The depressing link between attention and behavior problems during youth and later adult income

This study will have people shouting correlation is not causation, and that is true. Still, the results are not really good news. No, this study is rather depressing as it used data from two different countries, and you could actually say three countries as it’s a conceptual replication of an earlier study. From the press… Read More The depressing link between attention and behavior problems during youth and later adult income

You think living in the city can be tough?

Another bit off-topic study, but still interesting: people in rural areas face unique challenges that may shape their personalities and psychological well-being. This can have important consequences! From the press release: People who endure the daily hassles of big cities often romanticize life in the country. But rural living is not necessarily the carefree, idyllic… Read More You think living in the city can be tough?

Interesting: Even lawyers don’t like legalese

This study is out of my comfort zone, but it made me smile: lawyers find simplified legal documents easier to understand, more appealing, and just as enforceable as traditional contracts. So who are we fooling? From the press release:  It’s no secret that legal documents are notoriously difficult to understand, causing headaches for anyone who… Read More Interesting: Even lawyers don’t like legalese

The importance of healthy food for college students

You can find many fast-food restaurants in the neighbourhood of both the institutes I work. Nothing special, you may think, but this new paper does warn us of the consequences: a person’s poor eating habits established during post-secondary studies can contribute to future health issues, including obesity, respiratory illnesses and depression. From the press release:… Read More The importance of healthy food for college students

Being female and/or being educated helps you to ‘read’ other people’s mind

No, it’s not about real mind reading, but new research shows that being female and educated are some of the best predictors of how well you get on with and understand others. I think a lot of readers now think: no, shit Sherlock regarding the female bit. Still, the educated element did surprise me. From… Read More Being female and/or being educated helps you to ‘read’ other people’s mind

Effects of high-dosage math tutoring for low-income students (Best Evidence in Brief)

There is a new Best Evidence in Brief and this time I picked this study from this biweekly newsletter written by Marta Pellegrini, University of Cagliari (Italy). A high-dosage math tutoring program, modeled after Saga Education in the U.S., was developed in the Netherlands through a collaboration of schools, funders and providers to support students from… Read More Effects of high-dosage math tutoring for low-income students (Best Evidence in Brief)

Don’t read this thread on science if you don’t want to get depressed (but I think it’s a good thing)

Yesterday I discovered this thread via Christian Bokhove: A lot of people are concerned with the problem of #measurements in the #SocialSciences (and the problem to me is worse than the #replicationCrisis!). I suggest exchanging papers, comments, and ideas in this thread 🧵.Here are some: — 𝐷𝑖𝑛𝑜.𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑠( ) (@JustaNormalDino) May 22, 2023 Our book, The… Read More Don’t read this thread on science if you don’t want to get depressed (but I think it’s a good thing)

Again: even slight traffic noise has a negative impact on work performance

Noise is an important enemy of concentration, both for learning and working. This new study shows the latter again. From the press release: Researchers at Chalmers’ Division of Applied Acoustics have conducted a laboratory study in which test subjects took concentration tests while being exposed to background traffic noise. The subjects were asked to look… Read More Again: even slight traffic noise has a negative impact on work performance

Depressing pre-print on “Academic freedom and innovation”

Found this study via this tweet: "Global academic freedom has declined over the past decade for the first time in the last century… the decline of academic freedom has resulted in a global loss quantifiable with at least 4% fewer patents filed and 5.9% fewer patent citations." https://t.co/JOda3RfyPt pic.twitter.com/2R04r0PKKS — Steve Stewart-Williams (@SteveStuWill) May 19,… Read More Depressing pre-print on “Academic freedom and innovation”