Department of Psychology

Image memorability can sharpen our sense of time, finds psychology professor

Colleen Rich — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 15:48:39 +0000

Image memorability can sharpen our sense of time, finds psychology professor Colleen Rich Mon, 07/22/2024 - 11:48

Research by George Mason professor Martin Wiener recently demonstrated that the more memorable an image is, the longer and more accurately its viewers can perceive the passage of time. In a series of experimental studies, participants were more likely to say more memorable images stayed on screen longer, they made that response faster, and they were more consistent about their responses with more memorable images, saying consistently that they stayed on-screen longer.

Martin Wiener. Photo provided

鈥淭hat study touched on something called memorability, which is the likelihood that you will remember something later,鈥� explained Wiener. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an open question of why there are some things that we just remember very well and some things we forget. Cognitive scientists and computer scientists have been very interested in this question, especially from a machine learning/AI perspective.鈥�

Wiener and colleagues conducted several experiments to determine how the size, memorability, and clutter of images affects our perception of time while viewing them. To examine memorability, they used a database built by computer science researchers at MIT that scores images at varying rates of memorability.

鈥淲e were trying to understand our visual sense of time by looking at how different types of images can influence it, and that led to a strong connection to memory that hadn鈥檛 really been explored before.鈥�

Wiener and colleagues were also curious if this impacted how likely participants were to remember the images later, so they asked participants 24 hours later if they had seen the images, and they were more likely to remember seeing the images that were more memorable. Additionally, if they had reported seeing the image for a longer period of time (by holding down the space bar), they were even more likely to remember them the next day.

Given the findings of the experimental study with human participants, they used the same test with an artificial intelligence (AI) machine model of the visual system (a recurrent convolutional neural network). This model also reported that it saw the more memorable images for a longer period of time and made this response faster and more consistently. This meant that the findings were not just limited to their experimental study and suggested that there was a mechanism for how the brain processes these images.

An example of the types of photos used in the study using open-source photos. Graphic provided

聽

Wiener explained the significance of these findings. 鈥淔or some stimuli, the more memorable the images, the brain thinks this is very important. I need to process it as quickly as I can and gather as much information as I can, and in order to do that, I鈥檓 going to dilate time a little bit. The experience becomes longer, it becomes expanded. What that translates to is a better encoding into memory so that you can retain that better and remember it better a few hours later, 24 hours later, etc. That鈥檚 where we got this connection between memory and time. Our sense of time seems to be something controllable by the brain and used by the brain to gather information.鈥�

Wiener鈥檚 work is unique in that it is looking at very complicated images of scenes and pictures, seeing how those influence the sense of time. Previous researchers studied very simple visual stimuli鈥攄ifferent sized squares, or high and low contrast images.

Adding to his work on memory, Wiener runs the Spatial, Temporal, Action, Representation (STAR) Lab at George Mason, which is uncovering how the senses build a perception of time. Students at all levels鈥攆rom high school volunteers to doctoral students鈥攚ork with Wiener on studies exploring very short intervals of time鈥攅verything from a few hundred milliseconds to multiple seconds to a maximum of about a minute. Some of their work has explored movement and time, which also has critical applications in fields beyond psychology, such as dance and music.

They found that when people are allowed to freely move, their sense of time is sharpened, meaning they perceive the passage of time more precisely. More recent work is exploring how people learn intervals of time鈥攈ow feedback and learning lets you acquire, understand, and measure intervals of time. Their findings could change how we teach topics and skills related to time.

