A nature walk and the limits of one experiment
Read a C2 Spanish analysis of Berman, Jonides and Kaplan's 2008 experiment on nature and directed attention.
Un paseo, 38 estudiantes y una hipótesis sobre la atención
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About this article
What you'll learn
Research vocabulary, evidence limits, hypothetical conditions, no... sino, lo que sí and proportional comparison.
The article reconstructs two 2008 experiments on nature and attention, separates results from theory and examines the limits of generalising from a small student sample.
After reading
Article learning block
Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.
Phrases for training
Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.
poner a prueba una hipótesis
newto test a hypothesis
The phrase means examining a proposed explanation with evidence.
Useful for discussing research and arguments.
A primera vista
newat first glance
It introduces an initial impression that may change after closer analysis.
Useful for contrasting intuition with evidence.
por sí solo
newon its own
Por sí solo marks that one piece of evidence is insufficient without additional support.
Useful for limiting a conclusion precisely.
Conviene no confundir
newit is worth not confusing
Conviene no confundir introduces a distinction that the reader should keep clear.
Useful in analytical writing.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Counterbalanced
contrabalanceado
counterbalanced
In a counterbalanced design, different participants receive conditions in different orders.
Useful for understanding experimental methods.
Performance
el desempeño
performance
Desempeño is the level shown while carrying out a task.
Useful for reporting results without confusing them with ability in general.
Mood
estado de ánimo
mood
Estado de ánimo is a person's emotional state over a period of time.
Useful in psychology and everyday description.
Generalisation
una generalización
a generalisation
A generalización extends a conclusion beyond the cases directly studied.
Useful for evaluating what evidence does and does not support.
Scope
el alcance
the scope
Alcance names how far a claim or conclusion can reasonably extend.
Useful for stating the limits of research.
Sample
La muestra
the sample
In research, a muestra is the group of people or cases that is studied.
Useful for reading and discussing studies.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Hypothetical condition
Si el mecanismo propuesto fuera correcto, una breve interacción con la naturaleza debería mejorar el desempeño en tareas que requieren atención dirigida.
If the proposed mechanism were correct, it should improve performance.
Fuera presents an unreal or unconfirmed condition, and debería states its expected consequence.
Useful for reasoning from a hypothesis without treating it as fact.
Not X but Y
Así, el estudio no comparó dos grupos completamente distintos, sino el desempeño de las mismas personas en dos condiciones.
The study did not compare two different groups, but the same people.
No... sino corrects the first interpretation and replaces it with another.
Useful for precise contrasts.
Clause as subject
Que el rendimiento mejorara en una tarea concreta no demuestra que el paseo sea un tratamiento clínico.
That performance improved does not prove a clinical effect.
Que el rendimiento mejorara functions as the subject of no demuestra.
Useful for evaluating evidence in formal writing.
Focus with lo que sí
Lo que sí permite afirmar el estudio es más interesante que un eslogan.
What the study does allow us to say
Lo que sí highlights the claim that remains valid after several limits.
Useful for shifting from criticism to a supported conclusion.
The more..., the more...
Cuanto más amplia y diversa sea la evidencia posterior, más sólida será cualquier generalización.
The broader the evidence, the stronger the generalisation.
Cuanto más... más... links two changes that vary together.
Useful for expressing proportional relationships.
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