the buzz log
SAT Score Gap
SAT scores are in, and sorry, class of 2009: They're going in the wrong direction. Scores have dropped an average of two points compared with last year.
It's not all bad news: An amazing one third of students who took the test said English was their second language, and will be the first in their generation to attend college.
Still, there's no getting around the score gap by ethnicity: Asian students scored the highest, while African American students' scores were lowest. White males couldn't escape the SAT carnage, with drops by an average of two points, while females were five points lower than last year.
One thing all these students have in common: The test surely makes everyone miserable.
Filed under: Tests
This Is Only a Test: Rorschach Blots Rocking the Web
Ever take the inkblot test—or at least see one administered on TV (like in any "Law & Order" episode)? If so, then you know that there are no right or wrong answers on a Rorschach test, but responses do provide insight to the test-taker's state of mind.
And yet, a controversy about the posting of 10 Rorschach inkblots on Wikipedia is rocking the scientific community, according to The New York Times. In addition to the blots themselves, the Wikipedia entry also includes the most common interpretations of what these blots look like—the old bison vs. butterfly vs. moth.
Taking the Test
The Rorschach test—a series of ink blots
shown to patients, who are then asked to explain what they see—is named after Swiss psychologist
Hermann Rorschach. Five of the blots are black-and-white, two are
black, white, and red, and the last three are in pretty colors. (Or not
pretty, depending on your view.)
The test-taker is evaluated on 100 variables, which will show what he/she truly feels deep inside—not just separating psychotic thinking from "normal" thought. One Rorschach FAQ site describes it as asking "How does someone view and organize the world around them?"
One nonprofit parenting site, SPARC, explains that it's not only what patients say in describing what they see, but also what "hand gestures and body movements" they make. (Interestingly, SPARC precedes its lengthy description of the whole process with a disclaimer, posted "after repeated letters from dozens of outraged psychologists and psychiatrists.")
Illuminating or Cheating?
Is the test's public availability stimulating free debate, or enabling test-takers to "cheat"? Depends on how you look at it:
• From the Wiki view: Supporters say it's informative—and searches on Yahoo! for "rorschach" have popped up 111% in the past week.
• From the psychologists' view: These "cheats" could help test-takers game the system and get in the way of research. And if patients peek at the interpretations beforehand, they may get in the way of their own diagnoses.
• From the test publishers' view: The test's publisher is "assessing legal steps" to have the images removed from Wikipedia, even though those images—created some 90 years ago—are in the public domain. Still, one spokesperson huffed that Wikipedia's position is "unbelievably reckless and even cynical" for recognizing concerned claims and posting the images anyhow.
But Does One See Results?
Despite the outrage over Wikipedia's posting, not all researchers believe in the test's validity. The method was severely criticized in the 1950s and revised in the 1970s. Scientific American revived its 2005 article that called Rorschach's test "frequently ineffective" as a mental health tool.
Ideally, at least two clinicians should be involved in the interpretation of the test's results, but often they may not agree. Even worse, according to the article "What's Wrong With This Picture?", research also "suggests" that the Rorschach can't really gauge violent tendencies, depression, sexual abuse in children, antisocial tendencies, and so on. Since the test is administered to all kinds of people, from convicts seeking parole to parents in custody battles, obviously a lot rides on the interpretation of the results.
By the way, the Wikipedia uproar erupted in June, when an emergency-room doctor added the remaining nine inkblots to the one Wikipedia already had. When The New York Times told the doctor about all the experts' complaints, he replied, "Show me the evidence." Preferably not in the form of an inkblot.
Filed under: Science, Internet, Psychology, Tests, Wikipedia
SAT Prep: Not Making the Grade
For anyone considering shelling out a lot of money (and time) for SAT prep classes, we have good news and bad news.
The bad: Your scores will only improve a scant 30 points or so. The good: That may be enough to get you into your dream school. That's the conclusion of a nonprofit organization that studied the success of the $4 billion college prep industry.
The study found the bump in scores to be so small as to be statistically insignificant. But selective colleges don't see the changes as insignificant. That 10- or 20-point increase in math or verbal sections can make the difference between a fat or thin envelope. Is "irony" an SAT word?
But for such low expectations, why not DIY it? As a report on Marketplace points out, you can achieve similar results by forgoing the hefty price tag of the test-prep biz by picking up a $30 study guide, a stack of pencils, and planning on some quality library time.
The report is likely to hit home for test takers. Searches on the college exam surged as results were available today. Lookups on "sat scores," "college board sat," and "sat results" all spiked.
Are You Our Type?
Every day, massive numbers of people turn to the Web for verification of one kind or another. This week, they confirmed election results, ascertained football scores, and determined once and for all what Kirstie Alley looks like in a bikini.
But that's not all they were doing. Recently, your fellow citizens also looked to the Web to tell them whether they're more Kirk than Spock ("star trek personality test"), more Harry than Draco ("harry potter personality test"), or truly as cool as Boba Fett ("star wars personality test").
Since the early days of the Web, "personality quizzes" and "personality tests" have thrived online. And nothing seems to change that. Here's this week's top 20 most requested ways to determine whether you really are Mr. or Miss Personality...
Filed under: Personality Tests, Tests, Quizzes
How Are You Doing?
Are you an extrovert, an introvert, or something in between? Have you ever experienced a tinge of worry over finances, sex, or the weather? Your answers to these questions, and others, may determine whether you get a job, fall in love, buy a house, raise a child, or experience an iota of joy in your life. Now's the time to find out. Begin with the fail-proof Myers-Buzz Typological Approach to the Web's most popular character screenings...
- Do you ever feel passive, aggressive? Passive-aggressive? If you have, even momentarily, sample searches for "personality quiz" (+13%) and "personality test" (+4%).
- Do you feel blue? Have you ever experienced melancholy at the setting sun? You're not alone. Searches on "depression test" rose 6% yesterday. Go ahead, click on it. There's nothing to be ashamed of.
- Do you occasionally think that you might not be a genius? Do you ever suspect that others think you're not so sharp? Put those worries to rest with "iq scores" (+23%) or "free iq test" (+6%).
- Are you in love, but sense that the object of your affection doesn't love you back? Why not find out the truth? Give searches for "love test" (+9%) a try. Base all subsequent decisions on what the examinations tell you. They're strictly professional and 100% clinical, after all.
Filed under: Health, Personality Tests, Tests
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford 400 | Breakout! |
| 2 | Indonesia Ferry | Breakout! |
| 3 | Jordan Chandler | 3481% |
| 4 | Evan Chandler | 2322% |
| 5 | American Music Awards | 1841% |
| 6 | John F. Kennedy | 1529% |
| 7 | Turkey Stuffing Recipes | 1361% |
| 8 | Liam Hemsworth | 1172% |
| 9 | Lou Dobbs | 1142% |
| 10 | Hendrick Motorsports | 888% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +340 | 1290 |
| 2 | NFL | +489 | 670 |
| 3 | Jennifer Lopez | +451 | 515 |
| 4 | New Moon | -67 | 250 |
| 5 | American Music Awards | +236 | 249 |
| 6 | UFC | -36 | 239 |
| 7 | Miley Cyrus | +66 | 169 |
| 8 | Hulu | -11 | 154 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.