Friam

more fun in psychology

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Roger Critchlow-2

more fun in psychology

http://narrative.ly/pieces-of-mind/nick-brown-smelled-bull/ and

http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/the-magic-ratio-that-wasnt/33279

describe how the principles of "positive psychology" got their mathematical "foundations" demolished this summer. A lesson in the hazards of basing your career on a reasonable sounding metaphor.

-- rec --

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Nick Thompson

Re: more fun in psychology

Roger,

Speaking as somebody who can barely get his positivity ratio up to 1/3, let alone 3/1, I am deeply grateful for this post.

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology

Clark University

http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Roger Critchlow
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 10:35 AM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Subject: [FRIAM] more fun in psychology

http://narrative.ly/pieces-of-mind/nick-brown-smelled-bull/ and

http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/the-magic-ratio-that-wasnt/33279

describe how the principles of "positive psychology" got their mathematical "foundations" demolished this summer. A lesson in the hazards of basing your career on a reasonable sounding metaphor.

-- rec --

Merle Lefkoff-2

Re: more fun in psychology

Having recently read the long essay featured on the cover of "The Economist" October 19th-25th issue, "How Science Goes Wrong", it's really fun to see this. The Economist article goes into some depth on the failure and flaws in the peer review process: "Scientists like to think of science as self-correcting. To an alarming degree, it is not."

And Roger, especially painful for me, as a full-fledged toiler in the Happiness Industry and a non-academic Ph.D. consultant to boot, is the answer from Losada to the request for a response from the American Psychologist.

“I didn’t have the time to prepare a proper response. I am not an academic, I am a consultant to business and I am fully booked for the rest of 2013. The demand for training in my model has taken all my available time. My priority is not to publish, but to attend my clients properly.” TRAINING iN MY MODEL?? Yipes!

On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 11:24 AM, Nick Thompson <[hidden email]> wrote:

Roger,

Speaking as somebody who can barely get his positivity ratio up to 1/3, let alone 3/1, I am deeply grateful for this post.

N

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
Clark University

http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Roger Critchlow
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 10:35 AM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Subject: [FRIAM] more fun in psychology

http://narrative.ly/pieces-of-mind/nick-brown-smelled-bull/ and

http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/the-magic-ratio-that-wasnt/33279

describe how the principles of "positive psychology" got their mathematical "foundations" demolished this summer. A lesson in the hazards of basing your career on a reasonable sounding metaphor.

-- rec --

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com

--
Merle Lefkoff, Ph.D.
President, Center for Emergent Diplomacy
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
[hidden email]
mobile: (303) 859-5609
skype: merlelefkoff

Gary Schiltz-4

Re: more fun in psychology

This is for me, almost too funny. I actually worked with Marcial Losada back in 1986-1987. He was a psychologist in the AI R&D group I was in. This is the first I had heard of him since then. I hope most of my other colleagues from over the years have fared better.

Gary

On Oct 31, 2013, at 12:51 PM, Merle Lefkoff <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Having recently read the long essay featured on the cover of "The Economist" October 19th-25th issue, "How Science Goes Wrong", it's really fun to see this. The Economist article goes into some depth on the failure and flaws in the peer review process: "Scientists like to think of science as self-correcting. To an alarming degree, it is not."
>
> And Roger, especially painful for me, as a full-fledged toiler in the Happiness Industry and a non-academic Ph.D. consultant to boot, is the answer from Losada to the request for a response from the American Psychologist.
> “I didn’t have the time to prepare a proper response. I am not an academic, I am a consultant to business and I am fully booked for the rest of 2013. The demand for training in my model has taken all my available time. My priority is not to publish, but to attend my clients properly.” TRAINING iN MY MODEL?? Yipes!
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 11:24 AM, Nick Thompson <[hidden email]> wrote:
> Roger,
>
>
>
> Speaking as somebody who can barely get his positivity ratio up to 1/3, let alone 3/1, I am deeply grateful for this post.
>
>
>
> N
>
>
>
> Nicholas S. Thompson
>
> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
>
> Clark University
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>
>
>
> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Roger Critchlow
> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 10:35 AM
> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
> Subject: [FRIAM] more fun in psychology
>
>
>
> http://narrative.ly/pieces-of-mind/nick-brown-smelled-bull/ and
>
>
>
> http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/the-magic-ratio-that-wasnt/33279
>
>
>
> describe how the principles of "positive psychology" got their mathematical "foundations" demolished this summer. A lesson in the hazards of basing your career on a reasonable sounding metaphor.
>
>
>
> -- rec --
>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
>
>
>
> --
> Merle Lefkoff, Ph.D.
> President, Center for Emergent Diplomacy
> Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
> [hidden email]
> mobile: (303) 859-5609
> skype: merlelefkoff
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com

glen ep ropella

Re: more fun in psychology

In reply to this post by Merle Lefkoff-2

On 10/31/2013 10:51 AM, Merle Lefkoff wrote:
> "My priority is not to publish, but to attend my clients
> properly.” TRAINING iN MY MODEL?? Yipes!

As scary as that is, the scarier thing is that the following sentiment
is consistently, frequently, and loudly repeated and ignored:

"'The essence of the criticism of [insert your favorite quantitative
bullsh!t] is that it takes quantitative reasoning to its absurd
extreme,' he says, 'that because we can talk about things in numerical
terms, that that makes it scientific.'"

I remember one conference I went to where an audience member shouted,
just before a talk, something like: "If you aren't going to show any
equations, I'm leaving." 8^) And he wasn't joking.

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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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Joe Spinden

Re: more fun in psychology

In reply to this post by Roger Critchlow-2

Or, an extended exercise in the misuse of mathematics and the value of learning critical thinking..

On 10/31/13, 10:34 AM, Roger Critchlow wrote:

http://narrative.ly/pieces-of-mind/nick-brown-smelled-bull/ and

http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/the-magic-ratio-that-wasnt/33279

describe how the principles of "positive psychology" got their mathematical "foundations" demolished this summer. A lesson in the hazards of basing your career on a reasonable sounding metaphor.

-- rec --
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com

-- 

"Sunlight is the best disinfectant."

  -- Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, 1913.

Steve Smith

Re: more fun in psychology

In reply to this post by Nick Thompson

Roger,

Speaking as somebody who can barely get his positivity ratio up to 1/3, let alone 3/1, I am deeply grateful for this post.

N

And then there is the famous Risk Aversion factor of 2.25 offered up by Tversky and Kahneman:

http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~camerer/Ec101/ProspectTheory.pdf

It suggests that "losses bite about 2.25 times as much as gains" in behavior economics.

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology

Clark University

http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

From: Friam [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Roger Critchlow
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 10:35 AM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Subject: [FRIAM] more fun in psychology

http://narrative.ly/pieces-of-mind/nick-brown-smelled-bull/ and

http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/the-magic-ratio-that-wasnt/33279

describe how the principles of "positive psychology" got their mathematical "foundations" demolished this summer. A lesson in the hazards of basing your career on a reasonable sounding metaphor.

-- rec --
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com