MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'causal'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:54:38 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050720&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F18%2Fthe-importance-of-correlational-studies%2F Correlation does not necessarily imply causation, as you know if you read scientific research.  Two variables may be associated without having a causal relationship. However, just because a correlation has limited value as a causative inference doesn’t mean that correlation studies are not important to science.  The idea that correlation does not necessarily imply causation has led many to de-value correlation studies.  However, used appropriately, correlation studies are important to science. Why are correlation studies important? Stanovich (2007) points out the following: “First, many scientific hypotheses are stated in terms of correlation or lack of correlation, so that such studies are directly relevant to these hypotheses…” “Second, although correlation ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050720 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:48:15 +0100 5050720 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872165&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F26%2Fwhen-mental-illness-stigma-turns-inward%2F This study shows in some cases, it might even be increasing.) We see stigma everywhere. Every time violence is automatically connected to mental illness in an article or news report, we see it.* We see it in movies and other forms of media. We see it at work where stereotypes might be perpetuated, where employees are afraid to “come out” with their diagnosis. We see it with our families or friends, who might say versions of “just snap out of it” or “get over it already” or offer “advice” like sleep more, eat less, look on the bright side and try harder. There’s also just pure ignorance, especially when it comes to serious mental illness such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. As E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., wrote in Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872165 Thu, 26 May 2011 12:00:16 +0100 4872165 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676871&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F04%2Funderstanding-research-methodology-2-systematic-empiricism%2F Scientific research relies on the use of empirical data for acquiring knowledge.  Empiricism means making use of observation and experience.  Science goes beyond the use of the empiricism normally used in everyday life, however.  Scientific research employs systematic empiricism. Observation itself is necessary in acquiring scientific knowledge, but unstructured observation of the natural world will not lead to an increased understanding of the world. “Write down every observation you make from the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to bed on a given day. When you finish, you will have a great number of facts, but you will not have a greater understanding of the world.” (Stanovich & Stanovich, 2003, p. 12) Empiricism becomes systematic empiricism when it is stru... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676871 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:54:10 +0100 4676871 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4525054&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F02%2F26%2F3-top-sources-of-psychology-myths%2F In a recent interview I asked Scott Lilienfeld, the author of 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology, about the sources of psychology myths.  Here’s what he has to say about where psychology myths come from: The primary source is the huge, burgeoning pop psychology industry: self-help books, the internet, films, TV shows, magazines, and the like. But many of these myths also spring from the allure of our everyday experience; many of these myths seem persuasive because they accord with our common sense intuitions. But these intuitions are often erroneous. The public can defend themselves against shams by becoming armed with accurate knowledge. Many other fields — not just psychology — are subject to myths disseminated by the media. So what are some of the top sources of psy... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4525054 Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:19:26 +0100 4525054 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3822963&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F08%2F04%2Finternet-addiction-depression-and-chinese-teens%2F An interesting new study was published earlier this week about “Internet addiction.” Unlike many previous studies on this hypothesized disorder, this one actually took measurements at two different points in time to try and tease out the possibility that “Internet addiction” can cause mental health problems, like depression or anxiety. Can we show that simply using the Internet causes depression? Researchers set to find out on Chinese teens. Psychologist Lawrence Lam and his colleague studied 1,041 Chinese teens, mostly ages 13 to 16, who had no signs of depression at the onset of the study. Some of the group, however, had moderate to severe pathological use of the Internet (64 of the subjects). The researchers then assessed all 1,041 teens for depression, anxiety ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3822963 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:32:42 +0100 3822963 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556157&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F05%2F11%2Fpower-increases-hypocrisy%2F We’ve all heard the expression, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The common wisdom is that the more power a person accumulates, the more they feel justified in their actions and motivations. “I can do what I want, because after all, why else would I have this kind of power?” But can research show a cause-and-effect relationship? Can an experiment demonstrate the slippery moral slope that people with power have also increases their moral hypocrisy (e.g., a failure to follow one’s own expressed moral rules and principles)? Psychology to the rescue! Indeed it can. In a series of five experiments by Lammers et al. (2010), Dutch researchers tested the following hypothesis on college students… We propose that power increases hypocri... