I appreciate your point about Bem's advice about writing papers, but my sense is that the notion of 'telling a story' in scientific papers predates Bem by decades and has been implicitly promoted in our best journals. It seems to me that legions of scientists have been trained to write research papers in this fashion for years. For example, most methods sections read as if most experiments were executed without the slightest glitch. Really? Perhaps I am totally wrong here, but my bet is that all sorts of events occur in most studies that should reported, but are not because such details are inconsistent with the story we wish to tell. I bet that the research paper-as-a-story is probably partly responsible for much of the selective reporting of literature, methodology, results, etc., that has been going on in most areas of science for a long time.
Miguel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Clark" <j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu> Sent: Thursday, June 7, 2012 12:13:16 PM Subject: Re: [tips] The Psi-chology of Darryl Bem Hi Part of the problem with Bem's advice to "tell a story" (i.e., "make up a story"?) when writing papers is that one can never be sure what is fact and what is just for the sake of the story. Here, for example, the "tell a story" model makes me skeptical that Bem was as unsympathetic to paranormal phenomena as claimed in the article. After all, isn't the story better if he was really a skeptic and then was forced to change his mind, rather than that he set out to demonstrate something that he already believed? Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca >>> "Jeffry Ricker, PhD" <drjeffryric...@gmail.com> 06-Jun-12 7:20 pm >>> Paranormal Circumstances: One Influential Scientist's Quixotic Mission to Prove ESP Exists >From his research to his personal life, Daryl Bem's never been one to follow >the crowd. by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee >From the March 2012 issue; published online May 14, 2012 "...Even in the context of a career of irreverence, there was little to suggest that Bem would end up defending the possibility of extrasensory perception, or ESP, which most mainstream scientists consider unworthy of serious inquiry. Through most of his career, he was as dubious about telepathy (mind reading) or precognition (seeing the future) as any of his colleagues. Then data changed his mind...." FULL TEXT AT: http://discovermagazine.com/2012/mar/09-paranormal-circumstances-scientist-mission-esp -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffry Ricker, Ph.D. SCC: Professor of Psychology MCCCD: General Studies Faculty Representative PSY 101 Website: http://sccpsy101.wordpress.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scottsdale Community College 9000 E. Chaparral Road Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626 Office: SB-123 Phone: (480) 423-6213 Fax: (480) 423-6298 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=18207 or send a blank email to leave-18207-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: miguelr...@comcast.net. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=466839.0421d1005414eed82340aa280e7ce629&n=T&l=tips&o=18233 or send a blank email to leave-18233-466839.0421d1005414eed82340aa280e7ce...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=18234 or send a blank email to leave-18234-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
