Jezebel: dubious studies

Skip The Shrink

Dodai — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:45:00 EDT

Were the "good old days" better for our brains? A new study out of Scotland says that just 20 minutes of housework boosts your mental health and eases stress and anxiety. In another study, researchers from Norway have found that farm animals are therapeutic for people with mental illness. Patients who worked with farm animals for 3 hours twice a week for 12 weeks showed positive effects on their quality of life and ability to cope. So basically we should all be housewives for Tibetan goatherds or something. Who's in? [UPI, EurekAlert]

The Look Of Love

Dodai — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:45:00 EDT

Can you look at someone's face and tell if he's looking for long-term love? Researchers at Durham University think so. In a study about attractiveness — and what men and women are attracted to, scientists created these digital images. One guy pictured wants a serious girlfriend; the other guy wants a quick shag. Think you can guess which is which? (Click the picture to see the answer.) [The Sun]

The digitally created gentleman on the right is looking for a good time; the gentleman on the left wants to fall in love and settle down with a nice girl. (According to researchers. Please remember neither dude is real.)

Hot Chicks Make Dudes Financially Irresponsible

Dodai — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT

As it turns out, all those babes in bikinis you see at auto shows actually have a scientific purpose for being there! Science Daily reports that Stanford researchers exposed (heh) heterosexual men to erotic photos and found that immediately afterward, the men were consistently more likely to take bigger financial risks than they would otherwise. (As reported earlier this year, women are inspired to spend after smelling food.)

The interesting part is that since the scientists were using gambling in their study, erotic photos (which have nothing to do with gambling) are considered "irrelevant stimuli." Brian Knutson, assistant professor of psychology and lead author of the Stanford study, explains, "If you go to the casinos, people are wearing skimpy costumes, they're giving you free alcohol, there are bells and lights and things like that, which don't necessarily seem related to the odds of the gambling. But these are cues that might activate brain regions that encourage risk-taking and therefore get people to gamble more." So let's get this straight: Men subconsciously crave half-nekkid women, and women subconsciously crave brownies?

Irrelevant Image Of Attractive Woman Can Make A Man More Willing To Take Big Financial Risks [Science Daily]
Earlier: Delicious Scents Make You Drop Cash

Some Women Will Do Anything To Justify A Shoe-Obsession

mcarpentier — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:30:00 EST

My name is Megan, and this is but a portion of my collection of high heels. I recognize that this might be a problem, but I'm 5'4", and I have short muscle fibers (i.e., stumpy legs) which kept me from being in the front row at ballet recitals and now prevent me from looking cute in flats. This, you see, is how I justify my purchase of stiletto-heeled shoes, despite the fact that they sometimes hurt my feet, back or hips. But now I have another excuse: Sex! According to reports today, Dr. Maria Cerruto, an Italian urologist who felt it necessary to medically justify her high heel obsession, has found that wearing heels can improve a woman's sex life.

Dr. Cerruto's research, which included posture studies and analysis of electrical activity in the bodies of 60 women under the age of 55, concluded that the women who wore 2-inch heels had similar posture to those who wore flats and that the be-heeled women had more electrical activity in their pelvic floor muscles. Those muscles — which can be strengthened by doing Kegel exercises — can assist in making sex better (they help keep the vaginal canal feeling tight) as well as help with conditions like incontinence and pelvic prolapse. Dr. Cerruto doesn't deny that there may be negative physiological consequences to wearing heels but, says, "I adore high-heeled shoes and I wanted to find something positive about them. In the end I achieved my goal." I'm pretty sure that serious scientists aren't supposed to conduct research in order to find some reason to justify an unhealthy behavior (like, say, "smoking keeps you from gaining weight!"), but, dammit, heels are cute!

High Heels 'May Improve Sex Life' [BBC News]
Why Wearing Stilettos Could Boost Your Sex Life [Daily Mail]

Men (Wrongly) Think They're Smarter Than They Are

dodai — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST

Newsweek has an interview with British researcher Adrian Furnham, who is a professor of psychology at University College London. While scientists know that men and women are fairly equal in terms of IQ, Furnham studies perceived smarts. He says he's found that "women, across the world, tend to underplay their intelligence, while men overstate it." Sigh. Continues Furnham: "Men are more confident about their IQ. These studies show that on average, women underestimate their IQ scores by about five points while men overestimate their own IQs. Since these studies were international in scope, the results were essentially the same whether women were from Argentina, America, Britain, Japan or Zimbabwe." Not only that, but Furnham says that both genders tend to believe that their fathers are smarter than their mothers and grandfathers are more intelligent than their grandmothers. And guess what? Parents tend to think their sons are brighter than their daughters. Where have we gone wrong?

