Two years ago our family was selected to participate in an NIH/PSU study to promote positive effects of siblings on each other. The study came under a federal alcohol and drug prevention grant. We were expected to attend hour long learning sessions on the importance of siblings that were after school and in the school, fill out extensive questionnaires and get videotaped in our home. Compensation was $50 for each child and $150 for adults and stuff like free pizza and soda and prizes. Sounded good. The kids were willing. The sessions were conducted by PHd candidates or PHd professionals. I stopped participating after realizing how great was the bias of the whole study. The way the questions were worded, the answers would support conclusions that families with more than 1 child become stressed out, overburdened and schizophrenic and the kids are constantly fighting. (may be true!) Here is what I mean:
Questions for me:
Do you yell at your children?
Do you sometimes yell at your children because you were having a bad day?
Are you ever inconsistent with rules?
Do you sometimes enforce rules and sometimes not enforce those same rules?
Has having children sometimes negatively effected your relationship with your spouse?
Do you and your spouse sometimes disagree on parenting issues?
Questions for the children:
Do you fight with your sibling?
Do you get mad at your sibling?
Have you ever hit your sibling?
Did your sibling ever hit you?
Do your parents sometimes give in to your sibling more than to you?
Has your sibling ever taken something from you without your permission?
If your friends are around do you not want your sibling around?
The whole experience was eye opening to me.
The answers depend on the twisted phrasing of the questions to reflect an outcome the author or pollster wants. No mother on earth can say no, I have never yelled at my children. No sibling on earth can say, no, I never fought with my sibling. The results can be then interpreted based on this survey that disharmony and distress occur when families have to juggle the needs of more than one child. Of course, that is not the whole story, but that is the analysis.
Do not believe everything you read or every poll you see.
The truth about all modern science is that instead of making observations and developing theories/conclusions based on them, science now demands you start with an agenda (i.e. proving that discipline negatively effects a child, proving global warming, the big bang, or evolution) and then collect data that MIGHT lead to that conclusion and throw out everything else.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't disagree more. An opinion poll and the scientific method are two completely different things. If someone asks you if you are voting for Romney or Obama and publishes that, it is not science. It is a poll. You should learn the difference.
DeleteThis is what we have all been led to believe about polls, unfortunately it turns out that we are being misled and this is not an accurate representation of how polls are conducted. Check out my post below.
DeleteWow. I would think the family NOT normal if they didn't have disagreements sometimes, unless you were a 'Stepford' family. ;)
ReplyDeleteThose questions will give the results the writers want; probably more money for more research, and more employment for them.
ReplyDeleteNone of the questions were positive, like "does your sibling ever help you?" and "did you hug your child today?".
I agree that these days, science has a conclusion, then "researches" to prove the conclusion, rather than research to see if their hypothesis was correct or not.
ReplyDeletehttp://13plumconfessions.blogspot.com/2012/09/you-never-scream-snake.html
We also participated in such a study. I don't find most research conducted like this to be believable. They did not know my children and only looked at the surface of things, not the childs personality and why they answer the way they do. Eg. One of my kids is a glass half empty type of guy, he always answers to the negative. My other children are always glass half full, much more positive. They do not consider such things as that when doing a study. It is all based on proving what they want to prove.
ReplyDeleteConnie from Sadieloohoo
My brother worked a couple of years for a firm consulting with the defence department after he retired from the Navy. He told me the first question they asked before taking on an assignment was,
ReplyDelete"What conclusion are you looking for?"
I have always been sceptical of "Experts say...and Studies proove" arguments.
Oh, I neglected to say..Excellent post!!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting study, thanks for posting about it.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who was in Social Work. She wanted to show me how kids can be manipulated with the way you ask a question. My son was three and had a little bruise from falling down. So, she asked him all sympathetically, "ohhhhh, wow, that must hurt, did you get that when your daddy hit you?" His answer? Yes! And his dad DID NOT hit him. I do not trust studies or our social system or sometimes even our government. There is a lot of manipulation going on.
ReplyDeleteIt would seems that surveys and statistics are never to be trusted -- they are written for people with a particular axe to grind...
