When I searched the web today, I found a batch of stories with headlines like "Study: Teenage brain lacks empathy," and "Teen Brain: It's all about me."
These stories describe a brain scan study, but key facts are incorrectly reported. Contrary to the headlines, the study didn't actually measure empathy. Nor did researchers observe any differences in attitude between adults and teens. And the brain? In direct opposition to the popular claims, researchers found that the medial frontal cortex -- a brain region associated with empathic processing -- was more active in teenagers, not less.
How did these errors spread? The misunderstanding is symptomatic of a widespread problem in the way that research is covered in the media. Too often, new agencies publish claims before fundamental criteria have been met. Does the reporter understand how the study was designed and executed? Is the reporter familiar with related studies, and capable of putting the results in context? Does the reporter appreciate what logical requirements must be met before we can draw conclusions about causation?
These criteria seem like common sense, and good science journalists meet them. But nowadays it's common for media outlets to pass along a story without the analysis of a science journalist. In some cases, publishers simply lift the entire story--verbatim--from a press release. And that can lead to major problems.
What's wrong with relying on press releases?
Press releases are like
advertisements. They promise that a study delivers certain results, and
they may include enthusiastic quotes from investigators who are swept up
in the excitement of an apparently new, important discovery.
Some university press officers do outstanding, careful work. But press releases don't often explain the research in detail. They may fail to describe important aspects of a study's design, or leave out information that would help the reader understand the study's limitations (Woloshin and Schwartz 2002; Woloshin et al 2009). In addition, it's not unusual for press releases to publicize research that is still in progress. The study in question may not have submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journal yet -- let alone accepted for publication. That’s crucial to understand, because preliminary findings can be deceptive. In some cases, a study heralded in a press release never gets published at all.
And then there are the everyday mix-ups -- misunderstandings that arise between the researcher and the person writing the press release.
Put it all together, and it's no surprise that many press releases contain errors -- sometimes really big errors.
False claims about empathy and the teenage brain
Consider the coverage that an fMRI study got a few years ago. Researchers asked volunteers to think about what they would do in certain hypothetical situations, e.g.,
“What would you do if you were at the cinema and had trouble seeing the screen? Would you move to another seat?”
As subjects answered these questions, their brain activity was recorded. Intriguingly, the pattern of brain activity differed for adolescent and adult subjects (Blakemore et al 2007).
The full details were published in 2007. But six months before the study was published, a press release was circulated about the results.
Headlines went up around the web: “Teenage brains lack empathy.”
The popular stories claimed that, compared with adults, teenagers “underuse” the medial prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain associated with empathy, guilt and social decision making.
One version of the story, posted on WebMD.com and CBSnews.com, began with this way : “It may be a "me first" world in the typical teen brain. Brain scans show that teen's brains may still be developing when it comes to sensitivity to other people's feelings.”
Another version began with this claim “If you ever sense teenagers are not taking your feelings into account, it's probably because they're just incapable of doing so.”
Well, first of all, it’s a big leap to assume that because teens and adults process information differently, one group i