Stevensons

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Stevensons Theory of Color Attraction
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Stevensons theory

• Derived from theory of magnetism
• Objects of the same color will move together if
  allowed to do so because of attraction of colors
• Empirical test hold object of one color over
  object of same color
• What happens?

3
Good academic research

• Clear statement of theory
• Operationalization of concepts
• Derivation of hypotheses
• Empirical test
• Replication

4
Bad logic

• If A, then B
• B
• Therefore, A

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Good logic

• If not-A, then not-B
• Not-B
• Therefore, not-A

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Definition of causation

• A causes B if the presence of A is sufficient to
  bring about B (or at least to increase the
  probability of B)
• But there may be other causes of B C, D, or E
  so A is not necessary to bring about B
• In the absence of B, there can be no A.

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Hypothesis testing

• A ? B
• A ? B because of C
• If (A ? B because of C), then D
• First testable D Without C, A will not lead to
  B
• Voila! The null hypothesis

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Typical studies

• Usually descriptive explanation is either
  lacking or implied
• Usually focused on one country
• Immediately forgettable

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A good study

• What? Descriptive
• Why? Explanation
• So what? Implication
• Why bother? Important question

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A typical critical research study
Western Non-Western
media media
Good content
Bad content
11
Why study culture?

• Cultures derive from individual behaviors that
  aggregate to have social or national significance
• And from man-made institutions
• Most media are national institutions
• Great variance exists among nations and cultures
• Globalization of culture is superficial

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Research ideas

• Nesting individual differences within cultures
  and comparing individual and cultural or national
  differences
• Good data sources now available
• Develop provocative ideas, examine implications,
  look for ways to test

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Sources

• Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations
• Bennett, The Anglosphere
• DeSoto, The Mystery of Capital
• Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel the Fate of
  Human Societies
• Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations
• Lewis, What Went Wrong?

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Sources

• Harrison, Who Prospers?
• Harrison and Huntington, Culture Matters
• Sen, Development and Freedom
• Sowell, Race and Culture
• Zakaria, Illiberal Democracy
• UNDP, annual Human Development Reports