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Perspectives on Psychological Science :... Nov 2017Psychology has historically been concerned, first and foremost, with explaining the causal mechanisms that give rise to behavior. Randomized, tightly controlled... (Review)
Review
Psychology has historically been concerned, first and foremost, with explaining the causal mechanisms that give rise to behavior. Randomized, tightly controlled experiments are enshrined as the gold standard of psychological research, and there are endless investigations of the various mediating and moderating variables that govern various behaviors. We argue that psychology's near-total focus on explaining the causes of behavior has led much of the field to be populated by research programs that provide intricate theories of psychological mechanism but that have little (or unknown) ability to predict future behaviors with any appreciable accuracy. We propose that principles and techniques from the field of machine learning can help psychology become a more predictive science. We review some of the fundamental concepts and tools of machine learning and point out examples where these concepts have been used to conduct interesting and important psychological research that focuses on predictive research questions. We suggest that an increased focus on prediction, rather than explanation, can ultimately lead us to greater understanding of behavior.
Topics: Humans; Machine Learning; Psychology
PubMed: 28841086
DOI: 10.1177/1745691617693393 -
Pediatric Blood & Cancer Dec 2015Parents and caregivers of children with cancer are both resilient and deeply affected by the child's cancer. A systematic review of published research since 1995... (Review)
Review
Parents and caregivers of children with cancer are both resilient and deeply affected by the child's cancer. A systematic review of published research since 1995 identified 138 studies of moderate quality indicating that parent distress increases around diagnosis, then returns to normal levels. Post-traumatic symptoms are common. Distress may be impairing for vulnerable parents and may impact a child's coping and adjustment. Moderate quality evidence and expert consensus informed a strong recommendation for parents and caregivers to receive early and ongoing assessment of their mental health needs with access to appropriate interventions facilitated to optimize parent, child, and family well being.
Topics: Child; Humans; Neoplasms; Parents; Psychology; Standard of Care; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 26700921
DOI: 10.1002/pbc.25761 -
Palliative & Supportive Care Apr 2017
Topics: Alchemy; Humans; Psychology
PubMed: 28351444
DOI: 10.1017/S1478951517000189 -
Journal of Visualized Experiments : JoVE Dec 2008Although the mouse genome is now completely sequenced, the functions of most of the genes expressed in the brain are not known. The influence of a given gene on a...
Although the mouse genome is now completely sequenced, the functions of most of the genes expressed in the brain are not known. The influence of a given gene on a specific behavior can be determined by behavioral analysis of mutant mice. If a target gene is expressed in the brain, behavioral phenotype of the mutant mice could elucidate the genetic mechanism of normal behaviors. The elevated plus maze test is one of the most widely used tests for measuring anxiety-like behavior. The test is based on the natural aversion of mice for open and elevated areas, as well as on their natural spontaneous exploratory behavior in novel environments. The apparatus consists of open arms and closed arms, crossed in the middle perpendicularly to each other, and a center area. Mice are given access to all of the arms and are allowed to move freely between them. The number of entries into the open arms and the time spent in the open arms are used as indices of open space-induced anxiety in mice. Unfortunately, the procedural differences that exist between laboratories make it difficult to duplicate and compare results among laboratories. Here, we present a detailed movie demonstrating our protocol for the elevated plus maze test. In our laboratory, we have assessed more than 90 strains of mutant mice using the protocol shown in the movie. These data will be disclosed as a part of a public database that we are now constructing. Visualization of the protocol will promote better understanding of the details of the entire experimental procedure, allowing for standardization of the protocols used in different laboratories and comparisons of the behavioral phenotypes of various strains of mutant mice assessed using this test.
Topics: Animals; Anxiety; Exploratory Behavior; Maze Learning; Mice; Mice, Mutant Strains; Psychology, Experimental
PubMed: 19229173
DOI: 10.3791/1088 -
British Journal of Psychology (London,... Aug 2009It is regarded as best practice for psychologists to report effect size when disseminating quantitative research findings. Reporting of effect size in the psychological...
It is regarded as best practice for psychologists to report effect size when disseminating quantitative research findings. Reporting of effect size in the psychological literature is patchy - though this may be changing - and when reported it is far from clear that appropriate effect size statistics are employed. This paper considers the practice of reporting point estimates of standardized effect size and explores factors such as reliability, range restriction and differences in design that distort standardized effect size unless suitable corrections are employed. For most purposes simple (unstandardized) effect size is more robust and versatile than standardized effect size. Guidelines for deciding what effect size metric to use and how to report it are outlined. Foremost among these are: (i) a preference for simple effect size over standardized effect size, and (ii) the use of confidence intervals to indicate a plausible range of values the effect might take. Deciding on the appropriate effect size statistic to report always requires careful thought and should be influenced by the goals of the researcher, the context of the research and the potential needs of readers.
Topics: Confidence Intervals; Endpoint Determination; Guidelines as Topic; Humans; Models, Statistical; Psychology; Reference Standards; Reproducibility of Results; Research; Research Design; Statistics as Topic
PubMed: 19017432
DOI: 10.1348/000712608X377117 -
Personality and Social Psychology... Nov 2023Social psychology's disconnect from the vital and urgent questions of people's lived experiences reveals limitations in the current paradigm. We draw on a related...
ACADEMIC ABSTRACT
Social psychology's disconnect from the vital and urgent questions of people's lived experiences reveals limitations in the current paradigm. We draw on a related perspective in social psychology-the sociocultural approach-and argue how this perspective can be elaborated to consider not only social psychology as a historical science but also social psychology of and for world-making. This conceptualization can make sense of key theoretical and methodological challenges faced by contemporary social psychology. As such, we describe the ontology, epistemology, ethics, and methods of social psychology of and for world-making. We illustrate our framework with concrete examples from social psychology. We argue that reconceptualizing social psychology in terms of world-making can make it more humble yet also more relevant, reconnecting it with the pressing issues of our time.