Furnham doesn't think self-esteem training is the cure. He's more into positive feedback and whatnot. But, he warns, "Beliefs may be more important than actual ability in certain settings." Meaning that a dude who thinks he's a genius may get a job instead of a women who's supersmart but doesn't think she is. How did we get here? Why is this a global phenomenon? Each and every one of us probably has a story about our incredibly intelligent mother, grandmother or daughter... But how frightening is it that we're in the minority?

He's Not as Smart As He Thinks [Newsweek]

Thick Chicks

dodai — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:20:00 EST

Did your dad call you "hard-headed"? Mine did. All the time. "You're hard-headed and you don't listen." Anna says her dad said it to her, too, along with, "You ask a lot of questions." Well a new study has found that, surprise!, women have thicker skulls than men. They don't seem to know why, but we suspect it's to annoy parents. [UPI]

Measuring Up

dodai — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:40:00 EST

Hey, a new way to lose at the genetic lottery! A new study has found that short babies are twice as likey to have a suicide attempt as adults, even if their growth "catches up" in childhood. A separate study by the University of Poland has found that long legs are sexier: The researchers had volunteers rate the attractiveness of male and female images, altered so that thy were the same height but had leg lengths that varied. The viewers preferred legs that were 5% longer than average. Can't a short-legged girl get some love? [BBC News, New Scientist]

Researchers have "discovered" that children ...

Anna — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:45:00 EST

Researchers have "discovered" that children are afraid of clowns. And it's not just the wee ones: In a study reported in Nursing Standard, "found all the 250 patients aged between four and 16 they quizzed disliked the use of clowns, with even the older ones finding them scary." Says Penny Curtis, a senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield: "As adults we make assumptions about what works for children. Some found [clowns] quite frightening and unknowable." Next week, expect researchers to "discover" that kids are afraid of the dark. Monsters are on high alert. [Reuters]

Sympathy For The Modern Man? Uh, No.

dodai — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:20:00 EST

Stickers seen on the streets of New York and the ABC show Big Shots make the same assertion: Men are the new women. And a new survey says men sorta agree! According to Telegraph, "more than half of men believe the world is dominated by females and that they have lost their traditional role in society." This is not a joke! Two thousand men and women were polled by some random television entertainment channel, and 52% of the males said that men have to live by women's rules. More than half of the men polled said they think "society tries to feminize them" and only 33% feel that they can speak freely and say what they think — the rest find it "safer and easier" to keep their opinions to themselves.

Who are these poor, downtrodden dudes? Because as far as we know, most prime ministers and presidents of countries are men; women helm only 10 of the global Fortune 500 companies; women earn less money than men, starting right out of college (and then take longer to pay down their debt); and women are ten times more likely than men to be victimized by someone they know intimately. So here's a message for the guys who think the world is dominated by chicks: Maybe that's just the way it is in your house. In which case, you should buy your wife some flowers; being the boss is a tough job.
Survey Finds Men Have Lost Their Role In Society [Telegraph]

Women: Good Drivers One Year, Bad Ones The Next

dodai — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:00:00 EST

A new study says gay men and straight women share a poor sense of direction and straight men are better drivers. Psychologists at the University of London employed a virtual-reality scenario in which volunteers had to swim through an underwater maze to find a hidden platform or explore an environment and find "rewards." The gays and the women didn't do too well! ("The results back earlier studies supporting the stereotype that women are poor navigators. Although women are more successful in tests requiring them to remember the position of objects, men consistently do better in tasks requiring navigation and uncovering hidden objects.")

One could argue that maybe gay men and straight women have social lives and therefore don't spend loads of time playing video games, and so are not as quick to navigate virtual reality as straight dudes. But whatever! The fun thing is this: An article on the study, titled "Straight Men Better Drivers", was published in The Sun today; but in February 2003 the paper printed a story called "Women Are Safer Drivers"; in November 2005, it featured a piece titled "Women Are Tops At Wheel"; and in March 2006, a story called "Women Are Better Drivers" (written by someone named Emma Parker Bowles) was published. So! While Dr. Qazi Rahman may have conducted a study that has him stating, "Women are going to take a lot longer to reach their destination, making more errors, taking wrong turns etc." we're pretty sure we could find a way to commit a moving violation should he step in front of our vehicle. We'll get our gays to help!

Women And Gay Men Are 'Worst Drivers' [Telegraph]
Straight Men Better Drivers [The Sun]
Related: Women Are Safer Drivers, Women Are Tops At Wheel, Women Are Better Drivers [The Sun]

Earlier: Women Drivers Don't Know How To Shift Gears, Start Cars, Or, For That Matter, Dress Themselves
Riding In Cars With Girls