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556157 Tue, 11 May 2010 16:15:04 +0100 3556157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2881206&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F10%2F11%2Fa-loved-ones-photo-helps-reduce-your-pain%2F Previous psychological research has demonstrated that the mere presence of a loved one — a partner, family member or friend — can help reduce one’s subjective experience of physical pain (for instance, during a medical procedure), versus experiencing similar pain while alone. This research has been replicated over the years in various settings and in such a way as to suggest that this indeed might be a causal relationship. That is, the presence of a loved one actually helps reduce our feelings of pain. What is this same phenomenon could occur without a loved one being present? Would a photo suffice to also help reduce pain? Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (Master et al., 2009) designed an elegantly simple laboratory experiment to find out. They ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2881206 Sun, 11 Oct 2009 10:09:34 +0100 2881206 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2380883&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F04%2F30%2Fsilencing-groupthink-in-your-organization%2F Groupthink is a term describing the idea that people in a group or meeting will stay quiet out of fear of the disagreement of others. It’s easier to remain quiet and have the meeting end or have the group move on than to spend another hour in disagreement or having to defend one’s beliefs or opinions: Collective decision-making failures are often attributed to group members’ unwillingness to express unpopular opinions, and incident investigations frequently name lack of dissent as a causal factor (Sunstein, 2006). The investigation following the Columbia space-shuttle explosion, for instance, cited a culture at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in which “it is difficult for minority and dissenting opinions to percolate up through the agency’s ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2380883 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:00:00 +0100 2380883 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033100&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F12%2F11%2Fwhy-internet-addiction-still-doesnt-exist%2F Doctors have no problem treating disorders that don’t officially exist, including Internet addiction, one of those non-existent disorders that nonetheless actually has clinics devoted to its “treatment.” “But Dr. Grohol,” you might protest, “How can you say that? There’s been years worth of research showing Internet disorder does exist!” And usually, I’d be on-board with you if that research actually was good research — well-designed, without circular-logic reasoning and sampling issues. But Internet addiction is a perfect example of a fad disorder brought about by its connection to the world’s most popular communications and social network, the Internet. And by an inherent misunderstanding of its use by adults (but not by... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033100 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:50:12 +0100 2033100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1975947&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F11%2F21%2Fsituationism-in-the-blogosphere-october-part-ii%2F Below, we’ve posted titles and a brief quotation from some of our favorite non-Situationist situationist blogging during October 2008. (They are listed in alphabetical order by source.) * * * From Experimental Philosophy: “Causal Judgment and Moral Judgment“ “It is now widely believed that people’s moral judgments can affect their causal judgments, but a great deal of confusion remains about precisely why this effect arises. . . . Our hypothesis draws on the idea that people’s causal judgments are based on counterfactual reasoning.” Read more . . . From The Frontal Cortex: “Anchoring and Credit Cards“ “New research by the University of Warwick reveals that many credit card customers become fixated on the level of minimum payments given on credit... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1975947 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:18:03 +0100 1975947 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1419169&cid=t_217161_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F04%2Fthe-situationism-of-the-late-charles-tilly%2F Wikipedia on Charles Tilly: Examining political, social, and technological change in Europe from the Middle Ages to the present, Tilly attempted to explain the the unprecedented success of the nation-state as the dominant polity on Earth. According to his theory, military innovation in pre-modern Europe (especially gunpowder and mass armies) made war extremely expensive. As a result, only states with a sufficient amount of capital and a large population could afford paying for their security and ultimately survive in the hostile environment. Institutions of the modern state (such as taxes) were created to allow war-making. Another focus of Tilly’s work is the area of contentious politics. In opposition to individualistic, dispositional analyses of contentious politics, his work empha... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1419169 Sun, 04 May 2008 04:01:06 +0100 1419169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1090590&cid=t_217161_134_f&fid=36049&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FDiabetesNotes%2F%7E3%2F199481945%2F Ok, so I have to admit that when I first started reading about this little tidbit of research I repeated aloud over and over and over again, “are you kidding?” My husband actually asked me “how many times are you going to say that?” My response… “seriously, are they kidding on this one?” Smoking is now being linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. It was a no brainer for me when I started to think it out. Smoking equals increased heart disease equals increased risk for diabetes. But was I right on? “Conversely, there are also possible non-causal explanations for this association. Smoking is often associated with other unhealthy behaviors that favor weight gain and/or diabetes, such as lack of physical activity, poor fruit and vegetabl... Diabetes Notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1090590 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:55:39 +0100 1090590