All this discussion about time may leave you wondering if we can slow down time. As Wiener explains, you can, but generally it鈥檚 not a good thing. They tend to be cases of high arousal鈥攙ery frightening or intense situations. 鈥淯sually situations in which time slows down tend not to be pleasant ones,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey are often frightening or emotional or upsetting, like when you see something scary or something dangerous is occurring.鈥�

He said time also slows down in very boring and monotonous situations, such as waiting on hold or being stuck in traffic. 鈥淚n those situations, we become more keenly aware of the passage of time, and the more you think about the passage of time, the slower it becomes.鈥� 聽

Why does Wiener study this topic? 鈥淭he stuff that excites me about time is how little we still know about the way the brain perceives it and measures it but how fundamental it is to everything,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those things鈥n the surface it might not seem that interesting, but the more you think about it, the more you go wait, how does that happen?鈥澛�

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鈥淚 will respond to your email when I return鈥�: Psychology professor explores how to be better at taking vacation

Sarah Holland — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:41:16 +0000

鈥淚 will respond to your email when I return鈥�: Psychology professor explores how to be better at taking vacation Sarah Holland Wed, 07/10/2024 - 12:41

With schools out and summer in full swing, many of us take advantage of 海角社区鈥檚 location to spend some vacation time at the nearby beaches, local mountains, or even just at home. For most of us, it鈥檚 relaxation. For Lauren Kuykendall, it鈥檚 research.聽

Kuykendall, an associate professor of industrial-organizational psychology at George Mason, is working to define the relationship between out-of-office availability and organizational culture in order to help employees and employers be better about taking restful, recuperative vacation time.聽

She started her research last year with a survey of away messages.聽

Lauren Kuykendall. Photo provided.

鈥淲e wanted to see how people signal availability, and how that aligns with their perceptions of the norms of their team or work group,鈥� she explained. 鈥淢ost people don鈥檛 want to check emails on vacation, but if this is normalized in your work group, you start to worry about what others will think if you鈥檙e gone for two weeks.鈥澛�

They found evidence that people in groups with high expectations for responsiveness, for example, were more likely to avoid setting firm no-contact boundaries in their away messages.聽

This inspired Kuykendall to design a more robust research model. During summer 2024, she will be conducting more comprehensive surveys with research participants before and after their vacations to better understand how workplace social dynamics impact vacation experiences.

As an expert in employee well-being, burnout, and work-nonwork balance, Kuykendall believes that 鈥減eople do things because they are desirable and because they are feasible. Vacations are desirable, but they don鈥檛 always feel feasible because of the repercussions: hundreds of emails, working long hours right before in order to be able to go on vacation, so on and so forth. So people sometimes choose not to bother. They don鈥檛 see the net positive of it.鈥澛�

But she believes there are ways employees can set up themselves and their teams for vacation success. First, through forming habits around recuperative and restful behaviors. 鈥淗abits are essentially self-controlled behavior, and it鈥檚 funny to think about leisure as a self-controlled behavior,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 important for us to have these leisure activities that are habits for us to create that separation between work and nonwork. It鈥檚 a great protection against burnout.鈥�

Second, Kuykendall emphasized that a group鈥檚 culture of work-nonwork boundaries is established through modeling. 鈥淭he leaders, supervisors, and organizations as a whole have a crucial part to play in making it easier for people to set and maintain the balance,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd there are practical things that teams and leaders can do, like encouraging their team to plan for expected absences.鈥�

She uses the phrase 鈥減ausing requires planning.鈥� People don鈥檛 go on vacations because there is a fear that taking time away doesn鈥檛 feel feasible, whether you鈥檙e working on complex projects, running interdependent research, or supervising employees or students. But even the act of preparing others for your absence can make a huge difference.

鈥淭he sooner you tell people your plans, the more time everyone has to prepare and set up alternative workflows to accommodate,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd, if you鈥檙e in a leadership position, it models for employees that vacations are possible.鈥�

Kuykendall said it鈥檚 become more commonplace, now, for colleagues in her department to let others know their upcoming out-of-office dates well in advance, a behavior that was modeled by a former department chair so everyone could plan accordingly for his absence. Several of her colleagues now include their upcoming unavailability in their email signatures.聽

These practices aren鈥檛 just for multi-week vacations. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a place for all lengths of vacations and breaks in our work-nonwork balance,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verything from lunch breaks to week-long vacations have a purpose in restoring us.鈥澛�

Skipping lunch every day but taking a two-week sojourn every six months, for example, isn鈥檛 an effective long-term solution for most people. It鈥檚 about the total package, Kuykendall said, and how we prioritize healthy work-rest rhythms in both the short- and long-term that will protect us from burnout.

