Seven Myths from Medicine

In a recent article, Vreeman and Carroll expose seven medical myths:

• You should drink eight glasses of water a day.
• You only use 10% of your brain.
• Your hair and fingernails grow on after you die.
• Shaving your hair causes it to grow back darker and coarser.
• If you read in dim light, you will ruin your eyes.
• Eating turkey makes you sleepy.
• Using a mobile phone in a hospital can affect other equipment

They go on to debunk each of the myths above. Interestingly, these myths persist despite evidence to the contrary. I wonder if similar myths exist in psychology.

SAD?

As we approach the Winter Solstice here in the northern hemisphere, it's a good time to talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.

SAD is a real condition caused by increased levels of melatonin. That increase is apparently caused by the longer periods of dark in the winter. Decreased levels of serototin also contribute to SAD. Winter's longer dark periods cause a drop in serotonin production. Light, delivered in high intensities and at the right time of the day, can reverse the rise in melatonin production and the decrease in serotonin, thus, combating SAD. An article in today's New York Times discusses how light, and other therapies, can alleviate SAD.

Another way to fight SAD is to eat complex carbohydrates. Those, in turn, are metabolized into serotonin. Unfortunately, they also add body weight and overeating them is not good therapy for SAD. Sorry.

So, if you are feeling a little blue and hungrier right about now and don't know why, you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Here is a link to some self-assessments for diagnosing SAD, circadian rhythm, and depression. Click on their link "Self-assessments" on the top of that page.

Girls and Science

I was pleased to see the news report of how three teen-aged girls recently won the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. (click here to see article) Science should not be the exclusive domain of one gender.

As the father of a ten-year-old girl I was especially heartened. Last year she announced how she hated science. But, this year she has changed her mind and now considers science as worthy of her attention.

Mostly, she likes zoology. While driving home from a visit to her grandparents one night recently, she started talking about the insects she saw clustering around the streetlights. Some streetlights hosted swarms of insects while others seemed to have none. As we talked, I gently led her into discussing why that might be. Eventually, we planned a putative science project. My main contribution being the use of a digital camera to photograph the clouds of insects so that we could get a rough count later.

I went to PsycINFO later and found one old article that seemed spot-on:

Porter, L. C. (1941). What kinds of light attract night-flying insects?, General Electric Review, 44, 310-314. I have not secured a copy yet, but will soon.

Some Spring night, she and I will go out and conduct a pilot study, select an independent variable or two, and collect some data, hopefully for the FUN of it.

Science as Entertainment?

Here's a new trend, scientists appearing at bars, taverns, and clubs to a paying audience. Wow.

We professors often grouse about having to entertain our students in class. Now, it turns out, there are people who want to hear scientists talk about their findings in a non-academic setting. Hmmm...I wonder what kinds of topics I could discuss in such a setting?

A few classic studies come to mind: bystander interference, mental rotation, and the decay of memory. I can see it now: One Night Only--Come Learn the Mysteries of the Mind and Behavior. Get you tickets before they sell out. Somehow, I don't think Hanna Montana will worry about me cutting into her ticket sales.

As you might imagine, the venues for such talks are mostly in large cities in the United States. Here's a New York Times article about this new phenomenon.

Instrumentation and Psychology

All science depends on instrumentation to some degree. As we note in chapter 1, Galileo used his telescope to discover data which he later incorporated into his theorizing. Another early pioneer was Robert Hooke. Like Galileo, he refined an instrument and then used it to discover new things. In Hooke's case the instrument was the microscope.

In 1665, Hooke published Micrographia, a book devoted to displaying many of the images he saw using his microscope. Hooke discovered and named cells and looked at ordinary, small objects under magnification for the first time. A recent article in TheScientist.com describes Hooke's research further and links to a display of 17th century microscopes.

In psychology too, instrumentation plays a big role, both historically and currently. The Web page, Brass Instrument Psychology, from the University of Toronto displays many instruments from early psychology in several categories: optical, auditory, and timing.

Another excellent source of historical instruments in psychology is The Archives of American Psychology at the University of Akron. The page displays a long list of categories that are linked to descriptions and pictures of the instruments.

Today, many of the devices used to measure behavior are computerized. Also, the Internet itself along with other networked devices (cell phones and pagers) are being used. Look up "psychological instruments" on Google and you will find mostly links to paper-and-paper "instruments" used to collect data.

Psychologists are well-embedded in one of science's oldest traditions, the use of instruments to reveal truths about the world.

Student Engagement and Undergraduate Research

Student engagement is an elusive concept. From a faculty member's point of view, student engagement might be that all-to-rare student who asks such incisive questions. From a student's point of view, engagement might be working on a big project, doing research, or studying overseas.

Doing those things, what Nessie calls the "high-impact" activities of which big student projects, studying overseas, and conducting research are examples, now have empirical support. (Other high-impact activities include living in learning communities or writing for the school newspaper.) "Nessie" or the National Survey of Student Engagement is an 8-year old survey administered by over 1000 colleges and universities to over 300,000 freshman and seniors. The entire 2007 Annual Report can be downloaded as a PDF file here.

In the latest Nessie, undergraduate research with faculty was an important factor in improving student engagement. More specifically, conducting an undergraduate thesis (based upon empirical data collection) improved critical thinking. Field research and placements were even more valuable. When students have to work in real situations, interact with others outside of the university, and for longer periods the beneficial effects of such close faculty-student interactions become greater.

Another group deeply involved in student engagement is the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU). They fund programs related to improving college education, broadly defined.

Obviously, we are big fans of undergraduate research with faculty. So, one way to improve your time in college is to seek out a sympathetic faculty member and work together on a research project.

Washoe Dies

Washoe, the chimp famous for communicating in sign language, died today. She was 42.

Washoe was the first ape to learn to communicate with a human using the American Sign Language. That research re-invigorated research in animal cognition.

Here is a New York Times story with more details.

Meta-analysis

In chapter 2 we introduce meta-analysis, a statistical procedure for examining the results of a large number of similar studies.

A large meta-analytic study was recently released by the World Cancer Research Fund. That study found links between body fat and six types of cancer. They are: cancer of the esophagus, the pancreas, the colon, the womb, the kidney, and the breast (post-menopause).

