Scientific research which is neither.

I came across Journalists drink too much, are bad at managing emotions, and operate at a lower level than average, according to a new study by Lindsay Dodgson

The study, led by Tara Swart, a neuroscientist and leadership coach, analysed 40 journalists from newspapers, magazines, broadcast, and online platforms over seven months. The participants took part in tests related to their lifestyle, health, and behaviour.

It was launched in association with the London Press Club, and the objective was to determine how journalists can thrive under stress. It is not yet peer reviewed, and the sample size is small, so the results should not be taken necessarily as fact.

Each subject completed a blood test, wore a heart-rate monitor for three days, kept a food and drink diary for a week, and completed a brain profile questionnaire.

The results showed that journalists' brains were operating at a lower level than the average population, particularly because of dehydration and the tendency of journalists to self-medicate with alcohol, caffeine, and high-sugar foods.

Forty-one percent of the subjects said they drank 18 or more units of alcohol a week, which is four units above the recommended weekly allowance. Less than 5% drank the recommended amount of water.

A leadership coach as a researcher? Sponsored by the press? Of journalists? And reported on by journalists? OK, there's no reason for concern about research rigor and integrity.

And, indeed, the study itself (Study Into the Mental Resilience of Journalists by Dr Tara Swart) has all the hallmarks of cringe-making click bait. The self-promotion, the font sizes, the reliance on nominal credentials in place of institutional credibility, the self-help faddishness and sloganeering. Yikes. Cognitive pollution.

That doesn't even address that it is a non-random, self-selected, tiny sample size with no study controls or independence, cherry picking of data, etc.. What a dog's breakfast.

Apparently they wanted to find that journalists are highly-talented people in high-stress occupations, under continuous pressure. Nice romantic self-vision.

What they find is that these journalists are just like everyone else. Not especially stressed, subject to deadlines, a little better in some areas than the average professional and a little worse in others.

What caught my attention in a report otherwise intended to burnish the romantic notion of journalists as part of the intellectual elite were these items:

"High scores for abstraction indicate an ability to think outside of the box and make connections where others
might not see them." - Indeed, journalists do have a high score in abstract thinking, but it is about the same as with other professionals. In other words, journalists are as able to do abstract thinking as other professionals.

"High scores for value tagging indicate an ability to sift through information and pick out what is pertinent, as well
as high levels of meaning and purpose." - Same thing, journalists are as prone to cherry pick data as other professionals. The only issue that this represents is that the journalists and the general public have sharply different world views, especially in terms of ideological world view. What this measurement indicates is that journalists are as prone to confirmation bias as other professionals but it happens that journalists have a confirmation bias for a different worldview from that held by other professionals and the general public.

Out of eleven measures, there are only four where there are material differences between journalists and other professionals. In all other cases, there is only a two point or less difference between journalists and other professionals. The four attribute for which there is a more than two point difference are Abstraction where journalists are six points more abstract; Executive Function where professionals have an eight point advantage on executive function over journalists; Silencing the Mind where professionals have a seven point advantage, and Sensory Integration where professionals have a four point advantage.
These new agey categories are:

Abstraction: Abstraction is the capacity to make novel internal representations of the possible, a result of accurately grouping non-obvious patterns and their relationships. Abstraction draws upon knowledge (the building blocks of
innovation) and largely takes place in the dorsolateral pathways. These pathways are sometimes referred to as the
‘super highway’ en route to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, where the most sophisticated problem solving takes
place.

Executive Function: Executive function is assigned to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (outer top part of the frontal lobe). Regarded as the CEO of the brain, it is where the most sophisticated and enriched thinking takes place. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is interrelated with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (inner bottom part of the frontal lobe). Important aspects of executive function include working memory, focus and sustained attention.

Silencing the Mind: With Silencing the Mind we refer to purposeful sessions to enhance focus and/or to allow thoughts without reacting, thereby preventing worrying about the future or regretting the past (mindfulness)f you silence your mind for just 15 minutes daily it will positively affect the whole brain/body system. Among its many benefits, it promotes a relaxed physiological state at the level of the hypothalamus and amygdala and enhances the ability to focus and sustain attention at the level of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. It promotes brain cell formation in the hippocampus and reduces the sensitivity of the amygdala, calming it down and promoting clarity of mind

Sensory Integration: The brain always performs in the context of an external environment that continuously influences it. External cues are registered at the various primary sensory sites. From there the brain integrates the cues and attempts to make internal representations of what is out there and of what is possible. In this sense the external environment continuously affects innovation capability. In a special form of sensory integration known as priming, the amygdala and ventromedial pathways most likely play an important role.

So journalists are much better at making things up (Abstraction) than other professionals while they are significantly worse at self-control (Executive Function), thinking clearly (Silencing the Mind) and making sense of the world (Sensory Integration.)

In addition, journalists drink too much liquor, exercise too little, and hydrate too little.

In sum, the research supports that journalists function at a lower level and less reliably than other professionals and with significant barriers to understanding their world.

Pretty much what one might expect given the quality of reporting one sees.

But the reality is that the research does not support any of these conclusions. It is too badly designed to do so.