Just to clarify, is the article saying they didn't have an affair or they didn't have sexual relations in the service of science? I would say it was obvious that it was not for the sake of science since the public nature of science means, if you don't publish it (or at least try to), you aren't doing it in the service of science.
Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Box 3055 x7295 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.jbu.edu/academics/hss/faculty/rfroman.asp Proverbs 14:15 "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 4:37 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Sexy time for John B. Watson? The story of John B. Watson's alleged sexy time with his graduate student Rosalie Rayner in the service of science has alternatively agitated and titillated the psychological community and its undergraduate students for many years. At last we have as close to a definitive answer as we are ever likely to get, from Ludy Benjamin et al (2007) in a masterful review of the evidence. So, tittle-tattle or truth? The abstract to the just-published article in American Psychologist coyly doesn't tell, presumably to induce you to read the article in full to find out. But those of you who don't have easy access to the article would hate me if I kept quiet about it, wouldn't you? The answer is....tittle-tattle. Or, in the words of the authors, "Our assessment of the evidence leads us to agree with the textbook authors who appear to have decided that the story of Watson's sexual research was just that--a story, so much gossip." It's not that there aren't tantalizing hints in Watson's writings that he was interested in such research; it's just that there's no reliable evidence that he actually carried any out. As one who at one time entertained the notion, perhaps wistfully, that the story could be true, the lesson is clear: be sceptical of such stuff unless and until it receives adequate documentation. The Internet has only made the problem of spurious stories and attributions worse (much worse!). Witness, for example, the case of Freud's alleged, widely-quoted statement that the mind is like an iceberg which we've discussed here. Actually, textbooks came out of this one surprisingly well, because as Ludy et al point out, not a single current textbook mentions the story, although it appears in quite a few older ones. But they note that it seems to be still making an appearance in the undergraduate classroom and, of course, is well-represented on the Internet. Is this article going to put a stop to such stuff? I wouldn't bet on it. Stephen Benjamin, L. , Whitaker, J., Ramsey, R., & Zeve, D. (2007). John B. Watson's alleged sex research: an appraisal of the evidence. American Psychologist, 62, 131-139. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 0C8 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang= english --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