Kuykendall is teaching and researching over the summer. But she also has her own vacation coming up in August to the Pacific Northwest. Talking about her upcoming vacation served as a reminder to for her to send an email with further information about her departure and what to expect while she鈥檚 gone.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 PTO,鈥� she joked. 鈥淚 have to Prepare The Others."
聽

Enhance human potential in the Department of Psychology

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Department of Psychology

Summer 2024

New psychology special topics course puts theory into practice around campus

Colleen Rich — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 16:31:58 +0000

New psychology special topics course puts theory into practice around campus Colleen Rich Mon, 07/17/2023 - 12:31

From better cell phones to safer cars, the study of human factors鈥攈ow people interact with technology鈥攊mproves our lives every day. It鈥檚 a rapidly growing field, and while PSYC 340 Human Factors Psychology provides a solid foundation on the subject, 海角社区 psychology professor Yi-Ching Lee saw a need for a more advanced course at the undergraduate level, particularly for students considering human factors as a profession.

Psychology professor Yi-Ching Lee. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Lee designed PSYC 461 Advanced Topics in Human Factors, an interactive, hands-on curriculum that challenges students to solve real-life issues, with those students in mind. It was offered for the first time in the spring 2023 semester.

The course started with the study of advanced human factors principles before progressing to a series of projects that gave students the opportunity to apply those principles to human factors projects on campus.聽

鈥淜nowing the theory is one thing, but using it to make a human interaction more enjoyable is another,鈥� said Lee, who is an associate professor of psychology.聽

Collaboration with University Libraries and University Sustainability聽

The timing of the course was just right for students to apply human factors principles to assist Mason鈥檚 University Libraries with a website improvement project. After meeting with a library consultant on the goals of the project, students analyzed the requirements and developed recommendations to help improve the user experience. They presented their solutions to University Libraries staff.聽

The course culminated with聽a project that examined the Bigbelly smart waste bins located outside of the Starbucks on the northern side of campus. To start, University Sustainability staff briefed students on the 鈥渂ehind-the-scenes" technology of the smart bins, as well as campus guidelines that must be adhered to.

One group of students analyzed the design of the bins and made recommendations to optimize their design, function, and accessibility, with a focus on making the differences between recycle and compost bins more intuitive.

The second group studied the app and website dashboard that alerts the pickup crew when bins are full and made recommendations to optimize design, features, and function. Students presented their ideas to members of Mason鈥檚 University Sustainability staff.聽

Greg Farley, director of University Sustainability, was impressed with the students鈥� work. 鈥淭he students brought forward some very good ideas and strong recommendations for improvement,鈥� he said.聽聽

Getting the hands-on experience employers demand聽

Students worked with University Sustainability to improve the use of the bins on campus. Photo by Evan Cantwell/OUB

鈥淲atching the students鈥� presentation was like watching a consultant firm pitch a solution to a client鈥攊t was hard to remember these were undergraduate students,鈥� said Mason psychology professor Keith Renshaw, the former Department of Psychology chair, who also attended the presentations.

Renshaw, who will transition to become Mason鈥檚 associate provost for undergraduate education in August, said he is excited that undergraduate students had this experience. 鈥淭his type of course is precisely what our students need, and future employers are demanding鈥攕trong coverage of relevant knowledge, and then hands-on experience in applying that knowledge to real-world problems.鈥�

Throughout the semester, Lee invited guest speakers from the field to the class, providing valuable insight on potential career paths.

Psychology major Thema Green, who took the class as a sophomore, said the guest speakers and the opportunity to build her professional portfolio were highlights of the class. She is already putting skills she learned into practice as a paid intern working on 3D programming and virtual reality development at the University of Massachusetts Amherst this summer.聽

鈥淚 would recommend that everyone interested in psychology or design take this course,鈥� Green said. 鈥淵our contribution is greater than you know because, in the world of human factors and applied cognition, diversity is a necessity. Varying backgrounds offer new insights, which often improve project outcomes.鈥澛犅犅�

Lee said she hopes to teach the special topic course again in spring 2024 semester and wants to find similar opportunities for the next group of students.

