Seeing different size models on TikTok videos affected people's body esteem. Photo: AlessandroBiascioli/Shutterstock Have you ever watched dance challenge videos on TikTok? If so, you probably noticed the skill and appearance of the dance model. Some psychologists have started to study how TikTok dance models affect viewers. A set of three studies asked, can the …
Continue reading Do TikTok dance videos influence body perceptions?
Participants in the study took either a multivitamin or a placebo. Photo: Sorapop Udomsri/Shutterstock When you shop in a natural foods or general nutrition store, you might see claims that vitamins can improve your health and cognitive function. Scientists don't always test such claims in randomized trials, so it's best to be skeptical until you …
To measure creativity in the study, participants came up with creative uses for a brick. Photo: levkro/Deposit photos A lot of people believe that using marijuana can make them more creative--some artists use it specifically when they are composing songs, painting, or creating new work. A recent study experimentally tested this idea. The study provides …
According to the study, even babies know that we don't share our food with just anybody... Photo: szefei/Shutterstock When you see the photo here, you probably assume the kids are siblings, or at least very close friends. It's not the matching dresses--it's because they're taking turns tasting the same ice cream cone--an activity in which …
Pancetta the cat sitting in Kanizsa square. Photo and research by Gabriella Smith, M.A. I've shared several examples of research on pet dogs on this blog, so it's about time I present an example of research on pet cats. If you own a cat yourself, you've probably noticed that they enjoy climbing into 3-dimensional boxes, …
Should you smile, grimace, or neither when you get your COVID jab? Photo credit: Gregory Johnston/Shutterstock Have you gotten a COVID vaccination yet? If not, grab a chopstick and read this article before you go. Here's a link to a journalist's summary of a study on the effect of making a face (such as a …
Researchers painted eyes like these on some of the cattle in each herd. Credit: Cameron Radford Here's an example of a field experiment that took place in actual fields. The empirical article appeared in Nature Communications, and the authors of the research wrote their own summary for a popular audience in The Conversation. The quotes …
Are only children more narcissistic? Credit: stockimagesbank/Shutterstock People hold all kinds of stereotypes about family structures. For example, lots of people believe that the eldest child in a household is the most responsible. People think that younger children are often spoiled or that middle children are ignored or neglected. Most research on birth order doesn't …
Continue reading Testing a stereotype about only children (null effect)
Photo credit: Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAMS/CDC Here's a good example of a bad study. It's related to the COVID pandemic. In this story by NPR journalist Vanessa Romo, you can read about a doctor in Texas who claims to be conducting research on the drug hydroxychloroquine, using COVID patients in a nursing home …
Continue reading Testing a COVID drug: Design flaws and ethical lapses
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 …