Ethics aside (for the duration of this post), the science is weakened by the problem of common-method variance. What I mean is, "mood" in the manipulation was measured in exactly the same way as "mood" in the outcome (via automated assessment of the words used in status updates). That can lead to inflated associations. The associations turned out to be very small anyway. They'd have been even smaller, I think, if the outcome had been assessed through an independent method such as mood questionnaires.
What the study really shows is that people's status updates on Facebook have a (small) tendency to use the same general sort of emotional vocabulary they've recently been exposed to in their Facebook newsfeed. --David Epstein [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=37317 or send a blank email to leave-37317-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
