Were all the variables in this study measured? Were any manipulated? Photo: Caftor/Shutterstock Psychology Today columnist Sebastian Ocklenburg summarized a recent study under the headline, The Dark Side of Emojis: A Surprising Link to Narcissism. Let's take a look. It's a recent correlational study that tested the link between various personality traits and emoji use. …
Category: Multivariate Studies
Exercise and health: Practice with mediators
Exercise is good for us. Brain-based mediators help explain why. Photo: muse studio/Shutterstock This summary of exercise research, written by a journalist for the New York Times, is a good opportunity to practice diagramming mediators: How exercise strengthens your brain. Here is one passage from the article: Exercise offers short-term boosts in cognition. Studies show …
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“Reading for pleasure helps kids’ brain development”
The study measured reading for pleasure and a variety of cognitive, behavioral, and biological variables at multiple points throughout childhood. Photo: Samuel Borges Photography/Shutterstock An article for the general public led with this headline: "Reading for pleasure helps kids' brain development". The story in this post comes from coverage in The Conversation and Scientific …
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Really? “Sleep this way to add 5 years to your life”
A friendly reminder that when all the variables are measured, causal claims aren't supportable. Photo credit: Sleeping: MicrostockAsia/Deposit Photos CNN's headline was "sleep this way to add 5 years to your life." This headline should immediately kick in your "correlation is not causation" spidey-sense. a) What makes this headline causal? b) What are the two …
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Correlates of depression in boys and girls
The study found a moderated relationship. What are the three variables involved? Photo: cozyta/Deposit Photos This story comes from the website studyfinds.org--a website that covers a wide range of scientific studies (and therefore a great place to practice critical reading of how journalists cover science news). The StudyFinds journalist describes a newly-published Dutch study on …
Musical skill: Why does an early start seem to help?
People might start musical training early because they are living in musical families or show early evidence of musical talent. Photo credit: Artem Furman, Alamy stock photo What accounts for musicality? Some people are highly skilled and accomplished musicians, while others express no aptitude. A recent correlational study tried to understand why some people are …
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Claim: “Going to museums and concerts helps you live longer”
Does the study's method support the claim that attending arts events makes you live longer? Photo credit: agefotostock/Alamy We'll never run out of material in the "correlation is not causation" department. This time, a New York Times journalist led with the headline, "Another benefit of going to museums? You may live longer." Let's check out the …
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Cuter kids get higher grades
One of the proposed mediators of the effect was that teachers report better relationships with attractive students.Photo credit: FatCamera/Getty Images File this one under: Depressing, but we suspected it all along. The Washington Post ran a summary of research that looked at the link between school achievement and physical appearance. A new study finds that good looking …
Claim: Mothers’ friendships are good for babies’ brains
The study showed that moms with larger social support networks had kids with higher cognitive test scores. Photo: Noriko Cooper / Alamy Stock Photo The Washington Post headline reads, "Mothers' friendships may be good for babies' brains." The story is about an empirical study on mothers' social networks. Although it says "babies' brains", the study …
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Which comes first? Cross-lag study on depression and social media use
Which comes first, social media use or depression? Photo:Africa Studio/Shutterstock We have seen multiple studies that have tried to estimate how strong the link is between social media use and depression among young adults. We've covered some of these studies on this blog, including the effect size of the correlation and even a brain imaging …
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