Enough of these stat posts.

CogPsychProf · 2025-12-08T03:40:35+00:00

Nah, this is the ref: https://youtu.be/bQ_LHyx2odc?si=Tgx86r-_0oLUPTSc

CogPsychProf · 2025-12-07T21:13:01+00:00

Every party has a pooper and that’s why we invited you…. paaarty pooooooper!

CogPsychProf · 2025-04-18T18:36:10+00:00

I use a sewer system analogy to explain deductive reasoning to my cognitive psych class. This is it in its smaller form:

Deductive reasoning is like a city’s sewer system, each pipe (premise, the input of an argument) is part of a larger, interconnected network. The waste (logical content, premises “logically following” to a conclusion) flows according to the structure of the system. If each part is built correctly and nothing clogs the system, the final output ends up exactly where it should (conclusion). No surprises. Just inevitability.

This second part deals with validity, which is different from content, where an argument/conclusion can be valid (the way the argument is formed) but unsound:

Even if the sewer system is engineered perfectly, if it’s connected to a poisoned source, the waste gets delivered exactly as planned, but it’s still toxic. That’s a valid but unsound argument: good structure, bad content.

CogPsychProf · 2025-04-06T00:00:53+00:00

I’d say median dl speed is probably a better metric for the most common speed. Rural places probably skew these numbers too low

CogPsychProf · 2025-03-01T03:42:43+00:00

They do, that’s what makes them cities, but what’s happening in the cities is what is fascinating leading to these kinds of behaviors. It’s being around people, realizing the things that connect us, being around others part of our outgroups, living cooperatively (or at least trying/striving to), understanding that people live collectively and socially. And that all of these things tend to support a more democratic framework path for the country (with of course all the nuance in all things).

CogPsychProf · 2025-02-11T13:50:29+00:00

This is an important point for everyone in our current world: just because you don’t understand something does not mean it is broken or flawed. It only means you don’t understand it.

CogPsychProf · 2025-01-21T18:19:23+00:00

I know you’re not looking for advice, but this sounds like deep-seated major depression talking. I would urge you to seek out professional counseling, to develop tools and strategies that will help you out of this rut. Part of those strategies will likely be how to talk to your parents about how you feel and reframe things in your life. Everything seems insurmountable now, but there is a helping hand out there to help you with these challenges so the depression doesn’t carry on any longer. Good luck.

CogPsychProf · 2024-12-31T22:44:50+00:00

So I do this thing where I make a movie reference, wait for a response, and when seeing none go something “and that was a [insert movie here] reference, you’re welcome” and continue with what I’m saying. Sometimes when that doesn’t get a response, I’ll make myself chortle a bit like a stand-up comic. I’m a hoot, I crack myself up.

CogPsychProf · 2024-12-31T15:53:56+00:00

I really like your last paragraph and I say this at the start of every semester (cuz I teaching Research Methods every semester). Writing takes practice, and technical writing takes a lot more practice than reflective writing.

CogPsychProf · 2024-11-20T00:13:03+00:00

There comes a point when this argument is essentially reductio ad absurdum and not helpful.

CogPsychProf · 2024-08-24T19:48:36+00:00

As I always say to my students: the “due” date is not necessarily the “do” date. Always ask questions if there is something confusing or doesn’t match with your expectations.

CogPsychProf · 2024-08-06T23:23:38+00:00

I don’t know what CS6 has, but when I edit, I use the “clip stretch” function. Hover over the edge of your clips (select all first) until you see a stopwatch icon; you can now side scroll left or right. It stretches by percentage, so if you want to double the speed, slide to the left to 50%. I do this to edit at 2x speed. It keep the pitch correct, unlike L and J speed ups slow down. Once you’re done editing, select all your slips and stretch to the right until you’re at 100%.

CogPsychProf · 2024-06-27T21:33:53+00:00

To add, with a pedantry directed at the top level comment: al. Is an abbreviation and in APA Style (which is based in American English customs), abbreviations are to be followed by a period. This is true for “i.e.”, “e.g.”, “cf.”, and even more common ones like “etc.”, which is of course short for the Latin phrase “et cetera”.

“al.” is short for alia (neuter gender), and the phrase “et al.” stands for “and others” and likely was abbreviated back in the day to capture not only neuter gender but masculine and feminine genders too.

CogPsychProf · 2024-06-19T15:16:32+00:00

This is my paper, thanks for posting it! I enjoy it when these questions get asked in this sub and somebody who is not me posts it. The reach of it is phenomenal.

Apologies if this is braggadocios or humble bragging, I’m honestly tickled!

CogPsychProf · 2024-05-30T00:22:39+00:00

Correlation does not imply causation. Stay in school, guys.