The study looked some 7,000 published research reports published since the 1960s (out of a possible half-million articles). Dr. Michael Marmot, an epidemiologist, directed the project.

The report recommends:

• ham, bacon, and other processed meats should be eaten rarely
  
• no more than a pound of cooked red meat should be eaten weekly
• drinking no more than a small glass of wine (or equivalent) per day
• mothers should breastfeed for at least six months because that lowers their incidence of breast cancer
• exercising at least 30 minutes per day and working up to 60 minutes per day
  
• minimizing salt use
• drinking water instead of drinks with sugar
• eating fruit, vegetables and fiber

Meta-analytic studies strive to see the "big picture" created by many smaller and narrower empirical studies. To see the full report from the World Cancer Research Fund click here.

Publish the Data

Science depends on planned data collection and its publication. Without publication many of the advantages of science disappear. So, it is shocking that NASA is refusing to publish the results of a major and expensive ($8.5M) telephone survey on airline safety.

The details of this story can be seen in this New York Times piece.

Over 8,000 pilots completed the survey which asked questions about safety issues during flights. Topics included the number of times birds struck airplanes and near-miss collisions (both on the ground and in the air). The survey was ordered in 1997 by a White House panel and was completed in 2005. Fearing that the data might be purged intentionally, Congress ordered that digital copies of the data be preserved.

NASA recently refused a Freedom of Information Act request to release the data from the Associated Press. The Associated Press responded, “Anxious to avoid upsetting air travelers, NASA is withholding results from an unprecedented national survey of pilots that found safety problems like near-collisions and runway interference occur more frequently than the government previously recognized.”

NASA maintained that release of the information would be detrimental to the public, the airlines, and to general aviation. They also said that the study was designed to investigate methods of collecting such data (i.e., a pilot study) not to collect data about safety.

As we point out in chapter 1, science depends on the honest publication of results. Researchers should not refuse to publish data. Many editorial columns are making the same argument. See Kansas City Star and The Boston Herald.

Children and Sleep Loss: Recent Research

This blog entry has several purposes. One is to highlight recent research on sleep loss and its effects. Another is to illustrate some of the research techniques used to document the effects of sleep loss.

A recent article in New York Magazine inspired this entry. Here's the link to that article. The article references survey research conducted by the National Sleep Foundation. Basically, children are sleeping less than they did 30 years ago. Very few (5%) high school seniors get eight hours sleep a night. The average sleep time for them is about six and a half hours. Here's a link to an article about this research.

Avi Sadeh, a researcher at Tel Aviv University, conducted a sleep study where he asked 4th and 6th graders to either sleep a little more or sleep a little less each night for three nights. The children were randomly assigned to either group.

Sadeh was worried that his treatment (which was about a half hour of more sleep or less sleep each night) would not be enough to detect. The dependent variable he used, a test of neurobiological functioning, detected large differences because of sleep loss. The sleepy sixth graders functioned worse than normal fourth graders. See: The effects of sleep restriction and extension on school-age children: What a difference an hour makes. Child Development, 74, 444-455. Sadeh need not have worried about his design. One hour made a big difference.

Much other research supports the relationship between sleep loss and academic problems. In response, some school districts are moving the start of the school day to a later time. Two school districts, one in Minnesota and one in Kentucky reported amazing results. In Minnesota, SAT scores went up. In Kentucky, driving accidents for teens went down.

Response to these data has not been what you might expect. Only a few school districts have started school later. Not many parents have made their children sleep more. The bottom line? We all need more sleep.

Scientific Societies: History and Psychological

The Royal Society

In chapter 12 (p. 384) we discuss the forming of the Royal Society, the first scientific society, founded in 1662. We also mention the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the seven regional psychological associations.

Scientific societies hold an important role in science. Many publish journals and nearly all hold annual meetings. Scientific societies also help scientists identify themselves professionally and give them a venue for meeting other scientists who are interested in similar topics.

The Royal Society has the longest history, naturally, and this page tells the story of the Society. Before the actual founding of the society, English scientists began meeting in what they called an "invisible college" to discuss the ideas of Francis Bacon. Two of those early scientists were Christopher Wren and Robert Boyle. Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton were two other early members. Their correspondence led Newton to develop his theory of universal gravitation.

In 1679, Hooke, then the secretary of the Royal Society, wrote to Newton inviting him to correspond about scientific topics of mutual interest to them. (See: Cohen, I. B., (1981). Newton's discovery of gravity, Scientific American, 244 (3), 166-179 for a comprehensive account.) A few years earlier, Hooke and Newton had disagreed over Newton's work on optics. So, intense was Hooke's criticism that Newton nearly gave up science.

Their new correspondence was amicable and related to planetary motion and the predicted paths of objects in space as they were influenced by other objects. After a visit by Edmund Halley, the discoverer of Halley's comet, Newton's ideas became firmer. Halley urged Newton to publish his ideas and Newton did, writing De Motu.

Psychological Societies

The American Psychological Association was founded in 1892 in the home of G. Stanley Hall. Fernberger's account tells much about the first 50 years of the association. The Association for Psychological Science was founded in 1988. This link provides a timeline of APS's history.

Information on the regional psychological associations can be found here. As we mention in chapter 12, the seven regionals are: the Eastern Psychological Association (EPA), the Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA), the New England Psychological Association (NEPA), the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association (RMPA), the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA), the Southwestern Psychological Association (SWPA), and the Western Psychological Association (WPA).

The seven regionals differ in size. The WPA and MPA are the largest. NEPA is the smallest. The EPA and SEPA are mid-sized and the SWPA and RMPA are slightly smaller. All of the regionals meet annually in cities within their regions. The MPA nearly always meets in Chicago (at the Palmer House Hotel) while the others move from city to city.

Many students, both undergraduate and graduate, attend the meetings of regional and national societies. The meetings provide many learning opportunities for them. Check the links above for a meeting near you and try to attend.

Scientific Facts Do Not Speak for Themselves

In chapter 5 (p. 127) we write, "Although you may have heard that the data speak for themselves, this isn't true. It is the researcher's (and others') explanations that speak for the data."

