Rhetoric of psychological measurement theory and practice.

Metascience scholars have long been concerned with tracking the use of rhetorical language in scientific discourse, oftentimes to analyze the legitimacy and validity of scientific claim-making. Psychology, however, has only recently become the explicit target of such metascientific scholarship, much of which has been in response to the recent crises surrounding replicability of quantitative research findings and questionable research practices. The focus of this paper is on the rhetoric of psychological measurement and validity scholarship, in both the theoretical and methodological and empirical literatures. We examine various discourse practices in published psychological measurement and validity literature, including: (a) clear instances of rhetoric (i.e., persuasion or performance); (b) common or rote expressions and tropes (e.g., perfunctory claims or declarations); (c) metaphors and other "literary" styles; and (d) ambiguous, confusing, or unjustifiable claims. The methodological approach we use is informed by a combination of conceptual analysis and exploratory grounded theory, the latter of which we used to identify relevant themes within the published psychological discourse. Examples of both constructive and useful or misleading and potentially harmful discourse practices will be given. Our objectives are both to contribute to the critical methodological literature on psychological measurement and connect metascience in psychology to broader interdisciplinary examinations of science discourse.

Mixed News about the Bad News Game.

Basol et al. (2020) tested the "the Bad News Game" (BNG), an app designed to improve ability to spot false claims on social media. Participants rated simulated Tweets, then played either the BNG or an unrelated game, then re-rated the Tweets. Playing the BNG lowered rated belief in false Tweets. Here, four teams of undergraduate psychology students each attempted an extended replication of Basol et al., using updated versions of the original Bad News game. The most important extension was that the replications included a larger number of true Tweets than the original study and planned analyses of responses to true Tweets. The four replications were loosely coordinated, with each team independently working out how to implement the agreed plan. Despite many departures from the Basol et al. method, all four teams replicated their key finding: Playing the BNG reduced belief in false Tweets. But playing the BNG also reduced belief in true Tweets to the same or almost the same extent. Exploratory signal detection theory analyses indicated that the BNG increased response bias but did not improve discrimination. This converges with findings reported by Modirrousta-Galian and Higham (2023).

Ambient ageism: Exploring ageism in acoustic representations of older adults in AgeTech advertisements.

Ageing-in-place environments are increasingly marked by ambient digital technologies designed to keep older adults safe while they live independently at home. These AgeTech companies market their products by constructing imagined visual and aural worlds of the smart home, usually deploying ageist representations of ageing and older adults. The advertisements are multimodal, and while what is seen on screen is often considered most important in a visuo-centric western culture, scholars have argued that it is what audiences hear that has the greatest impact. The acoustic domain of AgeTech advertisements and its relationship to ageism in marketing has not yet been explored. Accordingly, this paper will address this gap by following Van Leeuwen's framework for critical analysis of musical discourse to explore what AgeTech companies say about ageing, older adults, and ageing-in-place technologies using sound in an illustrative set of smart home advertisements for ageing-in-place. The paper will discuss how music, voice, and sound are semiotic resources that are used to construct stereotypical (both negative and positive) portrayals of older adults, reinforce the narrative of "technology as saviour," and trouble the private/public boundaries of the ageing-in-place smart home.

"Remember this picture when you take more than you need": Constructing morality through instrumental ageism in COVID-19 memes on social media.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, a parallel pandemic of ageism is spreading through social media. This paper argues that COVID-19 health securitisation logic and the urgent need to disseminate public health information have allowed nuanced forms of ageism to be reproduced in online forums. I use a critical discourse analysis and social semiotic analysis to deconstruct the use of ageist representations of older adults in COVID-19 memes, which have been organised into four illustrative categories. The analysis attends to ageist representations that both reinforce stereotypical messages and exacerbate intergenerational tensions. Drawing upon moral anthropology, I propose that the memes employ "instrumental ageism," a nuanced form of ageism that advances the health securitisation agenda during the pandemic. The paper concludes with a recognition of the impact of ageist pandemic memes on intergenerational tensions and a call for attention to nuanced forms of ageism in our online and offline social worlds.

Against environmental anaesthesia: investigating resident engagement with a magnetic participative art installation on a secure care unit.

Secure long-term care units come with a unique set of challenges, particularly around exit-seeking behaviour. Arts-based environmental interventions on secure units successfully reduce problematic behaviours, while simultaneously ensuring resident safety and improving resident quality of life. The present arts-based project enhanced a distraction mural intervention to incorporate magnets as a participative arts feature. The project was evaluated through a roundtable discussion with unit staff. Findings showed that in addition to reducing exit-seeking behaviour, the magnets provided an aesthetically engaging set of objects for residents to gather up and hold, to pause and explore, and to create order. Challenges with direct care staff are identified and future ideas for arts-based projects on secure units are considered.

Vital correspondence: Exploring tactile experience with resident-focused mandalas in long-term care (Innovative practice).

The materiality of long-term care and its relationship to a resident's identity is often overlooked. In response to the call for more attention to the meaningful aspects of doing art, the tactile experience of residents with dementia is considered in the context of a mandala project at a Canadian seniors' long-term care facility. The significance of making mandalas for residents is explored through three key themes: identity integration through gesture, the importance of artistic discernment and decision-making, and the value of corresponding with recalcitrant materials. Residents' experiences are analysed through a phenomenological lens.

Beyond "Home-Like" Design: Visitor Responses to an Immersive Creative Space in a Canadian Long-Term Care Facility.

This study examined the benefits of expanding upon the "home-like" design by introducing an immersive creative space for residents, staff, and visitors to explore in a long-term care facility in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Data were collected through guestbook comments ( N = 93) and coded for themes according to guidelines for thematic analysis. Selected themes included visitors' enjoyment of the winter aesthetic, expressions of gratitude to the artists, time spent socializing with family and visitors in a creative milieu, and the experience of remembering in an evocative space. The results indicate that residents and visitors benefited from the experience of a creative space that was neither institutional, nor "home-like." Implications for future research are discussed.

From wandering to wayfaring: Reconsidering movement in people with dementia in long-term care.

The movement of people with dementia in long-term care continues to be an issue of concern among clinicians, caregivers and families. This article will examine the social construction "wandering" and its association with pathology, risk discourse and surveillance technologies. Further, the article will explore the recent shift from the term "wanderer" to the phrase "people who like to walk" in person-centred dementia care. Engaging with Ingold's concept of movement as wayfaring, an alternative becoming-centred understanding of movement and its significance for people with dementia will be presented and illustrated through a case study. The paper concludes that depathologizing movement opens the possibility to see movement in people with dementia as an intention to be alive and to grow, rather than as a product of disease and deterioration. Suggestions for future research and implications for care interventions are discussed.

The voices of Iris: Cinematic representations of the aged woman and Alzheimer's disease in Iris (2001).

Audiences must be critical of film representations of the aged woman living with Alzheimer's disease and of dangerous reinscriptions of stereotypical equations about ageing as deterioration. This paper analyses the representation and decline of the aged woman through the different voices of Iris Murdoch in Richard Eyre's film Iris (2001). Key vocal scenes are considered: On-screen encounters between young and aged Iris, vocal representations of dementia symptoms and silencing Iris as her disease progresses. Further, Iris' recurrent unaccompanied song, "The Lark in the Clear Air," compels audiences to "see" Iris with their ears more than with their eyes, exemplifying the representational power of sound in film. This paper is an appeal for increased debate about sonic representations of aged women, ageing and Alzheimer's disease and dementia in film. The significance of audiences' critical awareness and understanding about the social implications of these representations is discussed.