鈥淥ne of the reasons why I collaborated with the University Libraries and University Sustainability was that I wanted students to do something that would benefit the entire university community,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he implications of this class go beyond this semester. They are making the university better for the next generation of students.鈥�

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Translating stage skills to life skills

Shayla Brown — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 18:42:02 +0000

Translating stage skills to life skills Shayla Brown Wed, 02/08/2023 - 13:42

When Thalia Goldstein studies children in theater, she looks at the skills they鈥檝e gained not only in acting, but in life. She鈥檚 aiming to help them develop a heightened sense of empathy as a result of the bonding and teamwork they experience during various theater exercises and activities.聽聽聽聽聽

Goldstein, an associate professor of applied developmental psychology at 海角社区, studies how participating in theater helps聽children to develop essential life skills and better communicate with others.聽聽聽聽

Thalia Goldstein. Photo by Shelby Burgess

鈥淭he great thing about psychology is you can use the tools and techniques to study basically anything, and I use them to study acting, theater, play and imagination,鈥� said Goldstein, who has been studying the topic for her聽entire career.聽

Theater teachers rate students on social-emotional聽skills such as communication, creativity, teamwork, initiative, and problem solving, at the beginning and end of each semester, which Goldstein and her research partners then take into consideration to see what effect theater聽has had on different aspects of their personalities.聽

For the last six years, this longitudinal study has followed more than 1,000 theater students ages 5-18, and looking at the effects of formal theater activities on their social and emotional skills.聽

Goldstein co-directs the聽Mason Arts Research Center, a聽National Endowment for the Arts lab. When she spoke at the 2018 Arts Education Partnership Annual Convening where she聽met future colleague Julane Havens, who had already collected years' worth of research from her previous position at the聽Commonwealth Theatre Center (CTC) in Louisville, Kentucky.聽聽

鈥淚 didn't want all those binders of data to just sit there and collect dust,鈥� said Havens,聽the Associate Director of Learning at Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC. 鈥淚t was just good luck or fate that Thalia was there that day and that I was also moving to the Washington, D.C. area.鈥澛�

Julane Havens with binders of research from Commonwealth Theatre Center. Photo provided.

Working with Goldstein and Havens is聽Megan Stutesman, a fourth-year PhD student and graduate research assistant in Mason鈥檚 Psychology Department.聽

鈥淚 came to Mason to study under Thalia,鈥� said聽Stutesman. 鈥淚n the early stages, I took on the role of cataloging, organizing, and getting these hard copy files into a digital format. I had a really good working knowledge of what the data looked like and what we could potentially do more scientifically and psychologically with it.鈥澛�

Havens said that assessment tools built at CTC helped the students by scheduling 15-minute 鈥榚nd of semester conversations鈥� with students at the advanced level鈥攖ypically teenagers with a couple years or more experience. 聽

For example, 鈥渁 15-year-old,聽hard-working, and naturally gifted student, who was regularly cast in leading roles, was often overly critical of his work and relied heavily on feedback from his teachers,鈥� said Havens. 鈥淥n the rubric under creativity, we could point to 鈥楽tudent can describe their artistic choices and progress, but often relies on the opinions of others to be sure of their work鈥� and discuss with this student ways he could work on progressing to 鈥楽tudent gives carefully considered reasons for their choices, and progresses without the approval of others.鈥欌€澛�

The goal is for the student to develop his own definition of success, so he can continue working without constant reassurance. 鈥淚t was a privilege to witness this student's confidence grow. By the time he was a senior in high school, he was a leader in class who frequently uplifted and supported the younger students.鈥澛�

Theater helps students with their expression, communication, creativity, teamwork, initiative, and problem solving. Photo by Getty Images

The students work with聽complex plays, scripts, and characters, said Goldstein, who teaches a class in psychology of creativity and innovation.聽