Recently, Matthew Nisbet and Dietram Scheufele expanded on this thought in an article online. That article, "The facts never speak for themselves, which is why scientists need to "frame" their messages to the public," looks at science and how its methods and results are communicated by scientists and the media to the public.

They define framing as a way to "tailor messages in ways that make them personally relevant and meaningful to different publics." They argue that the older model of science, the popular science model, assumes "that the facts will speak for themselves and will win out, with no attention to how the facts are presented." We don't agree with popular science model either.

Here are some of the frames they identified in their research on science communication:

• morality/ethics
  
• social progress
  
• racing to find a cure
• economic competitiveness
• brain drain
• Pandora's box
• high tech inspired by nature
• asbestos
• Frankenfood

They point out that the media and advocacy groups often frame issues purposively while many scientists do not. They take time to differentiate framing from spin. Scientists should not spin their results; scientific integrity is still paramount.

As a "first step" they suggest that scientists must learn to be better spokespersons for their work. Scientific leaders, especially, must lead the way. They are the ones in positions that can effect positive change the quickest. They also suggest greater public dialog about science. However, they are not optimistic that great numbers of the public will attend such meetings.

They praise, E. O. Wilson's book, An Appeal to Save Life on Earth, because he frames his arguments scientifically, personally, and morally. That multiple framing, they say, has led to religious audiences reading and discussing his book.

They cite reasons why science and its results fare are so poorly communicated. People pay more attention to sources that confirm what they already believe. New and expanding media outlets such as the Internet and television offer the potential for better informing the public, yet paradoxically, they are not used by the public. Instead, only a small minority tune in to content about science. They rest look elsewhere.

They give specific examples of well known and little known instances of science and framing. Among the well known are evolution vs. intelligent design and stem cell research. Less well known (in the United States, but not in Europe) are plant biotechnology and nanotechnology.

As stated in the beginning, we agree with Nisbet and Scheufele. Scientists must be advocates for their data. We would add, that another strategy toward this goal is to teach budding scientists, from the outset, that the data do not speak for themselves.

Epidemiology's Methods

Several recent articles have highlighted how epidemiologists conduct research and some have criticized their results.

An LA Times article discusses some of these results, methods, and criticisms. Some of the past results have been 180 degrees apart. Look at the results they cite about coffee and its effects. In 1981, a study concluded that two or three cups of coffee a day tripled the risk of pancreatic cancer. In 2001, another, larger study concluded that the earlier results were not true. Similarly, a 1981 study found that drinking coffee reduced the risk of colorectal cancer. Predictably, a later study in 2005 contradicted it.

Most epidemiological studies are observational. As we discuss in chapter 10, observational studies (e.g., naturalistic observation and participant observation) do not alter the situation under observation. Other ways to conduct epidemiological research is through cohort studies, case control studies (or retrospective), and cross-sectional studies.

The big advantage of epidemiological studies is that they are relatively cheap to conduct. However, they do not allow researchers to make cause-and-effect conclusions about the variables under investigation.

Much better results are provided by randomized clinical trials (or what we call true experiments). Randomized clinical trials are the medical version of true experiments. In a clinical trial, two (or more) groups are created by a random procedure.

Another LA Times article highlights some of the recent research discrepancies discovered by observational methods vs. clinical trials.

A long New York Times article also covers the issues inherent in observational research. That article concludes:

• "All of this suggests that the best advice is to keep in mind the law of unintended consequences. The reason clinicians test drugs with randomized trials is to establish whether the hoped-for benefits are real and, if so, whether there are unforeseen side effects that may outweigh the benefits. If the implication of an epidemiologist's study is that some drug or diet will bring us improved prosperity and health, then wonder about the unforeseen consequences. In these cases, it's never a bad idea to remain skeptical until someone spends the time and money to do randomized trial and, contrary to much of the history of the endeavor to date, fails to refute it."

Our final word echoes our advice in chapter 1, learning about methods is a good thing.

You be good, see you tomorrow...

It's unique for a parrot to have last words: "You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you."

Those were Alex's last words before he went into his cage on Thursday, September 6, 2001. Alex, of course, was Irene Pepperberg's famous African Grey parrot. She had taught him over 150 words, revolutionizing the area of animal cognition in the process.

Alex had been with Pepperberg since 1977 and was 31 years old. Her research continues with two other parrots: Griffin and Arthur.

Rest well Alex, and well done.

Here is a link to a New York Times article about Alex's life. Here is a link to The Alex Foundation, a Web page devoted to Alex and his work.

Types of Science

In chapter 1, we discuss science in some detail because we believe it is important for students to know where psychology fits within science itself and how its methods compare to other scientific disciplines.

Diana Rhoten's recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education (The dawn of networked science, Vol. 54, Issue 2, Page B12) adds much to the story of how science has developed in the last 100 years.

She provides the following classification of science: bench-top science, big science, team science, and networked science.

Two good examples of bench-top science are Mendel's research on peas and Goddard's research on rocketry. Both were low-budget and conducted alone or in small groups.


Here's a picture I took at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC showing one of Goddard's early rockets (that's Robert Goddard in the background). He and his collaborators used to drive out to the country with their disassembled rockets in the back of a pickup truck. They would put the rockets together, shoot them off, and sometimes had to run from local farmers afterward.

After World War II, rocket science became a part of big science. The United States government captured many German V-2 rockets along with many scientists and began a major research project in rocketry. That research led to ICBMs and to manned spaceflight. If it costs a few million dollars or more, it's probably big science.

Big science not only costs lots of money, it also requires a top-down infrastructure. Rhoten notes research such as the Manhattan Project and the Hubble Space Telescope as examples of big science.

Team science, she says, "is often centered on researchers whose main ties are to the given intellectual challenge." (and not to a particular institution). An early and successful example of team science is the Human Genome project. In that research, scientists from many disciplines from laboratories all around the world collaborated to solve a particular problem. They did so ahead of schedule and under budget.

Networked science is emerging now thanks to advanced computer technologies and networks. New and virtual entities such as InnoCentive and the Biomedical Informatics Research Network offer opportunities for scientists everywhere to solve problems (and get paid for it). Rhoten cites the case of Edward Melcarek. He is a scientist who works on problems for InnoCentive. Click here for a Wired.com article on Melcarek.

