Dr. Santos provides evidence-based ways to enhance well-being during this pandemic. Credit: Yale University How can people enhance their wellbeing during the Coronovirus pandemic? Dr. Laurie Santos (pictured) has been meeting with several news outlets, sharing evidence-based tips from her psychology of well-being class at Yale University. A version of the course is also offered …
Continue reading Evidence-based tips for well-being during a pandemic
Sugar doesn't make kids hyperactive; at least not according to a null effect study and a meta-analysis. Photo: Alamy Here's something "everybody says": Kids will become hyperactive if they eat too much sugar. This folk belief is as much a part of North American cultural wisdom as learning styles and the catharsis hypothesis. But …
Did the study collect the right data to conclude that "screen time found to cause 'head horns'?" Photo Credit: Nature Scientific Reports Maybe you heard the story last week about how cell phones are making horns grow on people's heads. Take a minute to watch this short video of the morning crew from ABC news …
How might advertisers operationalize the concept of "reliability" in ways favorable to their own brand? Credit: BNFWork/Shutterstock You may have seen these ads on TV: Real people stand in a warehouse and are asked which cars are "most reliable." A Honda driver might predict, "Hondas are the most reliable." But then the cover is whisked …
Which version of Tetris helped the most? Photo: incamerastock / Alamy Stock Photo NPR's journalists covered a study that tested whether different forms of Tetris would help people feel less anxious. The journalist writes that ...research suggests that Tetris can ease us through periods of anxiety by getting us to a blissfully engrossed mental …
Her school achievement later in life can be predicted from her ability to wait for a treat (or by her family's SES). Photo: Manley099/Getty Images There's a new replication study about the famous "marshmallow study", and it's all over the popular press. You've probably heard of the original research: Kids are asked to sit alone …
Continue reading Delay of gratification (marshmallow study replication)
Can a meta-analytic effect size of .3 be considered "proof"? Credit: Ken Weinrich/Shutterstock Journalists made some dramatic media claims about a study released in February: Study proves anti-depressants are effective. It's not quackery: Antidepressants work. Period. It's official: Antidepressants are not snake oil or a conspiracy--they work. As you can see, these journalists (or their …
Credit: IFLA.org (Open source image) Most research methods instructors hope their course will teach students to be better consumers of information. They want to not only help students read empirical journals; they also want to help students become critical thinkers about anything they encounter in the "real world" of the Internet. Maybe you'd like to …
Continue reading Start next semester with a fake-news lesson
One of the studies randomly assigned White college freshmen to have a White or a Black roommate, and measured the students' bias long term. Credit: ©Syracuse Newspapers / N. Lisi / The Image Works The year 2016 provided multiple references to implicit and explicit racial biases, especially in politics. So you might be wondering, What does …
The researchers asked students if this element probably linked to real news or fake news.What's the clue that tells you this story is probably not "real news"? Fake news is in the (real) news lately. Whether you're looking at Facebook, Buzzfeed, or your online newspaper, companies may try to clickbait you into reading a story that's …