Cite My Professor

[Psychometrics aren't as boring as they sound]

2009-12-16T07:17:00.001-08:00

Dr. Psychometrics "we're trying to get at the 'why' question. as in 'why are you bothering me.'"

"how do you usually do research in the real world? you go to a group of people. collect data. then you run. as quickly as you can."

"I was thinking about reliability and your exams and I realized I wasn't being reliable. I was being random and making errors"
why would you tell us this???

"Pearson's r assumes the relationship between the two variables is...what? come on. we'll play hangman if we have to. ...T? what?! its LINEAR."

On SPSS, the statistical tool of the gods...
"SPSS will just give you stuff. Like, why would I ever want that?"
"We divide the world into a dichotomy. Into statistically significant or not."
"We should take bets on the SPSS output."
"Factor analysis is like opening a present. its...OOH! That's interesting"
"This is what it looks like when running a frequency distribution....very unhelpful at 15 decimal places."

something to think about...
"So who's right? The people who wrote the scale? Or YOU?"

[Perception is reality]

2009-11-04T23:23:00.000-08:00

Dr. Perception "we're not digital, humans are more analog."

On the topic of the human visual pathway...
"stupid brain...Why are you wasting 20% of my visual information on the superior colliculous?"

"I don't know about frog or mice brains, but they don't have much cortex. Not a lot of higher end processing. Which is probably why they can't read."

[Almost time to go back to school...]

2009-08-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

Dr. NeuroPsych on satiation
"I never diet because I always gain weight. You wanna know why? BECAUSE I'M ALWAYS HUNGRY!"
Now I feel like my "eat healthy and exercise" plan is going to fail...

Dr. NeuroPsych on habituation
"If i can't enjoy caffeine anymore, all is lost. It's time to slit my wrists and just end it all."
I've actually experienced self-induced caffeine toxicity during finals week...

I've spent the summer doing nothing (except maybe laying out by the pool). Time to dust off my protocol, actually revise it this time, and GIT 'ER DONE.

Look out for more lost quotes hiding in my notes as well as fresh quips from my quirky professors.

[Effects of Infidelity on Men vs. Women Surprise Researchers | LiveScience]

2009-05-01T02:45:00.000-07:00

a forgotten draft that should have been published forever and a day ago...

Effects of Infidelity on Men vs. Women Surprise Researchers | LiveScience

The researchers were surprised by the results because they were completely opposite to their hypothesized outcomes. I disagree! Those results are completely in line with motivational theories and self-perceptions theories in social psych. We, as people with meta-awareness, are motivated to maintain internal consistency. Being inconsistent just takes up so many resources when we really loathe to work and expend cognitive energies.

For males in a committed relationship, who are motivated to maintain their relationship, the most important aspect of a relationship is sexual intimacy. To act in a way that is inconsistent with their perception of who they are (someone who values sexual intimacy with their partner) is profoundly disturbing. What happens when we do something that is completely against what we believe in, resulting in damage to a very important interpersonal relationship? We feel guilty.

The same is true for female, however they put more value in the emotional intimacy of the relationship rather than sexual.

[A tiny change]

2009-04-10T23:57:00.000-07:00

Human ES Cells Progress Slowly In Myelin's Direction

It took me a second to realize that ES cells were embryonic stem cells. What a small change in terminology use! It reflects a rather large change in power and more opportunities for the avenues of stem cell research. Hooray for science and research!

[Featuring: Dr. ExperimentalPsych]

2009-03-09T01:24:00.000-07:00

"Alright please, no nerd fights. Wait, this could be a reality series! 'Nerd Battles!'"

"The Thesaurus: a way to look at related constructs"

"Well, thankfully, Cohen has come to the rescue again. Yes, Papa Cohen, who brought you power analysis, has provided you with kappa"
This is where we were supposed to oooh and ahhh...

"I love when you make up your own data. You can do whatever the hell you want!"
I really hope this was a joke...

"One challenge of test-retest reliability is mortality, or attrition. Now if we're studying old people, real mortality may be a factor here."

[Why is an MA considered lower than a PhD?]

2009-02-21T22:23:00.000-08:00

"Once you've mastered something, you have to doctor it." -Dr. SocialPsych

"Don't resist me...Take the information in..." -Dr. NeuroPsych
You're getting sleepy...

On statistical power in research sampling procedures...
"So the moral of the story is 1,000 people per group." -Dr. ExperimentalPsych

On diversity problems with snowball sampling procedures...
"Hopefully as our snowball gets bigger, it zigzags around the side of the mountain" -Dr.ExperimentalPsych

Rapid fire from a human evolution lecture...
"We're going to beat the erectus record!"
"There's no other homo on the planet."
"Why the big brain? There's so many damn neurons up there."-Dr. PersonalityPsych

[Inaugural posting!]

2009-02-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

"I told you guys I was sleepy and you're trying to make me think!" -Dr. SocialPsych

I have hilarious professors that also happen to be extraordinary at their job. This blog is dedicated to all those words of unusual wisdom, Freudian slips that may have been intentional, and awesome jokes that keep me awake at the crack of 9am.

I am a graduate student somewhere in California and I'm studying Experimental Psychology. Yes, I know some of them may not be as awesome out of context.

----------actual content----------

Regarding schema-relevant behavior
"There's no threat when people are acting nice." -Dr. SocialPsych
Or they could be waiting to stab you

"Life is all about the 3 F's.
-Feeding
-Fighting
-and uh, F...Fornication." -Dr. NeuroPsych

Regarding Phineas Gage (of pole-through-head-and-surviving fame) -Dr. PersonalityPsych
"Yeah...I suppose a pole through the head will change personality."
I'd be pretty pissed too

"Word of the day: Genetical" -Dr. PersonalityPsych
Why did I feel so unclean when typing that word?

"There's no field like Psychology for coming up with constructs. That's our great gift to society. Here, take depression..." -Dr. ExperimentalPsych