Networked science may offer a mechanism to return to a model more similar to bench-top science than to big science.

J. Michael Bailey: The Rest of the Story

On page 334 (in chapter 10), we mention the travails of J. Michael Bailey after he published his book, The Man Who Would be Queen (2003).

Specifically, we wrote:

• Another ethical concern involves informed consent and communication with participants. Because most small–N research involves close and extended contact between researchers and participants, a personal relationship is more likely to develop than in other types of psychological research. The perils of relationship and role confusion in small-N research were evident after Bailey (2003) published a book about transsexuals. After its publication, several of the transsexuals studied accused Bailey of failing to inform them that their interactions with him constituted research. One “participant” claimed that she and Bailey had sex during the time he later claimed he had been observing her as part of his research.

A recent New York Times article follows up on this story and provides more details on what has happened since we wrote the paragraph above.

Bailey has been confronted by several critics, the most prominent is Lynn Conway from the University of Michigan. She maintains a Web page investigating the publication of Bailey's book.

An ethics scholar, Alice Dreger, has conducted an investigation of the case. Her report can be found at http://www.bioethics.northwestern.edu/. It will be published soon in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

The participant who accused Bailey of sexual misconduct did so five years after the alleged incident. Whether or not the incident actually took place has never been determined.

Two of the other participants who complained about being mentioned in the book were not, in fact, mentioned. The other two said they knew their stories would be in the book.

In short, much ado about something has marked this case. We still stand behind our advice, communication and documentation are essential in small-N research. Bailey could have avoided much of what happened had he made things more clear to his participants at the beginning.

Pointing to Food and Picking Pink

An article in The Economist (August 23, 2007) discusses some recent research in gender differences and the origins of those differences.

Joshua New , Max M. Krasnow, Danielle Truxaw, and Steven J.C. Gaulin conducted a field experiment to investigate whether men or women are better at finding food in a natural environment. They used a nearby farmer's market to test their hypotheses: women will remember the location of previously visited food resources better than will men, and the higher the nutritional value of the food, the better the location will be remembered.

A total of 96 volunteers (41 women and 45 men) each stopped at six of the 90 food stalls in the farmer's market. Later, they pointed (individually) at the six stalls from a location in the center of the market. Women were more accurate, by an average of 9 degrees. Both men and women were more accurate at pointing at the stalls that contained food with higher nutritional value.

These results were originally published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society (the first scientific association, you will recall from chapter 12, p. 384).

Anya Hurlbert and Yazhu Ling asked British and Chinese young (early 20s) men and women to pick their favorite colors as they flashed on a computer screen. While most studies like theirs reveal a near universal preference for blue by both genders, they were able to find a preference for reddish to pinkish hues by women. Participants who scored as feminine on the Bem Sex Role Inventory, also showed a preference for reddish to pinkish hues, regardless of their sex. They did not discover any cultural differences.

These results were originally published in Current Biology. Here is a link to a summary of their article.

The article in The Economist links both of these findings to evolutionary psychology. Women being the gatherers in primitive human hunter-gatherer societies and women being the ones most likely to select edible fruits.

Torture

Before 9/11 I used to mention torture off-handedly in my learning class as an example of sensitization . Of course, I never dreamed back then that any psychologists would actually use torture. Like many, I thought that the Nuremberg Trials had shut the door firmly on those who would use the scientific method for less than benign ends. Apparently, I was wrong. I no longer mention torture in class.

Yesterday, the American Psychological Association took an important step when its council voted to affirm an "absolute prohibition against psychologists' knowingly planning, designing, and assisting in the use of torture and any form of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment."

More specifically, the council named prohibited actions: "includes all techniques defined as torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under the 2006 Resolution Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the United Nations Convention Against Torture, and the Geneva Convention. This unequivocal condemnation includes, but is by no means limited to, an absolute prohibition for psychologists against direct or indirect participation in interrogations or in any other detainee-related operations in mock executions, water-boarding or any other form of simulated drowning or suffocation, sexual humiliation, rape, cultural or religious humiliation, exploitation of phobias or psychopathology, induced hypothermia, the use of psychotropic drugs or mind-altering substances used for the purpose of eliciting information; as well as the following used for the purposes of eliciting information in an interrogation process: hooding, forced nakedness, stress positions, the use of dogs to threaten or intimidate, physical assault including slapping or shaking, exposure to extreme heat or cold, threats of harm or death; and isolation, sensory deprivation and over-stimulation and/or sleep deprivation used in a manner that represents significant pain or suffering or in a manner that a reasonable person would judge to cause lasting harm; or the threatened use of any of the above techniques to the individual or to members of the individual’s family;"

The American Psychological Association's action follows similar positions by the American Medical Association, and the American Psychiatric Association. Yesterday's statement by the American Psychological Association was a compromise from another stronger position which sought to ban psychologists' participation from all interrogations. The council rejected that earlier proposal.

The Psychologists for Social Responsibility recently sponsored a symposium: Rethinking the Psychology of Torture. One of their conclusions was that, "Torture does not yield reliable information and is actually counterproductive in intelligence interrogations."

At least we now have some operational definitions of what not to do (or teach) with regard to torture.

Sweat equity

I could not resist--research on sweat. It's true, research topics ARE all around us. (Apparently, some of them are even ON us.) Maybe it's the fact that today's temperatures here were well over 100 degrees F that has grabbed my attention.

Again, the New York Times has inspired me to post with an article titled: Sweatology.

There are some interesting facts in that article:

• Humans tolerate cooling more than they tolerate heating
• People show tremendous variation in the number of sweat glands they possess
• Our body temperatures are lower in the morning.
• Thermoregulation in menopausal women goes awry so that they believe they are hotter than they really are and they sweat more.
• The elderly sweat less than they should (physiology again) and thus are more prone to heat related problems.
• Anger, too, makes us sweat.
• Clothing affects sweating. Naked people sweat more than clothed people. (The IRB is going to love that one.)
  
• Heat acclimation is a real phenomenon. After being in the heat for a week or so, people's sweat glands get bigger and produce more sweat.

Here are the researchers mentioned in the article.