鈥淭heater has a sense of containment that means students are free to do all sorts of things they might not feel comfortable doing in the real world,鈥� said Goldstein.聽聽

For example, within the confines of a practice space, a group of three students might be asked to improvise a scene where they are waiting at a bus stop, which allows them to not only rely on one another throughout the exercise, but get to know one another and the way their peers are thinking.聽聽聽

鈥淭he arts are a potential place for children to better themselves, and in particular, to better the things that they may not be getting in a traditional academic classroom,鈥� said Stutesman. 鈥淭heater and other performing arts are a space where kids can practice and utilize those skills and therefore develop those skills.鈥澛�

鈥淵ou see them connecting with folks in a different way. They鈥檙e off of the phones, off of the computers,鈥� said Havens. 鈥淢y hopes and dreams for this work as we continue it results in more resources and support for theater and theater teachers.鈥澛�

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Leah Adams and Amarda Shehu honored with SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Awards

John Hollis — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 16:44:36 +0000

Leah Adams and Amarda Shehu honored with SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Awards John Hollis Wed, 02/02/2022 - 11:44

In This Story

Amarda Shehu

海角社区鈥檚聽Amarda Shehu聽and聽Leah Adams聽were among the 12 educators from around the state who were formally recognized by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) with 2022 Outstanding Faculty Awards.聽

Shehu, a professor in the聽Department of Computer Science聽within the聽College of Engineering and Computing, and Adams, an assistant professor in the Department of聽Psychology聽and Women and Gender Studies Program, were among the recipients chosen for their superior accomplishments in teaching, research and public service.聽

Leah Adams. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

Shehu received the Outstanding Faculty Award. Adams received the Rising Star Award reserved for faculty with more than two complete years of full-time experience, but less than six. Beginning in 2010, two Rising Star recipients have been selected annually.聽

Adams and Shehu became聽Mason鈥檚 26th and 27th聽overall selections since the inception of the Outstanding Faculty Awards in 1987.聽They will be recognized at聽a ceremony on March 1 in Richmond.聽

They聽both recently sat down with Communications Manager John Hollis to talk about the honor.

What does this recognition by SCHEV mean to you聽and what聽does聽it mean for your work?聽

Shehu: I think it鈥檚 a very well-rounded review of your research, teaching, mentorship, and service. 鈥� I [also] think it鈥檚 a recognition of the role that we play, the opportunity that we have to shape the lives of our students and to steer students along. I鈥檝e always been driven by putting people first and helping my students in any way, whether it was by leading them or cheering them along. I鈥檝e always been a champion of my students. So this is what the award means to me鈥攔ecognition of the responsibility we have, the privilege that we have, to turn stories of difficulty and hardship into stories of persistence and success. Our students are getting a great life lesson that will serve them even after they leave the university.聽

Amarda Shehu. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

Adams: For me, winning this award feels a little like a full-circle moment because, when I was a fourth-grader moving to Virginia, I knew immediately the impact that my teachers were having. To be able to now be in a place where I鈥檓 being recognized for the impact I鈥檓 trying to have on students just feels really amazing. It was very unexpected, but it does feel really nice. As far as my work, I think it will help bolster some of the projects I鈥檓 working on. I鈥檓 working on a couple of research projects that are specifically focused on Virginia, so it highlights the work I鈥檓 doing.

Tell me a little bit about your research and why is it potentially significant?聽

Shehu: I鈥檓 a computer scientist, but, in my training, I was exposed to interdisciplinary research, and I have really kept that focus, even here at Mason. I am a firm believer that real-world problems are the ones that give us the most challenging questions [and] also inspire us and motivate us to design new computational methodologies, new algorithms. I鈥檝e always looked to make an impact beyond computer science, to improve health and other aspects of the human condition.聽So聽it鈥檚 always been computing in the service of something greater. That has always been my philosophy.聽

