23 posts · 10,007 views
Science and skepticism for the masses.
Darcy Cowan
23 posts
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- June 14, 2011
- 04:30 PM
- 276 views
A Better World Through Video Games
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Over the last few years evidence has been mounting that violence in the media and especially interactive media such as video games contributes to aggression displayed by individuals.[1] This ability to influence our behaviour in such a way is concerning and may undermine attempts to build a peaceful society that nevertheless respects a person’s right [...]... Read more »
Whitaker, J., & Bushman, B. (2011) "Remain Calm. Be Kind." Effects of Relaxing Video Games on Aggressive and Prosocial Behavior. Social Psychological and Personality Science. DOI: 10.1177/1948550611409760
Bushman, B., & Gibson, B. (2010) Violent Video Games Cause an Increase in Aggression Long After the Game Has Been Turned Off. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(1), 29-32. DOI: 10.1177/1948550610379506
Gentile, D., Lynch, P., Linder, J., & Walsh, D. (2004) The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance. Journal of Adolescence, 27(1), 5-22. DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.10.002
Silvern, S. (1987) The effects of video game play on young children's aggression, fantasy, and prosocial behavior. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 8(4), 453-462. DOI: 10.1016/0193-3973(87)90033-5
Anderson, C., Shibuya, A., Ihori, N., Swing, E., Bushman, B., Sakamoto, A., Rothstein, H., & Saleem, M. (2010) Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern and Western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 151-173. DOI: 10.1037/a0018251
- November 2, 2010
- 04:10 PM
- 425 views
A Side Benefit of the ‘Flu Vaccine – Reduction in Heart Attacks
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
It’s a bold claim, that being vaccinated for Influenza will protect you against having a heart attack or Myocardial Infarction (MI). Well according to a study published last month in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that could well be the case. The study, “Influenza vaccination, pneumococcal vaccination and risk of acute myocardial infarction: matched case–control [...]... Read more »
Siriwardena AN, Gwini SM, & Coupland CA. (2010) Influenza vaccination, pneumococcal vaccination and risk of acute myocardial infarction: matched case-control study. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal , 182(15), 1617-23. PMID: 20855479
- October 21, 2010
- 04:49 PM
- 343 views
Gamblers Rewarded by Near Misses
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Earlier this year a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience looked at the brains of compulsive gamblers and concluded that when the the gamblers suffered “near-miss” losses their brains reacted as if they had won. Another study published slightly later in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour also looked at the brains [...]... Read more »
Chase, H., & Clark, L. (2010) Gambling Severity Predicts Midbrain Response to Near-Miss Outcomes. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(18), 6180-6187. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5758-09.2010
Habib, R. . (2010) Neurobehavioral evidence for the “near-miss” effect in pathological gamblers. JOURNAL OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR, 93(3), 313-328. info:/10.1901/jeab.2010.93-313
- August 9, 2010
- 04:05 PM
- 494 views
Delayed Gratification = Success?
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Today we are going to step into the time machine and go back 21 years to 1989. It was in this year that the study to become known as the “Marshmallow experiment” was published. Performed by Walter Mischel at Stanford University this experiment showed an amazing thing, that testing a child’s self-control at 4yrs could [...]... Read more »
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. (1989) Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244(4907), 933-938. DOI: 10.1126/science.2658056
- August 4, 2010
- 09:51 PM
- 415 views
Pharmacy Customers Perception of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Pharmacies
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Going through the papers cluttering my inbox I found this survey of Australian pharmacy customers relating to their use of CAM and their impressions of how pharmacists should approach the subject. Regular readers of Sciblogs may remember a kerfuffle earlier in the year regarding the sale of homeopathic remedies in pharmacies, I and others were [...]... Read more »
Braun, L., Tiralongo, E., Wilkinson, J., Spitzer, O., Bailey, M., Poole, S., & Dooley, M. (2010) Perceptions, use and attitudes of pharmacy customers on complementary medicines and pharmacy practice. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 10(1), 38. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-10-38
- July 25, 2010
- 07:16 PM
- 467 views
Is there a Biochemical Marker for Suicide?