PUBLIC ABSTRACT
We propose that social psychology should focus on "world-making" in two senses. First, people are future-oriented and often are guided more by what could be than what is. Second, social psychology can contribute to this future orientation by supporting people's world-making and also critically reflecting on the role of social psychological research in world-making. We unpack the philosophical assumptions, methodological procedures, and ethical considerations that underpin a social psychology of and for world-making. Social psychological research, whether it is intended or not, contributes to the societies and cultures in which we live, and thus it cannot be a passive bystander of world-making. By embracing social psychology of and for world-making and facing up to the contemporary societal challenges upon which our collective future depends will make social psychology more humble but also more relevant.
Topics: Humans; Psychology, Social; Psychology
PubMed: 36628932
DOI: 10.1177/10888683221145756 -
La Medicina Del Lavoro Feb 2019.
UNLABELLED
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BACKGROUND:
In the 1950s, occupational medicine and occupational psychology found a common field of action in the Clinica del Lavoro in Milan. OBJECTIVES This study aims to analyze and document how this encounter took place and, in particular, the contribution of the Clinica del Lavoro to the development of occupational psychology in Italy.
METHODS:
Historical sources of that period were investigated.
RESULTS:
Before the 1950s, experimental psychology was only taught at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. The first professor of clinical psychology in the School of Medicine at the State University of Milan, was Marcello Cesa-Bianchi (1926-2018). He collaborated with the graphic, textile and pharmaceutical industries for the personnel training and management, and carried out important research in occupational psychology on behalf of the European Coal and Steel Community. The Chair of Clinical Psychology was initially located in the Clinica del Lavoro and the activity of the team of Cesa-Bianchi was oriented towards the elaboration of professional profiles and job analysis. In those years Cesa-Bianchi also conducted pioneering research in the field of psycho-gerontology.
CONCLUSIONS:
The historical experience that integrated psychology and occupational medicine in the scientific context of Milan contains a series of values, useful to today’s reflection and practice. Our work also undelines the importance of preserving historical documents: only a better knowledge of history can guarantee a better destiny.
Topics: History, 20th Century; Humans; Italy; Male; Occupational Medicine; Psychology; World War II
PubMed: 30794250
DOI: 10.23749/mdl.v110i1.7799 -
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Dec 2020Most theories and hypotheses in psychology are verbal in nature, yet their evaluation overwhelmingly relies on inferential statistical procedures. The validity of the...
Most theories and hypotheses in psychology are verbal in nature, yet their evaluation overwhelmingly relies on inferential statistical procedures. The validity of the move from qualitative to quantitative analysis depends on the verbal and statistical expressions of a hypothesis being closely aligned - that is, that the two must refer to roughly the same set of hypothetical observations. Here, I argue that many applications of statistical inference in psychology fail to meet this basic condition. Focusing on the most widely used class of model in psychology - the linear mixed model - I explore the consequences of failing to statistically operationalize verbal hypotheses in a way that respects researchers' actual generalization intentions. I demonstrate that although the "random effect" formalism is used pervasively in psychology to model intersubject variability, few researchers accord the same treatment to other variables they clearly intend to generalize over (e.g., stimuli, tasks, or research sites). The under-specification of random effects imposes far stronger constraints on the generalizability of results than most researchers appreciate. Ignoring these constraints can dramatically inflate false-positive rates, and often leads researchers to draw sweeping verbal generalizations that lack a meaningful connection to the statistical quantities they are putatively based on. I argue that failure to take the alignment between verbal and statistical expressions seriously lies at the heart of many of psychology's ongoing problems (e.g., the replication crisis), and conclude with a discussion of several potential avenues for improvement.
Topics: Humans; Intention; Psychology
PubMed: 33342451
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X20001685 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Sep 2004Psychology since World War II has been largely devoted to repairing weakness and understanding suffering. Towards that end, we have made considerable gains. We have a... (Review)
Review
Psychology since World War II has been largely devoted to repairing weakness and understanding suffering. Towards that end, we have made considerable gains. We have a classification of mental illness that allows international collaboration, and through this collaboration we have developed effective psychotherapeutic or pharmacological treatments for 14 major mental disorders. However, while building a strong science and practice of treating mental illness, we largely forgot about everyday well-being. Is the absence of mental illness and suffering sufficient to let individuals and communities flourish? Were all disabling conditions to disappear, what would make life worth living? Those committed to a science of positive psychology can draw on the effective research methods developed to understand and treat mental illness. Results from a new randomized, placebo-controlled study demonstrate that people are happier and less depressed three months after completing exercises targeting positive emotion. The ultimate goal of positive psychology is to make people happier by understanding and building positive emotion, gratification and meaning. Towards this end, we must supplement what we know about treating illness and repairing damage with knowledge about nurturing well-being in individuals and communities.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Happiness; Humans; Personal Satisfaction; Psychology; Quality of Life
PubMed: 15347529
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2004.1513 -
Current Biology : CB Dec 2020Interview with Aniruddh Patel, who studies the cognitive, neural, and evolutionary foundations of music at Tufts University.
Interview with Aniruddh Patel, who studies the cognitive, neural, and evolutionary foundations of music at Tufts University.
Topics: Faculty; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Male; Music; Psychology; Universities
PubMed: 33290698
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.09.065