants, those who sought information on social media more frequently showed a lower knowledge about anxiety and were more likely to report using both adaptive and maladaptive strategies to reduce anxiety. On the contrary, using the internet was associated with more knowledge about anxiety. These findings suggest the need to promote the dissemination of accurate information about anxiety on social media. DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000456

7. The psychological scaffolding of arithmetic

Grice, M., et al.

In this article in Psychological Review (advance online publication), the authors propose that arithmetic has a biological origin, rather than philosophical, logical, or cognitive basis. This assertion rests on four principles of perceptual organization—monotonicity, convexity, continuity, and isomorphism—that shape how humans and other animals experience the world. According to the authors, these principles exclude all possibilities except the existence of arithmetic. Monotonicity is the idea that things change in the same direction, so that approaching objects appear to expand, while retreating objects appear to shrink. Convexity deals with betweenness, such that the four corners of a soccer pitch define the playing field even without boundary lines connecting them. Continuity describes the smoothness with which objects appear to move in time and space. Isomorphism is the idea of analogy, allowing people to recognize that cats are more similar to dogs than rocks. The authors’ analysis suggests that arithmetic is not necessarily an immutable truth of the universe but rather follows as a natural consequence of our perceptual system. DOI: 10.1037/rev0000431

8. An evaluation of cognitive behavioral therapy for substance use disorders: A systematic review and application of the society of clinical psychology criteria for empirically supported treatments.

Boness C. L., et al.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an empirically supported treatment for substance use disorder (SUD), is the conclusion of this review in Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice (Vol. 30, No. 2) . The researchers reviewed five meta-analyses of the effect of CBT on SUD, but only one had sufficient quality for inclusion to evaluate the size of the effects of CBT. This meta-analysis found that CBT produced small to moderate effects on SUD when compared with minimal treatment (e.g., waitlist, brief psychoeducation) and nonspecific treatment (e.g., treatment as usual, drug counseling). These effects were smaller in magnitude when compared with other active treatments (e.g., motivational interviewing, contingency management). The effects of CBT on SUD tended to diminish over time (i.e., CBT was most effective at early follow-up of 1 to 6 months posttreatment compared with late follow-up of at least 8 months posttreatment). The researchers recommend CBT to be used as an evidence-based approach to SUD but highlight the need for more research to identify patient characteristics that might moderate response to CBT and the best deployment of CBT (e.g., as a standalone or an adjunct intervention). DOI: 10.1037/cps0000131

9. A network approach to understanding parenting: Linking coparenting, parenting styles, and parental involvement in rearing adolescents in different age groups.

Liu, S., et al.

Mothers’ and fathers’ behaviors that promote a sense of family integrity (i.e., coparenting integrity), warmth, and emotional involvement are central components of the parenting network in two-parent families, according to this study in Developmental Psychology (Vol. 59, No. 4) . Researchers used network analysis to explore different facets of maternal and paternal coparenting (e.g., integrity, conflict), parenting styles (e.g., rejection, warmth), and parental involvement (e.g., emotional support, discipline) in two-parent families in China with a total of 4,852 adolescents at different stages of adolescence. They found that maternal and paternal coparenting integrity, warm parenting style, and emotional involvement were key to the parenting network, as indicated by the central spot they occupied in the network analysis. They also found that the expected influence of these characteristics varied for adolescents in different developmental stages—maternal integrity, warmth, and emotional involvement were important throughout adolescence, but paternal integrity, warmth, and emotional involvement were particularly important in early adolescence. The results suggest that supportive parenting might be a prime target for enhancing parenting systems. DOI: 10.1037/dev0001470

10. Seeking connection, autonomy, and emotional feedback: A self-determination theory of self-regulation in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Champ, R.E., et al.

In this article in Psychological Review (Vol. 130, No. 3) , the authors propose a new framework on the basis of self-determination theory (SDT) for understanding attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and developing treatment approaches. The researchers suggest that using SDT, which proposes that humans have a natural tendency toward growth and self-actualization, supporting intrinsic motivation and self-organization, can offer a new positive understanding of ADHD and its symptoms. This approach counters the negative characterizations of ADHD; moves beyond symptom reduction and the focus on how ADHD presents motivation, engagement, and self-regulation issues; and instead focuses on potential positive aspects of ADHD and well-being. In addition, the framework highlights the need to help individuals with ADHD better understand how they function, tell the difference between biological and individual needs, and develop self-autonomy and self-regulation skills. According to this SDT approach, treatments that are autonomy supportive and increase self-determination could improve the functioning of individuals with ADHD. DOI: 10.1037/rev0000398

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Variations in the appearance and interpretation of interpersonal eye contact in social categorizations and psychiatric populations worldwide: a scoping review with a critical appraisal of the literature.

1. Introduction

3.1. selection of sources of evidence, 3.1.1. research sub-question 1: what is known from the existing research literature about variations in appearances and interpretations of interpersonal eye contact in social categorizations worldwide, 3.1.2. research sub-question 2: what is known from the existing research literature about variations in appearances and interpretations of interpersonal eye contact in persons with psychiatric disorders worldwide, 3.2. characteristics of sources of evidence, 3.2.1. research sub-question 1, 3.2.2. research sub-question 2, 3.3. critical appraisal within sources of evidence, 3.3.1. research sub-question 1, 3.3.2. research sub-question 2, 3.4. results of individual sources of evidence, 3.5. synthesis of results, 3.5.1. research sub-question 1, 3.5.2. research sub-question 2, 4. discussion, 4.1. strengths and limitations, 4.2. conclusions, supplementary materials, conflicts of interest.

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Boer, J.; Boonstra, N.; Kronenberg, L.; Stekelenburg, R.; Sizoo, B. Variations in the Appearance and Interpretation of Interpersonal Eye Contact in Social Categorizations and Psychiatric Populations Worldwide: A Scoping Review with a Critical Appraisal of the Literature. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024 , 21 , 1092. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21081092

Boer J, Boonstra N, Kronenberg L, Stekelenburg R, Sizoo B. Variations in the Appearance and Interpretation of Interpersonal Eye Contact in Social Categorizations and Psychiatric Populations Worldwide: A Scoping Review with a Critical Appraisal of the Literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health . 2024; 21(8):1092. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21081092

Boer, Jos, Nynke Boonstra, Linda Kronenberg, Ruben Stekelenburg, and Bram Sizoo. 2024. "Variations in the Appearance and Interpretation of Interpersonal Eye Contact in Social Categorizations and Psychiatric Populations Worldwide: A Scoping Review with a Critical Appraisal of the Literature" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 21, no. 8: 1092. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21081092

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