Reminder that studies may not be measuring what we think: Research merely provides clues

Do the expectations of researchers have an effect on the outcome of their studies? Sometimes, yes. That's the topic of a new post in one of Discover Magazine's blogs. From "Primed by expectations: why a classic psychology experiment isn't what is seemed":

We’ve known for over a century that scientists can very easily bias their own experiments, even in the most carefully controlled cases. “It’s a neat paper ["Behavioral Priming: It's All in the Mind, but Whose Mind?"] that re-emphasises some highly important and widely relevant warnings for everyone who might want to conduct experiments with people,” says Stafford. “Expectations – participants’ and experimenters’ – and inaccurate measurement can combine to give you biased results.” Ackerman adds, “It’s a lesson that behavioural researchers are all trained in, but one that bears repeating from time to time.”

“Our results don’t completely rule out the possibility of unconscious priming,” says Doyen, “but they point to the fact that the (generally weak) effects may also be influenced by many other factors that are almost never controlled in such studies.”

The study also serves as a good reminder about how important it is for scientists to try and repeat each others’ results. ...

Bottom line: Although I am probably sounding like a broken record, proceed with caution and skepticism when learning about research results. Find out if the research has been replicated. Read the original study yourself; you will often find a mismatch between what you are reading and what the media have reported. When you read the study, do so with a critical eye to all factors, including the procedures, the groups and numbers used as subjects and controls, the conclusions drawn. Consider yourself a detective in sleuthing out all the possible problems with any research you read.

The post is also a good reminder that objectivity is difficult. How often do you think mediations are subtly (or not so subtly) influenced by the unconscious biases of the mediator? Probably often, especially when the parties are not in the same room. This is one reason why I think mediators have a professional obligation to engage in some kind of practice that keeps their metacognition, their self-awareness, in fine, sharp condition.

Past posts on priming:

• Scent of fairness in the air? Mediation running hot or cold? The importance of subtle environmental cues
• Can forming implemention intentions counteract priming on your road towards goals?
• Music may cause an attitude: A clue about conflict resolution?
• At the mercy of our brains? An antidote to priming is metacognition

Comments

[Jim Purdy]

There is far too much research published these days, but there is far too little good research published. Sometimes it seems like the authors of published articles are overly eager to get published, even when their conclusions make no sense.