I enjoy the fact that my daughters and I (plus a few “adoptees”) have a little research group to explore the diverse interests of our members. No one of us has to be an expert on everything, but each of us is an expert on something. We are a trans-disciplinary group.
My textbooks do very well here and in Europe so we took time to make a few calls.
Here’s what our presentation was about:
Research is fun! Join us!
All of the students experienced a strong sensation of sweetness while sucking on lemons, and many asked for a second piece! Then the party became even more interesting when a couple of students decided to see how their Oreos would taste.
My friends in the Facebook group “Teaching Resources for Biological Psychology and Neuroscience” have shared so many exciting resources, but my favorite was the Play-Doh neuron project. Because I’ve been teaching remotely for three (!!!) Read more…
When Karla was little, I found that I had to educate my pediatricians about autism. They said they’d read about it in medical school, but it was so rare that they never expected to see Read more…
7 Comments
sarahdemarois · October 21, 2015 at 2:38 pm
Now that I know more about what you were doing while away at your conference, I feel guilty for getting to sleep in during our regular class time! I looked up your article and read the abstract and am fascinated by this research that you and your colleagues conducted. It is so incredible to see the interrelatedness of biology and psychology that we have been studying actually be exhibited in this study–in quantitative measures even! It is also so cool to see how your field of study can be incorporated with your daughters (communications, I’m assuming).
Laura Freberg · October 24, 2015 at 1:50 pm
Hi, Sarah.
Oh don’t feel guilty! Sleep is important (see Chapter 11)….It’s been great fun to collaborate with my daughters, and it has stretched my thinking about human behavior. You’re right–Karen is in Strategic Communications, and crisis communications is one of her key areas of interest. I’ve really enjoyed working with q-sorting–it’s not used very much in psychology, but I think it’s very powerful. If you’d like to hear more, please let me know!
kathryngreenup · October 28, 2015 at 10:16 pm
I looked up some of Claeys’ and Cauberghe’s articles on voice pitch and was very interested with their results. I thought it was most interesting that a lowered voice was thought to be more competent compared to a higher voice during a crisis. I wonder if this finding can be generalized to other domains and contributes to sexism in the workforce. Sure seems likely.
Laura Freberg · October 29, 2015 at 1:10 pm
Hi, Kathryn.
Yes, I went to this session and found it very interesting! The vocal apparatus has receptors for sex hormones, and there is some controversial evidence that women’s voices change as a function of their menstrual cycles. Women on oral contraceptives have more stable voices, apparently. Men typically show a preference for higher pitched women’s voices, so perhaps the “attractiveness” competes with “competency.” We need more information on this!
Sophie Marsh · November 15, 2015 at 2:16 pm
Looking back at this post from your travels earlier in the quarter, I realize the name of your conference session sounds similar to the study that we had the option of participating in. 🙂 Whether or not these are the same studies, I would love to hear more about this research and hope that when they are concluded there will be information here about it! That photo showed that your portion of the conference was concerning Crisis Perspectives. I think this is particularly interesting area based on many of the current events in the world right now. This area of study will likely grow and come to the forefront of many academics as numerous social, political, and environmental crises spread throughout the world.
Laura Freberg · November 15, 2015 at 3:30 pm
Sophie, you’re absolutely correct! We love the RSQ method for capturing subjective impressions of situations. You saw one of four separate scenarios. At this point, I can’t tell you how they differ along our independent variables, because some of your classmates still might want to participate. But if you check back with me towards the end of the quarter, I’ll fill you in. We’re very excited about this study!
Sarah Morningred · November 17, 2015 at 7:26 pm
I’d be interested to learn more about voice pitch in crisis communication. Looking back at the earlier comments on this thread, I find it really interesting that some people say a lower-pitched voice is considered more competent during a crisis, especially considering that the vast majority off 9-1-1 dispatchers in the United States are women.