Nina Jablonski is an evolutionary anthropologist whose recent book, Skin, compares the cooling strategies of various primate species (among other topics).

Craig Crandall studies human thermoregulation and has a lab in Dallas.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has developed a manikin called Adam, to measure human thermal comfort inside automobiles. Their goal is to decrease fuel consumption by reducing the use of automotive air conditioning.

Edison once said, "Genius is 1% percent inspiration and 99% perspiration." Maybe he was right.

The value of undergraduate research

The Chronicle of Higher Education (August, 17, 2007, by Lila Guterman, ) has two articles : What good is undergraduate research anyway? (p. A12) and Research on undergraduate research (A14) Most teachers assume that having undergraduates conduct research is a good way to teach. So, it's refreshing to see some researchers asking themselves whether that assumption is warranted.

The article, Research on undergraduate research, looks at three separate research projects, one at the University of Colorado at Boulder (N = 76), published in Science Education, another at Grinnell College (N = 1,135), published in Cell Biology Education, and still another at SRI International (N = 8,000+). The report of the SRI research can be found by clicking here.

The longer article, What good is undergraduate research anyway?, provides some analysis and commentary. The results of the study above support the assumption that undergraduate research is a good way to teach. Interestingly, it looks like conducting undergraduate research convinces some, but not many, additional students to change their previous career plans and attend graduate school instead. Some students learn that research does not suit them.

On the other side of the coin, results indicated that "authentic" instead "mundane" undergraduate research experiences were more valuable, educationally. Faculty note that teaching via undergraduate research experiences takes more time than teaching in other ways.

We can agree on both the worth and the cost of supervising undergraduate research. Our text reveals our bias toward undergraduate research (we hope).

Perception and Highway Signs

Martin Pietrucha is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State University. His research focuses on the readability of highway signs. He lists human factors as one of his specialties.

A recent New York Times article highlights his research on a new font, Clearview, with improved readability. The Federal Highway Administration approved Clearview in 2004. Many states are now replacing their older Highway Gothic font signs with Clearview.

Here is a picture of two signs. The left one is in Highway Gothic and the one on the right is in Clearview.
Graphic source

Here is how these data are collected:


Graphic source

Future research of this type will look at negative contrast signs (dark on light).

The research described here and other similar human factors research are examples of how psychologists and other scientists can apply the principles of measurement and research to solve real world problems.

Test-Retest

It's hard to find stories on statistical and methodological topics. Here's one such rare story.

The New York Times ran a poll (N = 1,554, Sampling error = + or - 3%) on Hillary Clinton in early July, 2007. One question, "Looking back, do you think the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, or should the United States have stayed out?"

The results surprised the pollsters because more respondents agreed with the question (42%) in July compared to respondents to the same question (35%) in a May poll. All of the other war-related questions had shown no such change.

The pollsters finally concluded they needed to retest the question. The did so after removing a question about Clinton's repudiation of her 2002 vote against the war. In the original poll, that question was near the military action question.

The second poll (N = 889, Sampling error = + or - 3%) produced nearly identical results with 42% agreeing. In this second poll, another question also showed a change from the earlier May data. Fewer respondents (66%) thought that "things are going badly for the United States in its efforts to bring stability and order to Iraq" than in May (76%). After running the second poll, the pollsters were confident they had detected a change in public opinion. However, they did not know what was causing the change.

Here is a link to the New York Times story

Rattus norvegicus

I have fond memories of running rats nearly 35 years ago as an undergraduate. Back then, I helped maintain the rat and pigeon colony, even though the rats made me sneeze. I had to wear a mask to work in there. That space is no more and is now an administrator's office. Today's undergraduates are not likely to remove a laboratory rat from its cage, "gentle" it every day, design animal experiments, and run rats.

When I first came to Southern Arkansas University, there was a small, temporary, rat lab in the department. It was set up every spring semester and dismantled after graduation. One day I noticed small beetles flying in the hall, Tribolium confusum, or confused flour beetles is what they were. They were feeding on the rat chow. Since then, we have had no rats. Can't say I miss them however.

However, rats are still in the picture, research-wise. A New York Times article reviewed some recent rat research including research in dreaming, drug use, and sexual behavior. Some rats even show evidence of meta-cognition (see Jonathon D. Crystal's home page), or knowing what they know.

So the domestic Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus, is still around. They are just harder to find than they used to be.

Faked Data: Interviews and Urine Samples

A research associate at UCLA falsified 20 interviews and their associated urine samples recently. In addition, he also pocketed $5,180 in project funds.

His punishment? The Office of Research Integrity has banned him for three years. He may not work on or serve on federal grants during that period.

To see a online article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, click here.

Obviously, this story is a case of scientific misconduct. Let it serve as a counterexample for you and your research.

Batch of Research Ideas

Here's the latest batch of research ideas from our students. Feel free to use them as inspiration for your own research. Also, these ideas show what our students are thinking about.

1. Who stays married longer, couples who marry young or those who marry when older?
2. Why is the percentage of African-American baseball players declining?
3. What percentage of freshmen begin to experiment with illicit drugs?
4. Is there a relationship between climate and GPA?
5. What causes women to remain in abusive relationships?
6. Are women less likely to be ticketed following a traffic stop?
7. Are biracial sons reared by Caucasian mothers at greater risk of becoming criminals?
8. Are Americans worried about contaminated food?
9. Why is so much food thrown away by restaurants and not donated to the needy?
10. Would students buy healthy snacks from vending machines if it was available?
11. How many first mothers opt to breastfeed?
12. What are the characteristics of people who sell on eBay?
13. During which semester do students make the worst grades?

Check back here soon to see what designs were used to answer these questions.

Usability as a Career

In chapter 1 we write about careers and how the research methods course can be leveraged into getting a job or obtaining a promotion. One job we did not mention is that of usability professional.

Usability is a big deal in the age of the Internet, but like most things, it existed before the World Wide Web. However, the profusion of Web pages, computer applications, and new technological goodies like the Blackberry and the iPhone have made us more aware of usability.

The New York Times article "Technology's untanglers: They make it really work" inspired this entry. In that article are examples of usability experts collecting data from users in order to improve their experiences. One expert, Dr. Janice Redish, noted that the main skills she looks for in a usability professional are "solid observation and interview skills." Hmmm....sounds like chapter 10, no?