Adams: My research sits at the intersection of a lot of different areas. I鈥檓 a clinical psychologist by training, but I鈥檝e always brought in ideas and concepts that expand beyond psychology.聽So聽my work [is] trying to understand how people can improve the quality of their lives鈥攎ostly folks who are dealing with chronic illnesses or who are at risk for illness or living with acquired disability. How can we maximize quality of life, maximize creating a life that is valuable and meaningful to them? One of the two places where my work can be helpful is in that real-world applied aspect. It鈥檚 also multidisciplinary, and it really highlights that鈥攖o聽solve聽those big problems鈥攚e have to be thinking together and working collaboratively.聽

What has been the biggest obstacle you鈥檝e faced in your research and how have you managed to overcome those obstacles?聽

Shehu: There are many challenges for a researcher, but I think self-doubt is probably the biggest challenge. Everything else is outside, but self-doubt is probably the most difficult, because it鈥檚 inside of you. You get better at it over time. It鈥檚 not that you鈥檙e NOT going to have it, but you point yourself to your experiences and your past accomplishments, and you convince yourself that you can do it again.聽

Adams: One of the biggest obstacles is we don鈥檛 have a medical school, and so much of my research is focused on folks who have medical conditions. The way that I鈥檝e overcome that is the way that I鈥檝e tried to overcome everything鈥攖hat is, finding collaborators, finding other folks to kind of put our heads together and work through.聽

Did you always know that you wanted to be an educator?聽

Shehu: I always knew I wanted to be a scientist. I remember in high school telling one of my friends that if I ever became somebody who sat in front of his computer 10 hours a day, I would not be happy. But I鈥檓 happy to say I鈥檓 NOT sitting 10 hours a day in front of my computer. What I聽actually enjoy聽and have been very good at is working with people, with my collaborators and with my students.聽

Adams:聽Absolutely not. I always thought that I was going to be a journalist. As a child, I was the one kid who was watching 鈥�20/20.鈥� I was like 鈥淏arbara Walters is everything.鈥� I loved Barbara Walters, I loved the interviews and all those kinds of things.聽

Can you tell me something about you that people wouldn鈥檛 know just from reading your bio?聽

Shehu: I am very much into fitness. I find that exercise is very effective at blocking other pain pathways, which tend to accumulate as you advance in age Lately, since the pandemic started, I have gotten much more into running. When I run, I like to mix it up in my music choices, mainly international聽music聽and European pop. Lately, I have started to listen more to African American gospel music. The music does a great deal to distract me from the aches and pains of running. And there is just so much history and culture in those songs that, being raised in a different country, I have completely missed on. I am catching up.聽

Adams: I鈥檓 very into baking, and I think I even take a scientific approach in that. I have so many cookbooks. I鈥檓 like a lot of people who like to cook鈥攜ou just collect them, and you don鈥檛聽actually cook聽out of them. I鈥檝e started a year of cooking where every week I鈥檓 going to cook a different recipe in one of my cookbooks. But I鈥檓 also rating it on a quality scale of 0 to 10 and keeping notes about how to improve it. I鈥檝e already done four weeks.聽

聽

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Spirit Fall 22

Podcast - EP35: Foods you can lose to climate change

Damian Cristodero — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 17:03:20 +0000

Podcast - EP35: Foods you can lose to climate change Damian Cristodero Wed, 01/12/2022 - 12:03

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Ted Dumas, an associate professor of psychology, is an experienced researcher who is ringing alarm bells about the damage from climate change. His book, 鈥淚f Food Could Talk: Stories From 13 Precious Foods,鈥� explains how foods such as coffee, chocolate, bananas and avocados could soon disappear for good. Dumas tells Mason President Gregory Washington how the book came about, how these foods can be saved 鈥� a pooping bear in Japan might provide a way to save cherries 鈥� and how the book was almost entitled 鈥淭he Last Chocolate Kiss.鈥�

聽

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海角社区

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Psychology

Climate Change

climate change; global warming

climate change education

Access to Excellence podcast

Office of the President

Podcast - EP34: Reimagining Santa Claus

Damian Cristodero — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 18:05:34 +0000

Podcast - EP34: Reimagining Santa Claus Damian Cristodero Wed, 12/08/2021 - 13:05

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Want to listen to a conversation with real holiday spirit? Thalia Goldstein, an associate professor of applied developmental psychology, tells Mason President Gregory Washington about how kids benefit socially and emotionally from finding out Santa Claus isn鈥檛 real. As for finding out herself as a child that Santa isn鈥檛 real, Goldstein, whose research focuses on the effects of pretend play and theater on children鈥檚 social and emotional skills, says she鈥檚 still disappointed.