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Suicide is a sensitive subject, by it’s very nature it seems we are obliged to treat it with kid gloves. In public it is virtually taboo to even mention suicide, in news media euphemisms are employed in order to avoid explicit use of the “S” word. Attitudes are beginning to change, with more vocal discussion [...]... Read more »
Falcone T, Fazio V, Lee C, Simon B, Franco K, Marchi N, & Janigro D. (2010) Serum S100B: a potential biomarker for suicidality in adolescents?. PloS one, 5(6). PMID: 20559426
- July 15, 2010
- 06:50 PM
- 409 views
The Risky Business of Hunger
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
We like to think of ourselves as rational actors when it comes to making decisions, we take in information, process it and choose the path that we think will lead to a desirable outcome (if we aren’t deep-seated masochists I suppose). Regular readers of this blog and others that espouse a sceptical viewpoint will know [...]... Read more »
Symmonds M, Emmanuel JJ, Drew ME, Batterham RL, & Dolan RJ. (2010) Metabolic state alters economic decision making under risk in humans. PloS one, 5(6). PMID: 20585383
- July 1, 2010
- 07:10 PM
- 437 views
Is there Something Fishy about Psychosis?
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Psychosis is a scary word, conjuring images of people who have so lost touch with reality that they are unable to integrate with society. As with most everything else this condition exists on a continuum, mild symptoms may pose no problem for the sufferer1 nor be outwardly visible. Previous studies have seen correlations between the [...]... Read more »
Hedelin M, Lof M, Olsson M, Lewander T, Nilsson B, Hultman CM, & Weiderpass E. (2010) Dietary intake of fish, omega-3, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin D and the prevalence of psychotic-like symptoms in a cohort of 33 000 women from the general population. BMC psychiatry, 10(1), 38. PMID: 20504323
- June 23, 2010
- 12:27 AM
- 359 views
Ravens and Empathy: The Role of Bystanders After Conflict
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
At the same time as we were learning that Vegetarians and Vegans might be more empathic than Omnivores we were also discovering the nature of empathy in Ravens. Published in PLoS One recently was a paper called “Do Ravens Show Consolation? Responses to Distressed Others” looking at the behaviour of Ravens and the implications for [...]... Read more »
Fraser, O., & Bugnyar, T. (2010) Do Ravens Show Consolation? Responses to Distressed Others. PLoS ONE, 5(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010605
- June 17, 2010
- 04:25 PM
- 477 views
Are Vegans and Vegetarians More Empathic Than Omnivores?
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Humans are naturally omnivorous, our digestive system is adapted to cope with both animal and vegetable matter. Obviously we can’t eat everything, we wouldn’t get as much sustenance out of a mouthful of grass as a cow does. Termites can deal with the high cellulose content of wood and derive energy from that source while [...]... Read more »
Filippi, M., Riccitelli, G., Falini, A., Di Salle, F., Vuilleumier, P., Comi, G., & Rocca, M. (2010) The Brain Functional Networks Associated to Human and Animal Suffering Differ among Omnivores, Vegetarians and Vegans. PLoS ONE, 5(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010847
- June 10, 2010
- 06:58 PM
- 439 views
Does Your Environment Determine Your Behaviour?
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Last week I posted about the effects of alcohol availability on the amount of violence in an area and mentioned that disorder in the area might also contribute to this. I thought this needed expanding upon, are we really so shallow as a species that we allow the environment that we may be in only [...]... Read more »
Keizer, K., Lindenberg, S., & Steg, L. (2008) The Spreading of Disorder. Science, 322(5908), 1681-1685. DOI: 10.1126/science.1161405
- June 3, 2010
- 05:00 PM
- 430 views
Alcohol: Effects on Teenage Brains and Correlations Between Availability and Violence
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
I’ve written previously about the effects of alcohol on decision making. Today I’ll be looking at two further aspects of alcohol consumption and how it affects society. First up is a study that examines the cognitive effects of moderate to heavy drinking during adolescence, with different effects on males versus females. Secondly I’d like to [...]... Read more »
Squeglia, L., Spadoni, A., Infante, M., Myers, M., & Tapert, S. (2009) Initiating moderate to heavy alcohol use predicts changes in neuropsychological functioning for adolescent girls and boys. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(4), 715-722. DOI: 10.1037/a0016516
- May 27, 2010
- 04:41 AM
- 381 views
BioFuel Cell Batteries May Power Future Implanted Devices
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
When I think about the future I sometimes indulge in fantasies that include “bionic” type implants. Not so much artificial muscles that will enhance strength (check this out) but devices that will expand our mental capabilities. Implants that give us greater memory, faster thought processes, the ability to download skills and knowledge directly into our [...]... Read more »