ReplyDeletei come from a big family too. i'm the eldest of 5 and the answers to those questions are yes. but that doesn't mean we're become stressed out, overburdened and schizophrenic and the kids are constantly fighting. i think being just is not giving the same amount to everyone, but trying to give what fits their needs. so i think it's normal sometimes if my parents give something more to my siblings (now that i'm 23 and understand everything more clearly, haha). and you right, we cannot believe everything that we read or hear. otherwise, i would still believing that one of my older cousin was born from his mother's nose???
ReplyDeleteits like politics, everything it subjected to the person speaking
ReplyDeleteAnother boondoggle "study" where it sounds like they already have their conclusions even before they construct the study~
ReplyDeleteoh i agree...i used to develop surveys in college for our department and you have to be very careful of bias and population asked as well...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing and thanks for noticing the bias. Since we are Christians, we know we are fallen and will get angry sometimes. We serve a God of second chances and we teach our families to give each other second chances as well. I'll be there were no questions asking if you forgive your sibling when you argue or if you forgive your spouse when the day is difficult and you are on your last nerve. Have a good weekend.
ReplyDelete*bet
DeleteI participated in the Quinnipiac/Cbs poll last week oh brother are you ever so right!!
ReplyDeletePolls are most definitely NOT just a list of how many people answered that they would vote for one or the other. That would be too much work becuase to get an accurate sample, you must ask a lot of people. Today, instead, pollsters ask a smaller sampling and then extrapolate based upon assumptions. Polls are not to be trusted AT ALL. The current polls are based upon 2008 voter characteristics, number of committed democrats etc. Calculations based on 2008 characteristics skew the results in favor of Obama. The few polls that ask people straight up and make no assumptions actually show Romney leading. Look it up!
ReplyDeleteVery true SportsFan!
DeletePolls are very interesting. I do one on my hpos and I just try to make them funny
ReplyDeleteStudies like this make me crazy. It's far too easy to create questions and conditions in which an agenda is 'proven'. Not too long ago I saw one about how liberals are more intelligent than conservatives. Uh huh. I wonder who came up with the idea for that study?
ReplyDeleteThat is the way main stream media does... They twist the questions to fit the answer that they want. Great post, by the way.
ReplyDeleteSoooo if I answer yes to all of those questions? Pokey has no siblings, does a cousin apply. I think we can say YES to all of them. HA!
ReplyDeletenever heard of this before
ReplyDeleteCome Say HI
That is a very bizarre study indeed!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up with my NO RULES Weekend Blog Party!
Have a great weekend :)
Paula
lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com
This is very true. Thanks for sharing and for linking up for Friday Connection at Big Foot Tribe. Come back every week, hopefully I can get more to link up next week.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend
Michelle
www.bigfoottribe.com
Most polls are biased...kids are always falling out..those who don't have siblings fall out with their friends or cousins instead.
ReplyDeleteTalk about bias! Glad you opted out of this one.
ReplyDeleteYou can conduct a study or poll and get it to back up just about anything you want. It is actually very sad. I have a hard time believing almost any type of survey, statistic, or news related media. What's really sad is that people use these so called "studies" to form their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI hate these sort of questions...it doesn't matter how you answer it you will be tagged and put into a box.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this post! I didn't realize some polls were conducted with such misleading questions. Also, thanks for visiting me on Home Everyday!
ReplyDeleteI think polls can be manipulated to coerce whatever answer is desired. When I was a kid and I wanted something really badly and I knew my parents would say "no." I figured out I had a better chance of getting a "yes" if I worded the request in a certain way. Same with polls.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me even the parents of only children would be answering those questions with a yes. I have to wonder who came up with those questions and what they really wanted to discover. Parents yell sometimes and children (not limited to siblings) fight. This is what we call life!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post and comments.
ReplyDeleteI rarely believe what I read, because I know whoever wrote it, or did the study, probably doesn't see things the way I, or even others, do. Heck, I don't even trust half of what I SEE, because I know my opinions differ from the way someone else sees it!
ReplyDeleteI had to share again...I was driving and when I do, listen to Rush Limbaugh..his black educated democratic guest said, "I first listened to you so I could put the man with the ugly rumors, and after a while realized that I had been being lied to about what you were really all about...and now...after listening and hearing for myself, I have changed my opinion. I just want the truth."