Just in case you are interested, the article reports that the average salary for a usability professional was $86,500 (in 2005, the latest year reported by the Usability Professionals' Association. Also, many companies are now creating high-ranking positions such as "Directory of Usability."

Meow, researching the cats among us

Cats and humans have lived together for a long time. An abstract in Science (click here) reveals just how long that relationship has lasted and how successful it has been for both parties. A New York Times piece reviews the Science article.

Carlos A. Driscoll and his nine co-authors propose that all 600 million domestic cats in the world are the genetic descendants of five female cats from the Middle East who domesticated themselves about 10, 000 years ago. The domestic arrangement was beneficial to both cats and people. The fact that cats initiated the arrangement helps to explain, in part, why cats are so different from dogs.

The fact that cats are sedentary, our propensity to take our cats with us when we move, and the ease of identifying cat genes via their coats has revealed much about human population movements. See "Cats and commerce" in the November, 1977 Scientific American or "Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been" in the August, 1986 Natural History. Both those articles show how we can use our long relationship with cats to discover facts about ourselves (and them).

Edward Tufte

We briefly mention Edward Tufte in chapter 12. He deserves much more space because of his pioneering work in communicating information using graphs. A recent STANFORD Magazine article reviews his career.

He was unable to find a publisher for his first book, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, so he started his own publishing company, Graphics Press. Today, he estimates that he has sold over 1.4 million copies of his books.

One of Tufte's contributions to our vocabularies is the word, chartjunk, the unnecessary elements often found in graphics.

In our classes (and in chapter 12), we emphasize the skills involved in creating effective and elegant graphs. Dr. Tufte also teaches a one-day course in presenting data and information, and it's half price for students.

Narrative Psychology and Methodology

Another New York Times article nicely illustrates the interplay of qualitative and quantitative research in exploring a complex psychological topic: whether or not personality can be explored via first-person accounts. This is, of course, a throwback to some of the earliest ideas in scientific psychology.

The research summarized in the article and further elaborated upon below re-opens many questions asked by early psychologists. However, the methodological lessons learned since psychology's early days are fully understood by these researchers.

Thus, McAdams et al. (2006) (see full references below) find that narrative accounts of one's life show evidence of continuity. In other words, they check to be sure that the phenomenon they are studying is reliable over time. McAdams and his co-workers report on research in which college students write detailed accounts about their lives three times (initially, at three months, and at three years). They found continuity for "narrative complexity, and...emotional tone."

Similarly, McLean and Pasupathi (2006) find that extraverts were more likely to engage in collaborative narration. They test an independent variable (extraversion/introversion) and find that it predicts an effect under two separate conditions. McLean and Pasupathi report on two studies, the first on self-defining memories and the second on everyday narration. Their hypothesis, that extraverts were more likely to engage in collaborative narration was supported by both studies.

Adler et al. (2006) show that depressive thinking and concern over contamination each independently predicted depression. They, too, examine independent variables (self-thoughts about depression and contamination) and find that each predicted depression. Adler and his collaborators used the CAVE (the Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations) to evaluate 70 life interviews from midlife adults. They found that depressogenic attributional style and themes of contamination each independently predict depression and low satisfaction with life.

Kross et al. (2005) attempt to look at the difference between rumination and adaptive reflection. Here, the independent variable was created by dividing participants into two groups depending on whether they asked themselves 'Why' questions. Those who did ask themselves 'Why' experienced cooler emotional reactions when thinking about past memories. In two experiments, the authors attempt to "disentangle" rumination from adaptive reflection. Their results suggest that individuals who ask 'Why?' were more able to re-experience emotional experiences in a cooler manner and without reliving the experience.

Finally, Libby et al. (2005) examine first-person and third-person memories of emotional events. They find that change is more likely to accompany third-person retrospective accounts. Again, they used participants' self-selection of first- or third- person accounts to create groups. Libby and her colleagues studied first-person vs. third person memory perspectives in five separate studies (looking at motivation, goals, instructions, and self-esteem). They found that third-person perspectives were more likely to produce judgments of self-change in the context of looking for change. However, third-person judgments were less likely to produce judgments for self-change in contexts looking for continuity.

For further reading:

Adler, J. M., Kissel, E. C., & McAdams, D. P. (2006). Emerging from the CAVE: Attributional style and the narrative study of identity in midlife adults. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 30, 39-51.

Kross, E., Ayduk, O., & Mischel, W. (2005). When asking 'Why' does not hurt: Distinguishing rumination from reflective processing of negative emotions. Psychological Science, 16, 709-715.

Libby, L. K., Eibach, R. P., & Gilovich, T. (2005). Here's looking at me: The effect of memory perspective on assessments of personal change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 50-62.

McAdams, D. P., Bauer, J. J., Sakaeda, A. R., Aniyidoho, N. A., Machado, M. A., Magrino-Failla, K., White, K. W., & Pals, J. L. (2006). Continuity and change in the life story: A longitudinal study of autobiographical memories in emerging adulthood. Journal of Personality, 74, 1371-1400.

McLean, K. C., & Pasupathi, M. (2006). Collaborative narration of the past and extraversion, Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 1219-1231.

Two new Einstein biographies reviewed

In chapter 1, Science, we discuss Albert Einstein and his scientific works. His research illustrates the relationship between theory and experimentation (Einstein being primarily a theorist).

The books reviewed in the New York Times offer fresh insight into how Einstein formulated his theories. They also shed light on his personal life.

One of the points we raise in chapter 1 is the human element in scientific theorizing and in empirical data collection. Scientists are more similar to their fellow humans than they are different. The two biographies reviewed show Einstein's scientific side and his human side.

The books are:

Isaacson, W. (2007). Einstein: His life and universe. New York: Simon & Schuster. (First chapter)

Neffe, J. (2007). Einstein: A biography. (S. Frisch, Trans.). New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. (Original work published 2005) (First chapter)

Unfairness and heart attacks

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times discusses the relationship between believing one was treated unfairly and subsequent heart attacks and angina (chest pain).

