This fetus's facial expression would be judged as more of a cry or grimace. Photo courtesy of FETAP (Fetal Taste Preferences) Study, Fetal and Neonatal Research Lab, Durham University This fetus's facial expression would be judged as smiling (or lip-pulling). Photo courtesy of FETAP (Fetal Taste Preferences) Study, Fetal and Neonatal Research Lab, Durham University …
Continue reading “Fetuses smile for carrots but grimace over kale”
The study found that parents with more than two children experienced greater cognitive decline as they aged, compared to parents with only two children--at least in Northern Europe. Photo credit: fotoliza/Shutterstock The website Study Finds produces summaries of science research, publishing multiple summaries per day. This example concerns a study showing that how many kids …
Continue reading Having more kids linked to lower cognitive function
Credit: halfpoint/Deposit Photos Summer is the time for music festivals like Burning Man, Burning Nest, Firefly, and Bonnaroo. If you are planning to attend one this year, this post might interest you. The science journalism clearinghouse called Study Finds recently reported on a study conducted at Yale University. The journalists' report included the causal headline …
Continue reading Music festivals “make people more generous, socially connected”
The study focused on therapy dogs' effect on perceptions of pain in emergency room patients. Photo: monkeybusiness/Deposit Photos Adults and children alike can benefit from petting a therapy dog (a friendly pet who makes rounds with a trainer, perhaps to a clinic, pediatric unit, or even on campus during finals week). In this study, covered …
What do the studies suggest about why people procrastinate? Photo credit: Timothy Hodgkinson/Shutterstock The BBC magazine, Science Focus, collected a set of studies on procrastination that might help students at the beginning of a new school year. The journalist opens with a couple of simple frequency claims. [If you procrastinate,] you’re not alone: an estimated …
The data came from Japan, where hot baths (whether at home, in local bathhouses, or in hot springs) are a well-loved practice. Photo credit: nitis.s/Shutterstock Sigh....even the imprimatur of Harvard Medical School doesn't stop writers from tacking causal headlines onto correlational studies. In this example, the journalist writes, "The study is only observational [i.e., correlational] …
Continue reading Really? Can “hot baths protect your heart?”
Photo credit: Dangubic/Deposit Photos Here's a link to CNN's coverage of a study on alcohol use and gray matter in the brain. The headline reads, "Drinking any amount of alcohol causes damage to the brain, study finds." Let's consider how well the study supports the causal claim the journalist (or the editor) attached to it. …
Continue reading Claim: “Drinking any amount of alcohol causes damage to the brain”
Do the studies really support cause and effect? And are those effects "huge"? Photo: Julia_Tim/Deposit Photos This Buzzfeed headline is eyecatching and dramatic: Instagram Has Some Pretty Huge Effects On Our Psychology. Here's Everything We Know So Far. I see two important issues to interrogate in this headline. First, it's a causal claim ("Instagram has …
Does the study's design support the causal claim the journalist attached to it? Photo credit: R.O.M/Shutterstock Some journalists simply cannot resist attaching a causal claim to a study where it doesn't belong. Here's an example from the trade magazine, Inside Higher Ed, which reprinted a piece from Times Higher Education. The headline reads, "Scientists urged …
These students might misattribute their early-morning fatigue to their interest in the subject. Photo credit: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Podcasts have been gaining in popularity in the last few years, and several feature psychological research. I'm going to be devoting my next few posts to some podcasts. We'll start with this very short, 3-minute episode/ interview from the …