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Study Into the Mental Resilience of Journalists

posted by n1 on Sunday May 21 2017, @12:31AM   
from the writer's-bloc dept.

Geezer writes:

A rather limited study by neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart of brain patterns in 40 volunteer journalist subjects seems to show a prevalence of lack of emotional self-control, as well as lower than average problem-solving skills, among other deficiencies. High blood levels of cortisol were significant.

The headline conclusion reached is that journalists are undoubtedly subject to a range of pressures at work and home, but the meaning and purpose they attribute to their work contributes to helping them remain mentally resilient despite this. Nevertheless, there are areas for improvement, including drinking more water and reducing alcohol and caffeine consumption to increase executive functioning and improve recovery during sleep.

[...] As a group, the journalists also exhibited lower executive functioning scores than the average person, indicating a lower than average ability to regulate emotions, suppress biases, solve complex problems, switch between tasks, and think flexibly and creatively. It is likely that the levels of caffeine/alcohol and the lack of water consumed contributed to the low scores recorded for executive functioning because of the severe impact of dehydration on cognitive ability.

Read the study here: TaraSwart.com [PDF]

[ n1: This is not a peer reviewed study. It was launched in association with the London Press Club, and the objective was to determine how journalists can thrive under stress. Tara Swart is a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan, she holds a BsC in Biomedical Science and PhD in Neuropharmacology from Kings College London, and a BM BcH in Medicine from Oxford University. ]

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Original Submission

• Re:Possibly fake news. (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 21 2017, @09:27AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 21 2017, @09:27AM (#512941)

  I'll say, 21 journalists. That is a sufficient sampling to draw any conclusion?

  No, but it is sufficient sample size to establish a possible trend. Certainly I wouldn't suggest to draw any policy from it, such studies are more of a "oh cool, we should definitely look more into it" kind of thing.

  I'm pretty sure I can go to any city with a top 20 college football team and get 100% agreement that they should have been in the playoffs.

  In this case, you are cherrypicking your samples. Please cite the relevant parts of the methodology of the study which you think demonstrate cherrypicking or provide counter-example studies which are better researched/sourced.

  On a slight tangent, if you are going the violate the charity principle like that then you aren't going to convince anyone except those who are already predisposed to your position. Unless your intention was to preach to the SJW choir for free karma, I would suggest trying different tactics.

  If you have not been on the planet long enough to know, people don't go into journalism because they found physics and calculus to easy. You will find creative/emotional types more likely in journalism. Are you shocked by that?

  Journalism is no science, but when properly done it is a rigorous and methodological process. A good journalist is more akin to the protagonist of a detective novel than to a wacky Hollywood artist. If the majority of your journalists are liberal arts majors... well that's something we should all be concerned about.

  I check news and slashdot every day. I guess I missed the monthly research reported on the mental defective conservatives

  Well, you have a massive selection bias right there. Are you are journalist by any chance. /snark
  Try Salon [google.com]. There is certainly an endless slew of "conseratives are $BAD" articles to be found among the leftist trash media. And no, I'm not saying the other side doesn't do it, don't give me any of that partisan bullshit.

  I would have no problem if someone suggested that the belief in an all powerful god who created and controls the universe was evidence that a large segment of the conservatives lacked basic logic and reasoning capabilities.

  Funny you should say that. I wasn't able to find any such studies, but according to at least one study, conservatives tend to be more emotionally stable than liberals [wikipedia.org]:

  A 2011 study by cognitive neuroscientist Ryota Kanai's group at University College London published in Current Biology, found a correlation between differences in political views and differences in brain structures in a convenience sample of students from University College London.[5].... Students who reported more "conservative" political views tended to have larger amygdalae,[5] a structure in the temporal lobes that performs a primary role in the processing and memory of emotions. In addition, they found clusters in which gray matter volume was significantly associated with conservativism in the left insula and the right entorhinal cortex.[5] There is evidence that conservatives are more sensitive to disgust[7] and the insula is involved in the feeling of disgust[8] On the other hand, more 'liberal' students tended to have a larger volume of grey matter in the anterior cingulate cortex,[5] a structure of the brain associated with monitoring uncertainty and handling conflicting information.[5][6] It is consistent with previous research suggesting that individuals with a larger ACC have a higher capacity to tolerate uncertainty and conflicts, allowing them to accept more liberal views[9]

  I know, I know, it's Wikipedia but the cited paper stands up quite nicely to scrutiny.

  Finally, journalists are on a holy mission to save the world? Where did yo get that horseshit? This is a classic example of claiming the enemy is doing exactly what you are doing.

  It's bias on your part, that much I can guarantee. It's not that the right doesn't have their fair share of ideological crusaders but they tend towards a more cold-blooded form of disingenuous journalism. Leftist writers on the other hand will haply take a running jump off the slippery sloop with alarming frequency.

  Parent