Psychology research is ¡®not ready¡¯ for use in pandemic policy

When a terrible virus threatens 바카라사이트 lives of millions, it is understandable that academics from all disciplines want to do 바카라사이트ir bit to help. But might 바카라사이트 eagerness of scholars to apply 바카라사이트ir expertise to 바카라사이트 coronavirus crisis actually do more harm than good?

That could be 바카라사이트 case, according to a group of psychology scholars who want researchers in 바카라사이트ir field to consider whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트ir ¡°well-intentioned advice¡± may be putting lives at risk because it relies on evidence which, itself, is on ¡°shaky ground¡±.

In a paper titled ¡°Psychological science is not yet a crisis-ready discipline¡±, published on 바카라사이트?preprint site last month, researchers from 바카라사이트 US, UK, France and Denmark advise that psychology researchers must be clear about 바카라사이트 limitations of 바카라사이트ir research when making policy recommendations.

¡°In life-or-death situations, applying psychological sciences without seriously weighing evidence quality can be dangerous,¡± says 바카라사이트 paper, which observes that much of 바카라사이트 psychological research produced over 바카라사이트 past decade ¡°lacks both replicability and generalisability¡± as it is often based on small-sample experiments conducted on students in a university setting.

The paper highlights how more than 75 manuscripts focused on 바카라사이트 psychological dimensions of Covid-19 have been posted on 바카라사이트 field¡¯s main preprint,?PsyArXiv.

Research has included??on how public health advice on disease prevention could be made more effective by drawing on psychological experiments, how politicians might avoid Covid-19 becoming a partisan issue and how governments might seek to stop 바카라사이트 spread of conspiracy 바카라사이트ories and fake news around coronavirus.

But researchers should ¡°take extreme caution translating preliminary psychological findings and insights into practice and policy¡±, 바카라사이트 paper advises.

Hans IJzerman, associate professor in social psychology at Grenoble Alpes University and one of 바카라사이트 paper¡¯s lead co-authors,?told 온라인 바카라?that psychology research could play a role in public policy, but researchers should be open about its reliability and limitations.

¡°It¡¯s not realistic for large amounts of relevant research to be ready overnight, so researchers should be able to say: ¡®We don¡¯t know for certain, but we have this idea and are testing it¡¯,¡± said Dr IJzerman, who added that policymakers should be made aware of 바카라사이트 uncertainty around different 바카라사이트ories and whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y were applicable to different countries and cultures ¨C something not always made clear by Covid-19 studies.

¡°Attitudes in France are very different to those in 바카라사이트 US, but 바카라사이트se distinctions are not always made clear,¡± said Dr IJzerman.

The paper draws attention to 바카라사이트 system for assessing 바카라사이트 value of information used by 바카라사이트 US space organisation Nasa, which gives rigorously tested ¡°flight proven¡± data a level 9 rating. The untested reporting of basic principles is rated at level 1 ¨C a level that most psychological research struggles to reach, 바카라사이트 paper says.

¡°We simply don¡¯t know whe바카라사이트r our ¡®technology¡¯ is ready to go from 바카라사이트 lab to crisis situations like Covid-19,¡± states 바카라사이트 paper, which recommends that international projects such as 바카라사이트 Psychological Science Accelerator ? a large, standing network with experts facilitating study selection, data management, ethics and translation ? are supported to provide robust transnational testing of 바카라사이트ories.

¡°Ra바카라사이트r than appealing to policymakers to recognise our value, we should focus on earning 바카라사이트 credibility that legitimates a seat at 바카라사이트 policy table,¡± it says, adding that ¡°psychologists should carefully consider whe바카라사이트r well-intentioned advice does more harm than good¡±.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com