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Should COVID-19 vaccination status be used when rationing scarce medical resources? Mason professor says it鈥檚 an ethical Pandora鈥檚 box.

John Hollis — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 20:17:25 +0000

Should COVID-19 vaccination status be used when rationing scarce medical resources? Mason professor says it鈥檚 an ethical Pandora鈥檚 box. John Hollis Thu, 10/07/2021 - 16:17

Andrew聽Peterson is an assistant professor of bioethics in the Department of Philosophy. Photo provided

海角社区鈥檚聽Andrew Peterson聽says that rationing medical care depending on vaccination status is ethically fraught, but it鈥檚 under consideration in parts of America as the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to fill up hospitals and strain limited medical resources.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 brutal,鈥� Peterson said of possibly using vaccination status to decide which patients to admit to the ICU. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 equally brutal to tell a family of someone who鈥檚 had a heart attack that their loved one can鈥檛 be admitted because ICUs are full with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients.鈥澛犅�

Peterson, an assistant professor of bioethics in the聽Department of Philosophy聽within the聽College of Humanities and Social Sciences, has worked on the ethics of medical resource rationing since the pandemic began. He has conducted聽surveys with Mason colleague聽Wesley Buckwalter, advocated for people with disabilities, and informed RAND Corps聽guidance聽on triage protocols.聽

鈥淲e鈥檝e moved into a new phase of the pandemic鈥攖he vaccinated versus the unvaccinated鈥攁nd ethical challenges are evolving.鈥澛�

Iowa recently became the first state to聽announce聽鈥渃risis standards of care,鈥� where health care resources are rationed, with Alaska and Montana soon following with similar measures. More parts of the country could be in a similar situation with the winter flu season approaching and the delta variant continuing to spread. Among overwhelmed ICUs,聽the majority of聽hospitalizations have been people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19, despite shots being free, safe, and readily available throughout the country.

Caring for unvaccinated COVID-19 patients is taking its toll on the medical field, Peterson said.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 pushing clinical staff beyond the breaking point,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e already hit the burnout stage. Now my clinical colleagues can only muster the word 鈥榟elplessness.鈥� They鈥檙e trying to help people who won鈥檛 help themselves.鈥澛�

As a result of medical resource shortages, many patients who don鈥檛 have COVID-19 but still need critical care are being turned away from hospitals.

Peterson cautioned聽against聽vaccination status determining who goes to the front of the line.聽

鈥淐linicians shouldn鈥檛 be in the position of judging patients鈥� behavior,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have a duty to care for patients irrespective of how they ended up in the hospital. We wouldn鈥檛 turn car accident patients away because they weren鈥檛 wearing a seatbelt, so why would that be OK with vaccination status?聽It鈥檚 also聽hard to tell why people haven鈥檛 received their shot. Is it because they can鈥檛 access the shot? Or is it because they have anti-vaccine attitudes?聽Which聽reasons聽are good聽or聽bad?鈥澛犅犅犅�

But even if vaccination status shouldn鈥檛 play a role in deciding who gets an ICU bed,聽Peterson suggested that聽it still might be factored in some part of the calculus. If two patients have equal consideration for ICU admission, but聽only聽one is vaccinated, Peterson said聽vaccination status might be used a 鈥渢ie breaker.鈥� He also suggested that vaccination status might be used once patients are discharged from the hospital to gauge the cost of their ICU stay. Some companies have聽raised聽insurance premiums on unvaccinated employees.聽

鈥淔inancially rewarding people聽for getting聽the shot might be effective way increase vaccinations and keep people out of the ICU.鈥