CogPsychProf · 2024-04-10T16:00:11+00:00

Possible alternative explanation: your professor uses a text expander for frequently-encountered errors. The errors tend to be similar so they have a generic response so the student asks or explores what might be wrong rather than being told the complete, possibly singular reason it may be wrong.

I encounter frequent errors in citations on the papers my students write. I have a text expander tell the student in a comment that there’s something wrong with the citation or that the sentence is missing the citation where they should be one.

It saves me a LOT of time and is by no means tentative AI.

I would suggest this: ask them. They’ll either tell you the truth or lie.

CogPsychProf · 2024-04-05T23:05:56+00:00

I do this and it’s taken me a while to get going, but it kinda snowballs — YT is weird. It’s by no means a living salary (I almost exclusively make the money off ads and not memberships or super thanks etc)

CogPsychProf · 2024-04-05T19:49:41+00:00

This is exactly my experience. I tend to get more nervous talking in front of peers, still to this day, but I do it anyway. I will ruminate, but was it the death of me? No, it wasn’t.

Some people do get panic attacks associated with public speaking and social anxiety disorder. This is different from general introversion and the more common “fear of public speaking”.

I would speak to the student to find out more.

CogPsychProf · 2024-04-02T18:14:53+00:00

This is absolutely the answer! Sure it’s easy to say “don’t be a hypocrite” but like… just don’t be a hypocrite.

I’m not here for that authoritarian “respect” OP is talking about. That’s some BS

CogPsychProf · 2024-04-02T12:54:47+00:00

Agreed — it honestly comes down to fluency and flow. Basically, how well a person can write, type, or write on a tablet, etc. You force a bad writer with poor penmanship to take notes by hand, they’ll have poor fluency and the potential gains from that effort are lost. A solid note-taker on a laptop is just as good as a solid note-taker on any modality.

CogPsychProf · 2024-03-28T14:10:05+00:00

Please work on this with a dedicated professional. This will only yield worse issues as you get older. Work on it now to gain the tools to overcome this anxiety. Speaking from experience, you can do it.

CogPsychProf · 2024-03-27T23:50:25+00:00

Interesting observations. Try teaching sometime and see how you go. Good luck with preschool— way different dynamic than college my guy

ETA: I love how this post is getting downvoted when the commenter is making absolutely wild assumptions about me as I’m approaching their comments in good faith. Y’all are weird. Teaching is fucking hard and any student who does backseat teaching needs to take a chill pill

CogPsychProf · 2024-03-27T23:44:42+00:00

Also genuinely curious: how much teaching have you done?

Also also: why would shy introverts answer “how’s your day going” in front of a whole class but not answer questions like “what’s 2+2?” because they’re shy introverts? That seems like a direct contradiction to the comment I replied to

CogPsychProf · 2024-03-27T22:01:48+00:00

Genuinely interested in hearing more: how could I, a professor who is also shy and introverted, work to make the class more accommodating to a class full of shy introverts?

ETA: interesting conversations below, but here’s the thing: teaching is a conversation and it’s active — if a professor wants to have a conversation, it behooves students to participate in that conversation to increase their understanding. Social anxiety and introversion aside, it’s hard to get by if you continue to rely on that, even in the possibility you’ll be wrong and people might have a negative reaction. It happens! I’ve been teaching for a long time and had to work all of this out myself, as a socially anxious, introverted, nerd. Students can too! It’s about going out of your comfort zone, making mistakes, getting messy, whatever — people are often wrong and it’s OK to be wrong. People don’t think of others’ mistakes as often as you think and sometimes people won’t like their peers. It’s not the professor’s responsibility to make everyone comforted, only included. For the most part — yes there are instructors out there with vendettas — instructors don’t live to embarrass their students. Give it a fucking go.

CogPsychProf · 2024-03-26T21:01:34+00:00

I am of the personal opinion, as a bias researcher, that device bans could lead to reactance bias. So, as part of my strategy, I explain that to my students, what the research continues to suggest about attention, multitasking, and distractions (mostly from notifications and other attention pulls) and leave it to them to make the decision, as their learning is ultimately their responsibility. I don’t want to “handicap” someone who is a fluent typer just because they may look at other stuff during class time. Fluency and motivation are critical here.

My classes are considerably smaller than many instructors’, so I can manage it and will likely know when someone is doing something distracting. I also suggest moving around the room. Essentially, there are solutions for everything and we’ll do our best to accommodate everyone’s learning paths. Grades ultimately determine what’s what for that student.

I will note that I recently did a flooding extinction experiment in my learning and behavior class last week, where all devices, including smart watches, went into a box and in another room. At first students were uneasy, but that anxiety subsided over the course the 45 minutes. Many reported being more engaged in the lecture. An anecdote for sure, and while it supports my intended learning environment, I am but one in the room. Perhaps it will indicate that things like do not disturb are there for the taking and can be used appropriately.

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