The weekly recommendation for exercise is 150 minutes. Photo credit: blasbike/Deposit Photos A journalist wrote about a recent meta-analysis in JAMA Psychiatry which evaluated the connection between weekly time spent exercising and levels of depression. The headline of the Washington Post summary read, "Exercising even half the recommended amount can help prevent depression". Let's delve …
Continue reading How much weekly exercise can prevent depression?
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 …
The study found that empathy-inducing responses like this were more likely to be followed by people deleting their original hateful posts. Photo courtesy of the author Hate speech abounds on certain corners of social media. Some people post racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, or homophobic comments, and these contribute to a harmful and hateful discourse online. Some …
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 …
A mini meta-analysis found that the average effect size comparing laptop to handwritten notes was negligible. Credit: insta_photos/Shutterstock One of the major empirical examples in Chapter 10 (in the 3rd and 4th editions of the textbook) is a study that tested whether laptop or handwritten notes are better for people's learning from a video lecture. …
Continue reading Replication: “Don’t ditch the laptop just yet”
Strength training seems to improve both depression and anxiety, according to two meta-analyses. Photo credit: romanchazov27/Deposit Photos Many of us start the new year resolved to improve our exercise habits. Exercise, of course, is great for our physical health, and we also know that aerobic exercise (i.e., "cardio") can improve mood. The benefits of aerobic …
Continue reading Meta-analyses: Strength training treats depression and anxiety
The study asked all volunteers to go on a daily walk, but randomly assigned only some of them to seek out experiences of awe. Credit: Studio Grand Web/Shutterstock A recent headline reads, "An 'awe walk' might do wonders for your well-being." Here is the journalist's summary of an empirical journal article. The journalist starts by …
Continue reading Will an “awe walk” do wonders for your well-being?
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 …
A recent study found that in psychology, the authors, participants, topics, and editors of empirical journal articles are mostly White. Photo credit: Africa Studio/Shutterstock Is science fair? You learned in Chapter 2 that empirical journals are the primary place where psychological scientists make their research public. Each empirical journal has an editorial board-- a group …
Continue reading Racial bias in psychological science journals
In 2020, Netflix released an 8-episode series called "100 Humans" in which 100 (American) humans from a variety of ages and social groups participate in a series of studies. It's a gold mine of examples for critical thinking in research methods. You'll find examples of posttest-only, pretest-posttest designs, HARKing, ethics, and more. Most of the …