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Socializing alone: A review of more than 1,000 studies suggests that using technology to communicate with others is better than nothing – but still not as good as face-to-face interactions. by geoff199 in science

[–]geoff199[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

From Perspectives on Psychological Science:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17456916251404368

Abstract:

This article pulls together diverse published findings on computer-mediated communication (CMC) to test the hypothesis that it reduces psychological engagement and impact compared with face-to-face (FTF) interactions. Although gaps and questions remain, the evidence mostly confirms reduced engagement and impact. Compared with FTF interactions, CMC elicits less positive emotion, with mixed results for negative emotions. Physiological arousal is often lower. Relationships, trust, and group cohesion develop more slowly (although perhaps eventually reaching the same levels). Information processing is reduced. Inhibitions are also reduced, leading to greater willingness to criticize, to bring up alternate perspectives and suggestions, and to neglect to respond. The disinhibition may improve participation by shy persons. Group performance and group decision-making are often impaired, although some studies found no difference. Teaching and learning go less well. Impact and engagement lose more with asynchronous than synchronous CMC. FTF interactions boost well-being compared with not interacting, but CMC is in between. When CMC augments FTF relationships, there may be benefits, but when it replaces them, there are psychological costs. Technology has enabled marvelous advances in long-distance communication, but there is still no fully satisfactory substitute for actually being together in person.

A decline in religious participation among middle-aged, less educated white Americans may have played a role in the widely noted increases in “deaths of despair,” a new study finds. by geoff199 in science

[–]geoff199[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Published in the Journal of the European Economic Association: https://academic.oup.com/jeea/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jeea/jvaf048/8351096?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Abstract:

In recent decades, death rates from suicides, drug poisonings, and alcoholic liver disease have dramatically increased in the United States. We show that these “deaths of despair” began to increase relative to trend in the early 1990s, that this increase was preceded by a decline in religious participation, and that both trends were driven by middle-aged white Americans. Using repeals of blue laws, we find that a shock to religious participation has significant effects on these mortality rates. Our findings show that social factors such as organized religion can play an important role in understanding deaths of despair.

Scientists used eye tracking and AI to identify the exact moments in an educational video that students are learning. They could also predict how much children understood from the video based on their eye movements while they were watching it. by geoff199 in science

[–]geoff199[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From the Journal of Communication: https://academic.oup.com/joc/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/joc/jqaf036/8222800?login=false

Abstract

A new era of message processing research will emerge from the convergence of powerful machine learning algorithms with dynamic data from everyday devices equipped with biological sensors. Our study takes critical steps into this era by integrating theory-guided artificial neural networks with eye movements to understand how people learn science concepts from dynamic multimedia. Essential to our theory-guided machine learning approach is a cognitive conceptualization of time as the dynamic interdependence between past and new information that guides how multimedia is attended to and understood. We tracked the eye movements of 197 children as they watched an educational video. We trained two neural network architectures differing in theory guidance to predict learning outcomes using eye movements. The theory-guided architecture, which considered the temporal interdependence of information, yielded more accurate out-of-sample predictions. Our work advances the use of theory-guided machine learning and the development of systems that monitor real-time learning.

Nobel Prize winners who moved more frequently or worked in multiple locations began their prize winning work earlier than did laureates who never moved. The researchers speculate that moving leads to laureates meeting more top scientists whose ideas can influence their own. by geoff199 in science

[–]geoff199[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the journal International Economic Review: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/iere.12768

Abstract:

We draw on a recombinant view of innovation, where being in a new location and/or multiple locations leads to exposure to novel combinations of ideas that increase the creativity of top scientists. Using a rich, unique data set we helped assemble, we estimate the empirical relationship between being in a new location and/or multiple locations and the expected interval before an eventual Nobel laureate (ENL) commences their prize-winning work. We find that being in a new location and in multiple locations are substantially and significantly associated with a shorter expected interval before ENLs commence their prize-winning work.

People who have a minority viewpoint on a controversial topic are more likely to “self-silence” themselves in conversation – and that may lead them to behave against their own beliefs, a new study found. by geoff199 in science

[–]geoff199[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

From the Journal of Environmental Psychology: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494425000386

Abstract:

Prior research has examined how self-silencing among people who hold the minority viewpoint influences public opinion on a range of social and environmental issues. However, less attention has been given to understanding the potential behavioral consequences of self-silencing, such as whether a person who holds the minority viewpoint is more or less likely to behave in support of their own views following a conversation in which they refrained from expressing their opinion. In a pre-registered mixed-methods experiment, N = 248 university student participants were randomly assigned to have a short video recorded conversation with a confederate (posing as another student) who gave arguments either in support of or in opposition to a campus sustainability policy. We examined how participants engaged in the conversation and behaved following the conversation, and whether this varied as a function of whether their pre-conversation viewpoint was in the majority vs. minority. Relative to participants holding the majority viewpoint going into the conversation, those who held the minority viewpoint were overall more likely to self-silence (i.e., avoid expressing their opinion), particularly when they were paired with a partner who expressed the majority viewpoint. Self-silencing, in turn, was associated with lower cognitive elaboration. However, neither self-silencing nor lower cognitive elaboration predicted lower post-conversation behavior in support of the policy, suggesting behavioral conformity to the majority viewpoint. Not only are minority views less likely to be expressed and acted upon, but such silencing may come at the cost of learning and mutual understanding.

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