Which government-led social distancing measures are effective at stopping the spread of the novel Coronovirus? One company has contributed data to answering this question. A private health technology company, Kinsa sells a "smart thermometer" which links to an app that guides people through what to do if they have a fever. When people use the …
Category: Chapter 05; Identifying Good Measurement
Screen time (again!)
The effect of screen time on well-being is likely to depend on moderators such as what's on the screen, when it's used, and who's using it. Photo: Eric Nathan / Alamy Stock Photo I can't promise this is the last article on screen time research that I will blog about. But this long-form piece by …
Which Ice Cream Flavor Are You?
Many flavors, many personalities: How could we test whether an ice cream personality test is reliable and valid? Photo credit: Okanmetin/Getty Images At the height of summer, we all start considering the same, timeless question: Can your personality can be accurately summarized by an ice cream flavor? This Buzzfeed poll asks you to answer a …
Tilt your head down to appear more intimidating
According to the study, Captain Marvel's eyebrows have something to do with her dominant pose. Credit: Collection Christophel/Alamy Stock Photo Captain Marvel looks tough. Perhaps one reason is the tilt of her head, which enhances the appearance of dominance, according to a series of studies that appears in Psychological Science. The studies were summarized by …
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Which brand of car is the most reliable?
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 …
You’re not as smart as you think
College graduates were more likely than those who'd not been to college to report they are "smarter than average." Is their perception overconfident, or not? Photo: PeopleImages/Getty Images It seems to be conventional wisdom that people are overconfident in their own abilities. People tend to think they are nicer, smarter, and better looking than most …
Another threat on the road: Narcissistic drivers
Maybe you shouldn't get into the car with this guy. Credit: Shutterstock.com You probably know drivers who honk, tailgate, and shake their fists; you know others who give drivers space and respect. Now researchers have identified a trait the aggressive drivers might share: Narcissism. A team of researchers tested the link in three studies. The …
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Are we born fearing spiders and snakes?
Credit: Lydie Gigerichova/Ima/AgeFotostock How do you feel about the photo to the left? As for me, I hate looking at it, so I made it as small as possible! I am not snake-phobic, but like many other humans, I'd much rather pick up a rabbit or even touch a bear than pick up a snake. …
Screen time and speech delays in children
The study found an association between screen time and language delay in a sample of 900 18-month olds. Photo: Maria Sbytova/Shutterstock This CNN story reports on research presented at an academic conference for Pediatrics. According to the conference presentation, [A] study found that the more time children between the ages of six months and …
How do you count sea turtles?
Is counting nests of eggs from sea turtle eggs a valid way to measure the population of sea turtles in the ocean? Photo: Kimberley Croy/Shutterstock How do scientists estimate the number of sea turtles living in the world's oceans? Counting creatures seems pretty easy--they can be over one meter long, after all--until you remember they live …