Civil servants in England were asked, "I often have the feeling that I am being treated unfairly." At the time of surveying, none of the approximately 6000 respondents were in poor health or showed signs of heart disease.

Ten years later, for those who reported high levels of unfair treatment, 387 had either died or had been treated for angina or other heart problems.

Respondents who reported less unfair treatment had lower levels of cardiac events.

The authors interpret these results as evidence for a possible relationship between cardiovascular and mental health. The mechanisms for the relationship are indirect. People who believe they have been treated unfairly are more likely to drink, smoke, overeat, and engage in other similar risky behaviors.

Reasons to adopt Spatz & Kardas

Here are 15 reasons to adopt our book:

1. It brings a fresh approach to research methods texts emphasizing the empowering of students as budding researchers. Our approach treats students much like apprentice scientists working in collaboration with master scientist.
2. It offers a simpler framework toward understanding the nature of research. We divide science into three main categories: experimental, correlational, and meta-analytic. Experimental methods are broadly defined.
3. It shows the differences in theory construction in psychological theory and physical science. We use Mjöset’s classification of social science theories: law-oriented, ideal, critical, and constructivist (Ch. 1) to provide students with a sophisticated understanding of recent social science theorizing.
4. It provides a step-by-step framework for understanding research methodologies. We use two chapters (11 & 12) to walk students through the entire research process from getting an idea to writing the final report and presenting it.
5. It emphasizes the central nature of ethics in psychological research. We make ethics a topic that is totally interwoven into the fabric of research and cover ethics with an entire chapter (3) that spans a gamut of topics including the IRB, scientific misconduct, and Nuremberg Code.
6. Spatz & Kardas reproduce the entire Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association. We take students through Section 8 (Research and Publication) of APA’s Ethics Code using responsibility to participants, responsibility to psychology, and animal research as conceptual guides. Informed consent and other ethical topics are fully explained and a sample consent form is provided. APA’s entire Ethics Code is reproduced as Appendix B.
7. It covers non-experimental approaches to psychological research. Chapter 10 covers naturalistic and participant observation, qualitative research (interviews, focus groups, oral history, archival research), and small-N research (case studies, AB, and ABA designs).
8. It provides examples of research conducted by undergraduate students. We use examples of psychological research conducted by undergraduate students and published in undergraduate journals to inspire budding researchers.
9. It leads students through the process of research from start to finish. Chapters 11 and 12 gently lead students through the research process from selecting original research topics to publishing research in undergraduate journals.
10. It provides comprehensive coverage of data exploration and statistics. Chapter 5 emphasizes modern exploratory data analysis (descriptive and inferential) and graphs. Chapter 6 covers traditional NHST statistical tests. Effect size and meta-analysis are fully covered.
11. The Stop & Think feature used by Spatz & Kardas adds to the interactive feel of the text. The Stop & Think questions (immediately followed by answers) are interspersed throughout the text, helping students see the authors’ pedagogy as they read.
12. It places glossary items in the margins and as a separate section makes the text easier to use. All glossary items appear in the margins and in a separate glossary. Glossary items are bolded the first time they appear in the text.
13. Spatz & Kardas’ use In the Know boxes helps students see the bigger picture easily. The In the Know boxes succinctly explain “inside information” similar to what we would share with a student during a conversation.
14. We replicate our engaging classroom styles in our writing. The text reads easily, it's a conversation. Students are directly addressed and treated as engaged learners.
15. It introduces extraneous variables gradually and logically. Extraneous variables are introduced gradually over three chapters (7 to 9), as are methods for their control. Students more easily learn how to handle extraneous variables through design.

Research: The 5 second rule

Here is some whimsical research. The research question is: Is it safe to eat food dropped on the floor if you pick it up within five seconds?

Interestingly, this topic has been researched. A recent New York Times article, summarizes those efforts.

All of this goes to show that nearly any topic can be researched!

Wagging Tails

A recent New York Times article summarizes research on differences in tail wagging by dogs. The article was published in the journal Current Biology recently. This link gives the doi locator for the article. Here is the citation:

Quaranta, A., Siniscalchi, G., & Vallortigara, G. (2007). Assymmetric tail-wagging responses to different emotive stimuli. Current Biology, 17, R199-R201.

Because we each first came to psychology as animal researchers, we naturally perk up when we find articles that stimulate our original interests. This particular article describes observational research conducted on pet dogs which indicates that their tail wagging direction differs depending of whether the stimulus causing the wagging is familiar or unfamiliar.

The 30 dogs observed were more likely to wag their tails to the right when presented with a familiar stimulus (their owner), but when presented with a large, dominant dog (a Belgian Malinois ) they were more likely to wag their tails to the left. The two other stimuli used, an unfamiliar human and a cat also led to right-side tail wagging, but with a lower amplitude.

Also of interest here is their method, naturalistic observation. From initial, unstructured observations, the authors conducted a more formal and controlled experiment. Their research serves as a good example of how scientists move from observation to experimentation.

Laws and Student Psychopathology

The Virginia Tech shootings have caused many to speculate whether the warning signs exhibited by the shooter were sufficient to have warranted intervention. Other discussions have centered around civil liberties and laws related to student conduct.

The linked article from the New York Times, Laws limit options when a student is mentally ill, discusses the last point above. There are many constraints placed on colleges and universities about how they may deal with students who exhibit unusual behaviors.

Zimbardo on Evil

Dr. Phillip Zimbardo has a new book out, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. In a review in the New York Times, he discusses his famous prison experiment and compares it to Milgram's earlier obedience research.

In that review he states, "In a lot of ways, the studies (his prison study and Milgram's obedience study) are bookends in our understanding of evil."

We agree. Chapter 3 of our text capitalizes on his book end metaphor nicely, we think.

Off to SWPA

Ed's off to the annual SWPA meeting. SWPA, the Southwestern Psychological Association, is one of the regional psychological associations we discuss in chapter 12 (p. 384).

SWPA's meeting features talks by several prominent researchers:

Through the Labyrinth: How Women Have Both Advantage and Disadvantage as Leaders: Alice Eagly, this year's Saul Sells' lecturer who is Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department and the James Padilla Chair of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University. The winner of numerous awards and honors, Professor Eagly has two main speciality areas: attitudes and gender.


