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These files are maintained strictly for historical reference, research, and recordkeeping purposes,
and the content has not been altered or updated since archiving.
Content on this site may not meet current digital accessibility standards.
If you require an alternative, accessible format of any information found on this site,
please contact Bruce Jones, bjones@ucsd.edu to request an accommodation.

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[xmca] established fact: x per cent of people are happy

I heard another one of those silly reports on the radio just now. Never mind what it was about, but it reported that x% of people who did y are happy, whilst of who didn't, only z% are happy, and the reporter went on to refer to it as an "established fact" that x made people happy. This "established fact" was gained from people filling out survey forms, "checking all the boxes" and returning them in the mail.
It is over 100 years, isn't it, since mainstream, positivist science (let alone real science) rejected self-reporting of mental states as a legitimate way of doing psychology. How come it's still going on? Is this taught at universities, or is it just marketing firms moving in on the territory? 

Andy

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Andy Blunden http://www.erythrospress.com/
Classics in Activity Theory: Hegel, Leontyev, Meshcheryakov, Ilyenkov $20 ea 

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