Hocus Pocus: using comics to promote skepticism about the paranormal

Richard Wiseman; Jordan Collver; Rik Worth; Caroline Watt

doi:10.22323/2.20020204

Hocus Pocus: using comics to promote skepticism about the paranormal

Journal of Science Communication ◽

10.22323/2.20020204 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (02) ◽

pp. A04

Author(s):

Richard Wiseman ◽

Jordan Collver ◽

Rik Worth ◽

Caroline Watt

Keyword(s):

Attitude Change ◽

Magic Trick ◽

Future Work

This study investigated the potential for comics to promote skepticism about the paranormal. Participants rated their interest in comics, read a skeptical account of alleged paranormal phenomena in one of three mediums (text, comic, and comic containing an interactive magic trick), and then rated their engagement, skepticism and recall. The text was rated as more interesting and entertaining than the comics, and participants' prior interest in comics positively correlated with engagement and shift in skepticism. This suggests that for certain cohorts, comics may be an effective way to promote engagement and attitude change. The implications for future work are considered.

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Measuring Effectiveness of Persuasive Games Using an Informative Control Condition

International Journal of Serious Games ◽

10.17083/ijsg.v2i2.74 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Mara Soekarjo ◽

Herre van Oostendorp

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Empirical Study ◽

Knowledge Acquisition ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Attitude Change ◽

Persuasive Games ◽

Game Features ◽

Similar Information ◽

Future Work ◽

Persuasive Game

Research about the effectiveness of persuasive games is still emerging. This article presents a literature review of studies that empirically evaluate the effectiveness of persuasive games. The review concluded that limited empirical evidence is currently available to prove their effectiveness in attitude change. It further revealed that almost no study employed an informative control condition, making it difficult to conclude that the game was more effective than a control condition. Next, in a pretest-posttest design an empirical study tested whether change in attitude was different for people playing the persuasive game "EnerCities" compared to a control condition where participants read a document with highly similar information. No significant differences in increase of attitude or knowledge between participants that played the game and participants in the informative control condition were found. Based on the results of the literature review and the empirical study presented, it hence cannot be concluded that playing a game leads to a greater change in attitude or knowledge acquisition than experiencing conventional media would. Future work should employ designs with proper control conditions and focus on which game features lead to significant effects.

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Present status of radio astrometry with baselines ≤ 35 km

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s025292110007411x ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 48 ◽

pp. 175-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

K. J. Johnston

Keyword(s):

Present Status ◽

Future Work

A summary of results for radio astrometry with baselines ≤ 35 km and priorities for future work are given.

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A Phonomotor Approach to Apraxia of Speech Treatment

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2020_ajslp-19-00116 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 2109-2130

Author(s):

Lauren Bislick

Keyword(s):

Phase I ◽

Treatment Effects ◽

Single Case ◽

Motor Planning ◽

The Other ◽

Multimodal Approach ◽

Apraxia Of Speech ◽

Duration Of Treatment ◽

Treatment Gains ◽

Future Work

Purpose This study continued Phase I investigation of a modified Phonomotor Treatment (PMT) Program on motor planning in two individuals with apraxia of speech (AOS) and aphasia and, with support from prior work, refined Phase I methodology for treatment intensity and duration, a measure of communicative participation, and the use of effect size benchmarks specific to AOS. Method A single-case experimental design with multiple baselines across behaviors and participants was used to examine acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of treatment effects 8–10 weeks posttreatment. Treatment was distributed 3 days a week, and duration of treatment was specific to each participant (criterion based). Experimental stimuli consisted of target sounds or clusters embedded nonwords and real words, specific to each participants' deficit. Results Findings show improved repetition accuracy for targets in trained nonwords, generalization to targets in untrained nonwords and real words, and maintenance of treatment effects at 10 weeks posttreatment for one participant and more variable outcomes for the other participant. Conclusions Results indicate that a modified version of PMT can promote generalization and maintenance of treatment gains for trained speech targets via a multimodal approach emphasizing repeated exposure and practice. While these results are promising, the frequent co-occurrence of AOS and aphasia warrants a treatment that addresses both motor planning and linguistic deficits. Thus, the application of traditional PMT with participant-specific modifications for AOS embedded into the treatment program may be a more effective approach. Future work will continue to examine and maximize improvements in motor planning, while also treating anomia in aphasia.

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Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Long and Short Forms of the Worry Domains Questionnaire

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759.25.4.239 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 239-243

Author(s):

Roberto Nuevo ◽

Andrés Losada ◽

María Márquez-González ◽

Cecilia Peñacoba

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽

Factor Structure ◽

Goodness Of Fit ◽

Factorial Validity ◽

Fit Indices ◽

Short Forms ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Positive Correlations ◽

Future Work

The Worry Domains Questionnaire was proposed as a measure of both pathological and nonpathological worry, and assesses the frequency of worrying about five different domains: relationships, lack of confidence, aimless future, work, and financial. The present study analyzed the factor structure of the long and short forms of the WDQ (WDQ and WDQ-SF, respectively) through confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 262 students (M age = 21.8; SD = 2.6; 86.3% females). While the goodness-of-fit indices did not provide support for the WDQ, good fit indices were found for the WDQ-SF. Furthermore, no source of misspecification was identified, thus, supporting the factorial validity of the WDQ-SF scale. Significant positive correlations between the WDQ-SF and its subscales with worry (PSWQ), anxiety (STAI-T), and depression (BDI) were found. The internal consistency was good for the total scale and for the subscales. This work provides support for the use of the WDQ-SF, and potential uses for research and clinical purposes are discussed.

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Psychology in Outerspace

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000023 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 220-228 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Viren Swami ◽

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic ◽

Manal Shafi

Keyword(s):

Individual Difference ◽

Sensation Seeking ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Political Orientation ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Big Five Personality ◽

Social Conformity ◽

Extraterrestrial Life ◽

Paranormal Beliefs ◽

Future Work

Previous work has shown that is important to consider the disjunction between paranormal and nonparanormal beliefs about extraterrestrial life. The current study examined the association between both such beliefs and individual difference and demographic variables. A total of 555 British participants completed the Extraterrestrial Beliefs Scale, as well as measures of their Big Five personality scores, social conformity, sensation seeking, and demographics. Results showed no sex differences in ratings of paranormal and nonparanormal extraterrestrial beliefs, but participants rated nonparanormal beliefs more positively than paranormal beliefs. Results of structural equation modeling showed that individual difference factors (specifically, Openness, Conscientiousness, and social conformity) explained 21% of the variance in extraterrestrial beliefs, whereas demographic factors (specifically, education level, political orientation, and religiosity) explained 16% of the variance. Limitations and directions for future work are considered.

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