ReplyDeleteShouldn't we all just want the truth?
Crazy...just wondering, how did they do on this same poll!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt would be unusual to have a household with zero conflicts ever. I find it interesting they didn't incorporate in the questions prompts for the subjects to share the frequency of some of this stuff happening. If I were a researcher, I'd wonder if, for example, siblings hitting each other was a one-time thing, or if this was an everyday occurrence. That would make a difference in how I'd interpret the overall data.
ReplyDeleteI hardly ever believe the results of polls or studies because the results would change from day to day and from person to person. For example if you polled your children today with those particular questions and everyone is getting along, they would answer in a more positive way than if they were polled next week on a day when some of the kids are upset with each other. (well maybe that isn't fair if your kids always get along)
ReplyDeleteThere are just too many variables. I did occasionally yell at my children but I am a fairly patient person so I didn't yell easily. By answering yes, I am being lumped with the person that is a constant screamer. That wouldn't be factual.
Wow, so interesting, and I do see what you mean. Even do "scientific research" and polling, a researcher can get just about any answer he/she desires. Thanks for this interesting post. (My family would also have had to answer YES to all of those questions...yet, I think we probably about as normal/abnormal of functional/dysfunctional as any other human family). This is also very interesting in the face of this upcoming election, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteLOL! Those are the most ludicrous questions I've ever read! Of course the answer is "yes" to all!
ReplyDeleteI reject all polls....and questionnaires. I am afraid I would be committed.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how they put together this survey. Very interesting. I love reading all the comments.
ReplyDeleteAnnmarie, It's just like our national news broadcasts and the talking heads. They too bend the information to fit what they perceive the answer or problem to be. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
ReplyDeleteYes, that's true. I can see where the questions are slanted. And man have I had that kind of week this week where every question actually sounds like my family. But, truthfully, I think the stress begins with the first child!!! :/ And they're not looking at all of the positives like : Can your sibling make you laugh like no other person on Earth?
ReplyDeleteAmen. I taught parent education many years ago. One can construct a "study" to get just about any result one wants, especially if one uses absolutely no common sense. Phewy!
ReplyDeletePolls and such are all subject to interpretation. I personally don't believe there is much value in them at all!
ReplyDeleteI agree! I am a nurse and even a lot of the medical related surveys can give weird results. There is a lot of power in the wording of questions and yes, the interpretation. There is often a lot of jumping to conclusions that occurs as well. Good for you for putting a stop to it.
ReplyDeleteThis is kind of like the test they give to applicants at the corporation I work for ... 1) Have you ever done drugs? 2) When you did drugs, did you tell anyone? 3) Have you ever stolen anything? 4) When you did steal something, did anyone find out? --- totally mind games on truly honest people!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent point! Never really thought of it that way but I do hear all these "studies" on the news and think to myself, "duh." Perfect example!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thank you. Glad you took you time to speak out here.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting insight! Thinking back to a Survey class I took in college, survey questions cannot be leading. Sounds like whoever came up with the survey wasn't properly trained to do their job.
ReplyDeleteInteresting set of questions.
ReplyDeleteI do believe Benjamin Franklin said "Believe none of what you read or hear and half of what you see." This could be related to the survey.
Sure sounds like the results were in before the study was ever started.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Post, a real eyeopener.
It's funny how research defeats its own purpose by driving respondents' answers to what they want to see. You're right, can't believe everything they say.
ReplyDeleteI believe in only what I can see, hear and taste. Everything else is based on what someone or some entity wants me to believe for their purpose.
ReplyDeleteVery true. I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for highlighting this. I must bare this mind. Same thing, we can believe everything we hear too.
ReplyDeleteI had a doctor like that once. I was 18 and pregnant, so I surely must do drugs in his opinion. "Do you do drugs?" Me- "I've never touched a drug in my life." "When was the last time you did cocaine?" "Umm, did you not hear what I just said. I don't do, nor have I ever done any kind of drug, cocaine included." He then grabs my hands and starts digging under my nails for traces of cocaine lol. He was bound and determined to convince himself I was a coke user and kept twisting the questions around hoping for a new answer with each one!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe those polls either...
I totally agree. There are no grey areas. A no or a yes will bring you to the extreme which is very biased.