Cinquin P, Gondran C, Giroud F, Mazabrard S, Pellissier A, Boucher F, Alcaraz JP, Gorgy K, Lenouvel F, Mathé S.... (2010) A glucose biofuel cell implanted in rats. PloS one, 5(5). PMID: 20454563
- May 17, 2010
- 05:22 AM
- 448 views
Intelligent Design Flaws: The Evidence for Natural Selection in Our DNA
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Here in New Zealand the debate between religion and evolution is a muted affair, while news on the topic regularly makes headlines in the US, here it goes almost beneath notice. That is not to say the clash does not exist here, merely that it tends not to intrude into the public sphere. Over time [...]... Read more »
Avise, J. (2010) Colloquium Paper: Footprints of nonsentient design inside the human genome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(Supplement_2), 8969-8976. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0914609107
- May 17, 2010
- 05:22 AM
- 426 views
Intelligent Design Flaws: The Evidence for Natural Selection in Our DNA
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Here in New Zealand the debate between religion and evolution is a muted affair, while news on the topic regularly makes headlines in the US, here it goes almost beneath notice. That is not to say the clash does not exist here, merely that it tends not to intrude into the public sphere. Over time [...]... Read more »
Avise, J. (2010) Colloquium Paper: Footprints of nonsentient design inside the human genome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(Supplement_2), 8969-8976. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0914609107
- May 6, 2010
- 07:50 PM
- 377 views
Dig-in Or Adapt: The Effect of Political Views on Changing One’s Mind
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Are you the sort of person who will change their position on a subject conditional on further information gained? I personally think this is the behaviour we should all be striving for. If we do not we end up withdrawing further and further from reality, insulating ourselves from rational argument and retreating into our own [...]... Read more »
Nyhan, B., & Reifler, J. (2010) When Corrections Fail: The Persistence of Political Misperceptions. Political Behavior, 32(2), 303-330. DOI: 10.1007/s11109-010-9112-2
- April 29, 2010
- 06:09 PM
- 567 views
I Know What I Mean but Only See How You Act
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
When I’m writing one of these posts it is difficult to edit them in such a way as to convey my meaning clearly to those without the background I share. I’m not talking about scientific or technical background though, I mean the background that allows me access to my own thoughts. When I re-read my [...]... Read more »
Pronin E. (2008) How we see ourselves and how we see others. Science (New York, N.Y.), 320(5880), 1177-80. PMID: 18511681
- April 15, 2010
- 06:04 PM
- 469 views
Can Our Fantasy Life Affect Our Perceptions of Real Life?
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Recently there’s been a television promotional advertisement that really bugs me. It shows a man watching events appearing before his eyes and has a voice-over that says something to the effect of “When you look back on your life are you going to see a life filled with interesting people and excitement?” and when is [...]... Read more »
Kanazawa, S. (2002) Bowling with our imaginary friends. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23(3), 167-171. DOI: 10.1016/S1090-5138(01)00098-8
Jeremy Freese. (2003) Imaginary imaginary friends? Television viewing and satisfaction with friends. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24(1), 65-69. DOI: 10.1016/S1090-5138(02)00109-5
Kanazawa, S. (2003) The relativity of relative satisfaction. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24(1), 71-73. DOI: 10.1016/S1090-5138(02)00108-3
- March 31, 2010
- 04:49 PM
- 470 views
Like I Needed Another Reason To Lose Weight
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Now it turns out that in addition to all of the other health risks of being overweight we have to worry about, we are also in greater danger in car crashes. At least for us men.
Men tend to carry a larger proportion of their mass in the upper body than do women. The purpose [...]... Read more »
Zhu, S., Kim, J., Ma, X., Shih, A., Laud, P., Pintar, F., Shen, W., Heymsfield, S., & Allison, D. (2010) BMI and Risk of Serious Upper Body Injury Following Motor Vehicle Crashes: Concordance of Real-World and Computer-Simulated Observations. PLoS Medicine, 7(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000250
- March 24, 2010
- 06:29 PM
- 386 views
Seducing Scientists into Science Communication
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
When it comes to science communication I (and I assume many of the bloggers I am aware of though I’d rather not put words in their mouths) do so because of a perceived lack in the mainstream media (MSM). Along with this is a frustration with the amount of unscientific thinking among the general public, [...]... Read more »
Van Eperen, L., Marincola, F., & Strohm, J. (2010) Bridging the divide between science and journalism. Journal of Translational Medicine, 8(1), 25. DOI: 10.1186/1479-5876-8-25
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