The Psychologist: "Does psychology face an exaggeration crisis?", article by Brian Hughes

[dave30th]

I think @dave30th referred to this as a "circle jerk".

I did use that term, although I think I was referring specifically to the constant peer-reviewing of each other. but it certainly applies in the larger context of the way things are structured to constantly reinforce, in their collective understanding, how great this research is.

 

[Sean]

And yet penetratingly blunt.

We get the point.

 

[shak8]

Kaiser Permanente says those practicing gratitude have better immune systems. I wish I were joking.

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My feeling about Kaiser Permanente (from being an RN and a later a member of Kaiser) is that they will espouse anything that saves them money and puts the burden of getting better onto the patient.

 

[DokaGirl]

Marketing and Money. Seems that's what a lot of hype comes down to.

Perhaps the amount of hype in psych could be measured and compared to other fields.

Every time a press release announces a new drug, or other treatment, there seems to be a certain amount of hype, including when this treatment will be available. Ask your doctor for it. They will tell you this new wonder drug will not be available for years.

Maybe psychology has more hype than other fields. I don't know. It's not a hard science. Could exaggeration be psychologists overcompensating?

Unfortunately, we accept a lot of poor
science in other studies. After the horrendous earthquake and tsunami in Japan a few years ago, it came out that earthquake scientists were basing their current study on a faulty, 40 year old study. Maybe a replication crisis in that field of study too?

So, after reading much about the harm, hype and horrendous treatment of pwME from the helping profession, what to do with those vintage psych textbooks?

I find they come in handy to rip up for mixed media art collages.

 

[Mij]

Kaiser Permanente says those practicing gratitude have better immune systems. I wish I were joking.

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We should eliminate vaccines in this case.

 

[DokaGirl]

Re the Kaiser chart -they think we're stupid.

 

[Webdog]

We hear from NPR this morning that gratitude is "one of the practices that really wins out from the field of positive psychology".

NPR Morning Edition: "If You Feel Thankful, Write It Down. It's Good For Your Health"
https://www.npr.org/sections/health...ankful-write-it-down-its-good-for-your-health

And noting your gratitude seems to pay off: There's a growing body of research on the benefits of gratitude. Studies have found that giving thanks and counting blessings can help people sleep better, lower stress and improve interpersonal relationships. Earlier this year, a study found that keeping a gratitude journal decreased materialism and bolstered generosity among adolescents.

In another study from August, high school students who were asked to keep gratitude journals also reported healthier eating. There's also some evidence it could lower your risk of heart disease and lower symptoms of depression for some people.

That's why gratitude features heavily in Santos' happiness class. "It's one of the practices that really wins out from the field of positive psychology," she says, because it takes very little time, and "the benefits are so powerful."

Be happy, but don't practice too much gratitude because that's a bad thing.

In one study Lyubomirsky and her colleagues found that counting blessings once a week boosted happiness, but doing so three times a week didn't. "That suggests that for most people, at least on average, three times a week was too much," she says. "And too much gratitude can sort of backfire."

 

[chrisb]

Is that gratitude for the bread and circuses? If we're lucky, that is.

 

[Barry]

An interesting cautionary perspective here ...

5 "Don'ts" of Practicing Gratitude

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/...-donts-practicing-gratitude?collection=152996

 

[TiredSam]

That's why gratitude features heavily in Santos' happiness class.

I mis-read that as

That's why gratitude features heavily in Santa's happiness class

An interesting cautionary perspective here ...

5 "Don'ts" of Practicing Gratitude

Of course that had to come - practising gratitude is good for you, and if it isn't, you're doing it wrong, ie too much, or too little, or in the wrong circumstances. What we need are trained therapists who can show us how to do it properly, armed with a leaflet about Getset Julie's cousin, Gratitude Gladys.

 

[Hutan]

Kaiser Permanente says those practicing gratitude have better immune systems. I wish I were joking.

2017 Outbreak of Salmonella at a Toyo Tire Thanksgiving Dinner, Georgia
State and local public health staff investigated an outbreak of Salmonella occurring among persons who ate at a Thanksgiving dinner at Toyo Tire's plant in White, Georgia. The dinner, held on November 15,was catered by Angelo's New York Style Pizza and Bistro. As many as 70 persons were reporting illness although the number was expected to rise. Five people were hospitalized. Preliminary laboratory findings released by the Georgia Department of Public Health identified turkey as the contaminated food source responsible for the outbreak.

(Although perhaps things would have been worse if all those people weren't being grateful for the turkey.)

 

[shak8]

Finding some cute little things to be grateful for, sure. Takes about a minute out of your day. How on earth does that spillover, have an effect on pain and fatigue. Common sense, people! Might as well say: don't stub your toe if you help it or bang your elbow. I'll shut it up now...

I hate Kaiser's petit petit bourgeois idiotic so-called health practices. Talking to one of their docs is like talking to a tire. Or tyre.