The Ordinal vs. Interval Debate in Psychology

In this video I describe how psychologists and social scientists often treat ordinal data as if it were interval data, which is a cause of some debate between pure statisticians and more pragmatic researchers. I discuss why this may or … Read More

Is Peripheral Vision in Color or Black and White?

In this video I discuss peripheral color vision, including the common misconception that peripheral vision is completely black and white. By looking at the distribution of rods and cones throughout the retina, we can see that color vision extends to … Read More

Scales of Measurement or Types of Data

In this video I describe the 4 scales of measurement proposed by Stanley Smith Stevens, which have become the standard way of defining types of data. These include nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. I discuss the defining features of each, … Read More

Stress & Social Hierarchy

In this video I discuss the relationship between the stress response and the social hierarchy. While high status in a hierarchy can be associated with greater control and less stress, it can also be the case that high status positions … Read More

Perceived Control & Learned Helplessness

In this video I discuss appraisal, perceived control, and learned helplessness. While primary appraisal refers to identifying whether something represents a threat, secondary appraisal refers to determining if one can manage or control a stressor. Stressors that can’t be managed … Read More

Stress, Personality, & Heart Disease

In this video I discuss the relationship between stress, personality, and heart disease. Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman proposed that Type A personality, characterized by competitiveness and hostility, was associated with 7x more heart disease than Type B personality, characterized … Read More

Psychological Stressors & Health

In this video I discuss the psychological components of stress and how we can become stressed from the anticipation of threats. Psychological stressors are especially dangerous because they have the potential to become chronic stressors which constantly plague us. Next … Read More

Stress & The Immune System

In this video I briefly describe the immune system and the cells involved in surveillance and protection from invaders, pathogens, and other threats. Next I discuss the relationship between stress and decreased immune function, which is related to elevated levels … Read More

General Adaptation Syndrome

In this video I describe homeostasis, which refers to maintenance of an optimal state, and allostasis, which clarifies that an optimal state is actually a range of possible states depending on context. Next I discuss Hans Selye’s theory of General … Read More

The Stress Response & HPA Axis

In this video I describe the stress response in more detail, including possible gender differences in reaction to threats. Shelley Taylor proposed the tend–and–befriend response to refer to a female tendency to focus on relationships, empathy, and group cohesion in … Read More