It is time for another joint blog post by Beth Morling and Jess Hartnett! It’s about a recently-published article that allows you to think about everything from the ethical use of AI to factorial ANOVA. The study investigated how people respond emotionally to online comments. Photo: fizkes/Shutterstock Part I: Student Learning Activity When we scroll …
Women’s politics predict partner preferences
In a recent study summarized in PsyPost ,we learn that depending on their political leanings, women report seeking different traits and qualities in their potential romantic partners. The study found that straight women look for different qualities in their romantic partners, depending on their political views. Photo: Depiction Images/Shutterstock The study surveyed over 13,000 women …
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Does a free basic income make people less motivated to work?
On Sept 20, I posted about an experiment that randomly assigned low-income families with newborns to receive an extra $333 or $20 per month. In that study, adding more income didn't have much of an effect. This time, I’m sharing a somewhat similar experiment on basic income that is being conducted in Germany. In this …
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Does extra cash help low-income babies’ development?
Would babies benefit if their families received extra cash every month? Photo: Cavan Images/Alamy Stock Photo When psychologists and sociologists take a big-picture view of early childhood development, they almost always notice a correlation between income and child behavior. Specifically, children being raised in poverty tend to perform worse than higher-income children on language development, …
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Correlates of cuddling
The study correlated cuddling style with stress and attachment. Photo: LightField Studios/Shutterstock If you share a bed with your sweetheart, you might be interested in this example of correlational research summarized by PsyPost. Their headline reads, "Study finds couples who cuddle at bedtime feel more secure and less stressed." Here are some introductory statements: Study …
Social anxiety and loneliness over time (cross-lag design)
The study used a cross-lag panel design to establish temporal precedence. Photo: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock People who are socially anxious are often lonely, too. But which comes first? Loneliness is a perceived lack of social connection. Loneliness arises when there is a mismatch between the social relationships a person desires and those they actually have. It …
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Repairing past research injustices (a joint post with Jess Hartnett!)
This is a joint blog post by two W.W. Norton & Co. authors (and pals): Beth Morling and Jess Hartnett. We first “met” through our blogs and social media years ago (Beth's blog on teaching RM, which you are reading now, and Jess's blog on teaching stats, notawfulandboring, here). Our friendship love language is DMing each …
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Claim: Using smartphones on the toilet increases hemorrhoid risk
The study found that people who use their smartphone on the toilet are more likely to have hemorrhoids. How strong is their evidence? Photo: Svitlana Hulko/Shutterstock Is there any relationship between using your smartphone on the toilet and your hemorrhoid risk? Let's get into it. A study on this topic did find an association. …
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Placebo controls: When are they necessary? When are they ethical?
Many public health officials raise ethical concerns about requiring placebocontrolled tests of slight revisions to existing vaccines. Photo: PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock Placebo effects have been in the news lately because the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced a new policy requiring placebo controlled studies for vaccines before …
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Touchscreens, buttons, and dials: What’s best for drivers?
Survey, observational, and qualitative research can all support carmakers' decisions about how to design a dashboard. Photo: insta_photos/Shutterstock Here's a story about automobile dashboards! After leaning in to designing cars with touchscreen dashboard controls, automakers seem to be heading back to basic buttons. This summary, from the website PopSci.com, discusses the variety of research that …
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