The Positive Psychology of Disability: Christopher B. Keys, who isProfessor and Chair of the Psychology Department at DePaul University. A former President of the Society for Community Research and Action (Division 27 of APA). Professor Keys has been conducting studies concerning the empowerment and strengths of people with disabilities and their families for 20 years. He helped edit the award-winning Encyclopedia of Disability and has been invited to present his research in Asia, Australia, Latin America and Europe.


Offensive Defensiveness: Why People Promote Zeal After Self-threats: Ian McGregor of York University, Toronto, Canada, has been referred to "as one of the truly bright stars in a new generation of research psychologists." He will speak on his cutting-edge laboratory work on the root causes of zealous ideological conviction and extremism.


Seeds of Hope: Effective Interventions for Relationship-Disturbed Children: David Cross is the director of the Developmental Research Lab, and Associate Director of the Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University. For the past ten years he has been working with Dr. Karyn Purvis (Director, Institute of Child Development at TCU) to develop research-based interventions for at-risk adopted children and their families.


Different Strokes for Different Folks: the Genetic Basis of Individual Differences: SAMR invited speaker is Howard K. Gershenfeld, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Psychiatry, Internal Medicine - Clinical Geneticist , Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Southwestern Medical School.


Dr. William Buskist of Auburn University will present his 2005 Harry Kirke Wolfe lecture which he originally presented at the APA convention in New Orleans. This presentation is a part of a lecturer program for regional psychological associations sponsored by the APA.

I'm looking forward to an exciting few days in Ft. Worth.

Mastermind and Interactions

The board game, Mastermind, can be used to demonstrate interactions and main effects in an abstract way.

Here is Wikipedia's description of Mastermind (click here). Downloadable versions of Mastermind can be found near the bottom of that page. Finding original games is still possible. Try an eBay search for Mastermind, for instance.

Playing Mastermind is, ultimately, a search for the interaction of its two variables (a.k.a. main effects) peg color and peg position. A player wins when the opponent's pattern of pegs has been decoded. During play, the coding player provides feedback (or, values for a dependent variable) using white or black pegs. A white peg indicates that the correct color of a peg has been decoded, but that the peg is not in the correct position. A black peg indicates that both the color of the peg and its position are correct. The decoding player wins when all of the feedback pegs are black.

Mastermind can also be used to illustrate (again, in an abstract way) effective experimental design. Decoding players who do not plan their decoding stategy will nearly always fail to discover the coded pattern. Try a game or two.

NY Times article: Tracing the cigarette's path from sexy to deadly

Here's a link to a New York Times article (2007-03-20): Tracing the cigarette's path from sexy to deadly. It details how long it took people and society to realize that cigarettes are dangerous.

National Irag Survey

ABC News, in conjuction with BBC and ARD TV (Germany) has conducted another opinion survey in Iraq using a random sample. Here is how they selected respondents (see http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2954886&page=1 for complete details):

"Four hundred and fifty-eight sampling points were distributed proportionate to population size in each of Iraq's 18 provinces, then in each of the 102 districts within the provinces, then by simple random sampling among Iraq's nearly 11,000 villages or neighborhoods, with urban/rural stratification at each stage."

"Maps or grids were used to select random starting points within each sampling point, with household selection by random interval and within-household selection by the 'next-birthday' method. An average of five interviews were conducted per sampling point. Three of the 458 sampling points were inaccessible for security reasons and were substituted with randomly selected replacements."

One measure of the success of the survey was that none of the interviewers were killed or injured during the course of the research. Comments from the pollsters can be viewed at:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2954867&page=1

Some of the main results are summarized below:

• My own life is going well: 2005/71% said yes and in 2007/39% said yes
• I expect my life to get better: 2005/64% said yes and in 2007/35% said yes
• My own neighborhood is not safe: 2005/36% said yes and in 2007/74% said yes

The survey was conducted by D3 Systems of Vienna, VA, USA.

From Greg Harrison-MasterMind and Ideas

I reposted this so it would not be buried under the comments were it was:

Never heard of Mastermind. But I played a game called Chug 21 in a bar a few times. It takes much planning and evaluation, but I don't think we'd be allowed to play it in class.

Got an idea for the class project. For Research Methods in my undergrad, we had to create questionnaires in different ares of policy analysis and present our results. The types of policies presented included free universal healthcare, the debate on oil-drilling in Alaska, the dissolving of the social security fund, and environmental safety regulations.

I know they are all policies on the national level, but they all involve the scientific method, which plays a major role in research methods. Just a thought

SAU Network Down

Looks like the SAU network is down (again...).

If you have to contact me, use: epkardas@sbcglobal.net

Thursday RMPA Class

Be sure and come to class on time Thursday. We will finish up Chapter 1 (quickly) and then watch a tape on research ethics (Chapter 8, recall). Toward the end of class we will play the Mastermind board game on screen. The idea there will be to demonstrate the importance of planning.

Has anyone played Mastermind before? I played back in the '70s, btw. One time I played it at a bar in Texas. I guess those days are gone.

See you then.

Looking for PA Research Ideas

We made it through the first class. We are looking for ideas for a public administration research project. Think of some and post them here. Next week, we'll start looking at them in class and narrowing the list down.

See you then, blog often.

RM in Public Administration

This is the blog students in the Research Methods in Public Administration will use to communicate with each other. Be sure to send me your e-mail address ASAP so that I can add you as an author for the duration of the semester.

The Web page for the class is: http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/RMPA/

See you at 6:10 p.m. Thursday, January 18, 2007

2007 RM Courses-Kardas

In the Spring 2007 semester, I'll be teaching three RM methods courses: Research Methods I, Research Methods II, and Research Methods for Public Administration.

Research Methods I is an introduction to research and is open to psychology, sociology, and criminal justice majors.

Research Methods II is the continuation of Research Methods I and there are separate sections for psychology and sociology majors. I teach the psychology course and Dr. Richard Ambler teaches the sociology course. Criminal justice majors who desire additional (and not required) coursework in research methods may take either course.

Research Methods for Public Administration is being offered for the first time in the new graduate program in public administration.

This blog will be used as a forum for all three courses I teach. Welcome!