ReplyDeleteWow! What stupid questions. The only person who could answer "no" is a person never born!!LOL!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! These questions are misleading and won't help at all!
ReplyDeleteOh Dear! I'm sure that my children and myself would have answered "Yes" to each and every question! I suppose there are some perfect families out there somewhere but I haven't met one yet that wasn't on a television sit-com!! Love Di ♥
ReplyDeleteEven Richie Cunningham had his problems. ;)
DeleteYou are so right! I would have answered "yes" too, and I just have two kids. One. Two.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true. In the 1980s I noticed the studies on the 'positive' effects of video games was funded by the makers of those games. Who would tell the funding group something they don't want to hear? I always ask myself who the backers are for any study I read about.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. The survey is tilted to show that having a big family is stressful all around. It does not show any question pertaining to the benefits and joys of a large family.
ReplyDeleteYeah, surveys are a means to manipulate people's beliefs. Just look at the surveys we get.
~Imelda
Mark Twain is credited with saying, "There are lies, d__m lies, and statistics." It's amazing how you can manipulate the data to suit your own agenda.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever get paid for your time even though you stopped participating? This post was pretty eye opening, I must say.
ReplyDeleteMy answers..... Yes,yes,why yes we do that too.....I guess we are normal?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow. Those are TERRIBLE questions. I mean, I think anyone with half a brain would know that all siblings fight sometimes. All parents yell sometimes. People are sometimes inconsistent. This study seems designed to discover...nothing. What a waste of time!
ReplyDeleteSiblings ARE Special!!
ReplyDeleteNot long ago I read, that ears trust everything they hear, while eyes only what they see.
ReplyDeleteGood post, very interesting.
ReplyDeletewow, your posts are so bare bones honest! it's great to see! glad you led me your way! thanks!
ReplyDeleteBe interesting to see what the results of the study are. Your assessment of their assessment should be an eye opener for them, but they likely wouldn't get it.
ReplyDeleteI am always skeptical. You can find a study to support both sides of each argument. Arguments that never take place of course.
ReplyDeleteStopping by from the harvest hop!
Paula
Thank you for being a part of the Getting To Know You hop! :D
ReplyDeleteHmmm, interesting! Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteInstitutions of higher education tend to be very left-leaning and most professors are extremely liberal. They have their minds made up about social issues and they want to promulgate that in society at large. Good for you for bowing out of the survey!
ReplyDeleteThanks I will listen more carefully on how questions are phrased and how answers may be interpreted!
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy how things can be twisted. Sounds like you made a bit of money with your large family. I guess that was the good part.
ReplyDeletePolls can definitely be twisted and biased. It's important to know who is putting them out and where they get their money from as well. I participated in one study when my daughter was a baby and I regret it but for different reasons. It was on separation anxiety...They were trying to see the difference between separation anxiety experienced with babies who were regularly left with other caregivers and those primarily taken care of by their mothers at home. I was and still am at stay at home mother.
ReplyDeleteI'd bring her to a place and they'd have me leave her in a room with a very nice volunteer who would try to play with her. As soon as I'd leave she'd start screaming and I'd watch it on cameras. Nothing would make her stop and finally I went in and calmed her down. They would have preferred me not to. She was only about 8 months old. I thought it was inappropriate personally and I regret doing it as she developed some anxieties later on and I don't think that experience helped much.
Sorry for writing so much! Great blog. I look forward to reading future posts. Thanks for checking out and following mine. :)
Loved the post! Shoot they wouldn't have wanted to see my kids in a spat with each other. There was nothing June Cleaver here when my kids were fighting. She would have never said, "Get the hell off your brother!" :) The poll questions they asked sound so "Stepford" don't they? Def enjoyed reading your post.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree! And not just polls, but politics, "news", wars, etc. I've come more and more to take the things I read with a load of salt, and never let my opinion be so firm that I cease to be open-minded to the possibility of another side or angle.
ReplyDeleteFollowing via MBC weekend bloghop! Great blog!
Ang (mom of 8 as well!!!)
Sometimes it takes a lifetime to learn this. Everybody has an agenda, a spin. Especially the media, and advertising. It's hard to find the truth these days. Only God's word is unchanging.
ReplyDelete