Another reason to refrain from spanking your child

[need4mospd]

Correlation does not imply causation

Done by reply two...

 

[hbarcat]

i doubt if a study like that is even possible given the number of variables.....

The answer is NO.


Inherent to every legitimate scientific study is the isolation/control of all significant variables. This is true of all scientific studies and there are no exceptions.

When studying even the most basic of human behaviors, this is difficult, at best. When trying to determine how a behavior, such as spanking, affects intelligence later in life, it becomes entirely impossible to isolate the variables involved and any conclusions reached in such a flawed study become meaningless.

 

[hbarcat]

The pop up ad on the top of my browser in this thread is for D'Addario Pro Steel strings. In giant letters in the middle of the ad is says: POP PUNCH SLAP

 

[Absentia]

Has anyone done a study of say back in the 50's-80's when we all got our butts smacked with the old belt and the amount of us that turned out as well adaptive adults competent enough to handle our own lives.
Compared to the coddled, narcissistic cry babies we're raising nowadays who cant take responsibility for their own actions or lives?


think theres a connection
BEAT YOUR KIDS!!!

Dad used his hand
Mom used a meat tenderizer
Grammy used a steel yard stick

I thank them for every beating.
I not only recieved more beatings than my bother and sister combined I'm also alot better off than they are because of it I think.

 

[Dr Stankface]

If my boy decides to act up then you can bet he's gettin' his tail lit up.

 

[Balog]

There is a significant difference between being "beaten" and being "spanked." As is so often the case, sloppy word usage is a large cause of the problem.

 

[mike_v_s]

There is a significant difference between being "beaten" and being "spanked." As is so often the case, sloppy word usage is a large cause of the problem.

Sloppy in some cases, purposefully selected in others. Control the language, control the debate.

Mike

 

[Phalex]

There is a significant difference between being "beaten" and being "spanked." As is so often the case, sloppy word usage is a large cause of the problem.

Which one includes the use of duct tape? I kinda like that one!

 

[WorkinOnIt]

I was a pretty good kid overall, but did get a few spankings - never any real 'whippings' or 'beatings'.

However, I do remember staying with my grandmother once and sassing her. I pushed the limits because I was thinking "what could a tiny 90-pound lady do to me?" This was when I was introduced to something called a "switch". You do not need much strength to dispense a good whack. A switch to the back of your legs is something you don't forget. lol.

BTW - to her the sun rose and set over her grandsons. No meanness there. Just a different time I guess.

Oh yeah - I doubt the validity of that survey. Too many variables.

 

[iamlowsound]

I was spanked. Honour Roll through and through.

lowsound

 

[L-A]

Spanked is as spanked does.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

i doubt if a study like that is even possible given the number of variables

It's a correlational study, which can infer that variable A predicts variable B. There can still be a large number of confounding variables present; as long as they change with the variables of interest, the study will still have reliability and validity (though poor internal validity). It's not far fetched that spanking predicts lower IQ. However, the act of spanking itself may not cause lower IQ. There are probably a number of confounding variables that explain it. For example, it may be possible that parents from a lower socio-economic class are more likely to to spank their children. Children from a lower socio-economic class usually do not have the same access to high quality education that more priviledged children do. From another perspective, children from a lower socio-economic class may not have as quality of diets as higher class children; therefore, lower-class children's brain development and nerve plasticity may be more hindered when compared to higher class children.

Thus, a study that shows correlation between spanking and IQ is perfectly fine. A study that purports to find causality and spanking, however, would be far-fetched.

However, hbarcat is correct. Science, particularly social science, is conducted at the micro-level, since behavior is such a complex concept. Most published studies seem to fall around the four or five variables mark with perhaps three levels per variable. Modern studies seem to be more complex with more variables than studies from 20 years ago. I'd venture to say that the advent of SPSS has something to do with that. I'd hate to sit and calculate an ANOVA by hand for a 2 x 2 x 3 x 4 study.

P.S. Damn, Talkbass has me talking about research a lot these past two weeks.

 

[UnsungZeros]

LiquidMidnight FTW.

 

[Tama]

BROWN SHOES cause auto accidents....I have PROOF !!!!

A study was done on what colour shoes people wore who were involved in traffic accidents.

70% wore brown shoes, 25% black and 5% other colours.

So, either brown shoes cause accidents or you are more likely to be a victim of an auto accident if you wear brown shoes.....

 

[fdeck]

“If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a better experiment.” -- Ernest Rutherford

History is littered with studies generating weak inferences, breathlessly reported in the news, and then demolished by the next study.