On Dec 30, 2008, at 12:41 PM, Peter wrote:
They call this an exploratory study for a good reason. The method
is a simple pre-post measure with the subjects as there own
controls. The problem with this is that there is no independent
control group to control for the impact of hidden variables across
time on the subjects. So, a causal relationship has not been
established between TM and the reduction of ADHD symptoms.
Yeah, as per usual, NO or bad controls.
What struck me, after decades of research, these people are STILL
just doing pilot level studies! It's as if they just keep moving on
to new pilot studies and then pushing the announcements via their
considerable marketing wing to the press. I guess what matters is
that they appear to be doing something consistently and that will
somehow give them credibility. After all they have over (woo-hoo) 600
studies!
I would predict that if they had used a simple control of closed eyes
20 x 2 with an instructions to "effortlessly" pursue a positive
series of thoughts, and to return to that positive thought process
non-judgmentally if they go astray, there'd be no significant
difference at all between the controls and the TMers.
