Examining assumptions and limitations.
8 posts
The concept of nature vs. nurture is one of the cornerstones of psychological theory and research. In fact, some human development textbooks use nature-nurture as a central theme. Nature vs. nurture goes back to the times of Sir Francis Galton, who first used the phrase in 1869.
In lay terms, what was done here was the equivalent of testing batteries by putting them in a flashlight and turning on the switch. If the flashlight lit up, then we can naturally conclude that the batteries are good. This is the equivalent of finding a statistically significant difference (the bulb turned on). But what if the flashlight did not light up?
Blue book values, as mentioned in the last post, are derived from regression statistics. And regressions assume a normal distribution around the mean. Single values that are too far off the mean cause the “line of best fit” to be skewed–the angle of the line is thrown off. These “outliers” have to be removed from…
Regression is often used to simplify our understanding of how one variable affects another. Insurance, credit scores, and even car values are estimated using regression formulas. These are powerful statistical tools that allow us to look at hundreds, thousands, even millions of cases (for example, car sales) and extrapolate a “line of best fit” to…
So when we use quantitative methods (numbers) or qualitative methods (words) to study the person, we are limiting our understanding to what can be numerated or expressed in words. But is there not a part of human experience that is beyond numbers, and beyond our ability to express in words?
I was reviewing my IRA quarterly performance statement today, the legal form that gives statistics about the performance of mutual funds over the last quarter. The sheet has about 400 statistics reported, from 8 to 9 figures for each fund. As I type, an ad for T. Rowe Price is playing on the television, and…
A friend of mine is a professor at a top-tier university. As with most universities, large or small, top-tier or third-ranked, grade inflation is a problem. Harvard University, for example, has reported that most of its students have an A average in their classes. The problem is repeating itself all over the country. At the…
What’s the difference? We all know what zero is. It’s a number, and yet it’s not a number. If we are counting, it means “none” of something. Zero is one less than one. Zero is the amount we want to owe on our taxes on April 15. Zero is the balance we want to see…