episodes 205 'A Research Study and Czechoslovakian Wedding Pastries' (October 18)

[Tripper]

Season 2, Episode 5 - A Research Study and Czechoslovakian Wedding Pastries

Airs October 18, 2018 at 8:30/7:30c on CBS

Dr. Sturgis recommends Sheldon and Missy for a university research study on twins, and Mary is unhappy when the test results go to Sheldon's head.

Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Toy Story) returns as Dr. John Sturgis.

[joyceraye]

What a great idea for showing how they afforded to fund Sheldon's education. 

If they'd shown me those pictures at that age I'd have assumed they were testing my ability to know what lions' and chimps' proper environments were, and whether the adverts on the TV we'd just acquired were real. I loved the ads with the chimps talking over their cups of tea before they were deemed non-PC. Who remembers them ?

They very cleverly showed the differences between Missy's and Sheldon's abilities.

[djsurrey]

3 hours ago, joyceraye said:

Who remembers them ?

 Can't say I remember.

[joyceraye]

1 minute ago, djsurrey said:

 Can't say I remember.

Perhaps you're too young.

[bfm]

Well I checked this one because of the twin study plot.

Tests are not available just like that, which makes the implication that Sheldon reads them habitually an error.

Now the study plot was mostly realistic, which was nice. The family watching..mm not so much. And a researcher won't get dragged into chatting with Missy while she's being tested, but it's just a sitcom so I'll let that slide...

Georgie at dinner was the funniest part IMO and it was nice that Missy got some attention from her mom.

Like other YS episodes though, I found it nice and not more than that. I guess it's somewhat better the Big Bang these days but that's a low standard. So far, "Mom" is my favorite Lorre this season.

Edited October 20, 2018 by bfm

[joyceraye]

On 10/19/2018 at 8:36 PM, bfm said:

Well I checked this one because of the twin study plot.

First I've gotta say, one part made me squirm hard. In one part of the show they were using real items from some psychological test. I don't think they know this but this is forbidden. Whoever is responsible for these items getting to them and to TV made an ethical breach. Items from tests must be protected and not exposed to the general public. Why? Because that may distort the answers of those who are being assesed . In this case the items were used to assess something else than they're meant to. A kid watching this may try to recall the answers from the show which would make for a faulty assessment. Sadly, some items from different tests had been leaked, so upsetting that people let this happen. However, tests are not available just like that, which makes the implication that Sheldon reads them habitually an error.

Now the study plot was mostly realistic, which was nice. The family watching..mm not so much. And a researcher won't get dragged into chatting with Missy while she's being tested, but it's just a sitcom so I'll let that slide...

Georgie at dinner was the funniest part IMO and it was nice that Missy got some attention from her mom.

Like other YS episodes though, I found it nice and not more than that. I guess it's somewhat better the Big Bang these days but that's a low standard. So far, "Mom" is my favorite Lorre this season.

In the episode they said the longitudinal study was until age 18, which means at least the overall results, if not also the raw data, could have been accessible to researchers for  the last 20 years. Books of practice IQ tests have always been available to buy and Sheldon might have meant one of those when he said he enjoyed them.

I was surprised to see the parents observing the children being tested, but if the parents themselves were being observed for their reactions it would make an interesting project. When one of my godchildren was tested IRL  at about the same time as the Cooper twins, I was allowed to stay with him. He was only four and his mother sat on the far side of the room. ( I am a registered tester. ) One of the pictures showed a person using a telephone box and another showed a person walking towards a pillarbox to post a letter. Millions of four-year-olds now  would not be able to identify the situations in the pictures, let alone comment on them. Tests used to be intended to have a life of at least thirty years but they now go out of date very quickly. Since they can no longer be used for official purposes they could possibly be sold, depending on what the original agreement was between the publisher, the psychologists and any funding academic authorities. 

Edited October 20, 2018 by joyceraye
Deleting some lines. Insertion of two words to clarify time frame

[bfm]

11 hours ago, joyceraye said:

Hear hear ! If they're showing on TV  real psychological tests still in use they might be breaking the law. On this side of the pond breach of copyright would be the least of anybody's troubles if they were caught exposing them to the public like that. If they are now out of date and in the public domain that's another matter. Or,if a text book or reference volume was published which included sample pages from a test now obsolete, that could have been a way in which the programme makers were allowed to get hold of it.  In the episode they said the longitudinal study was until age 18, which means at least the overall results, if not also the raw data, could have been accessible to researchers for  the last 20 years. RL and TBBT/YS worlds are overlapping here.  Books of practice IQ tests have always been available to buy and Sheldon might have meant one of those when he said he enjoyed them.

I was surprised to see the parents observing the children being tested, but if the parents themselves were being observed for their reactions it would make an interesting project. When one of my godchildren was tested IRL  at about the same time as the Cooper twins, I was allowed to stay with him. He was only four and his mother sat on the far side of the room. ( I am a registered tester. ) One of the pictures showed a person using a telephone box and another showed a person walking towards a pillarbox to post a letter. Millions of four-year-olds now  would not be able to identify the situations in the pictures, let alone comment on them. Tests used to be intended to have a life of at least thirty years but they now go out of date very quickly. Since they can no longer be used for official purposes they could possibly be sold, depending on what the original agreement was between the publisher, the psychologists and any funding academic authorities. 

Some tests have been updated since 1989, with items replaced, but some not. The purpose of their use plays a role here. 

The problem is those who originally leaked the items or did not watch them carefully enough (when I have tests with me they're on me all the time or under the surveillance of a colleague), unless they were robbed in a sophisticated way.

As for manuals, now that there's online shopping it may be more complicated to watch who gets they're hands on tests (although maybe they use license numbers? I haven't purchased a test privately yet...) but in the 1989s, who would let a 9 year old, obviously not an authorized tester, buy them?

Edited October 20, 2018 by bfm

[joyceraye]

 

12 hours ago, bfm said:

 

As for manuals, now that there's online shopping it may be more complicated to watch who gets their hands on tests (although maybe they use license numbers? I haven't purchased a test privately yet...) but in the 1989s, who would let a 9 year old, obviously not an authorized tester, buy them?

Over here nobody but authorised testers can purchase official tests but there are companies who publish books of  'IQ - style' verbal and non-verbal reasoning  tests for practice at home. Selective schools suggest parents buy the children's ones so they're less nervous when they take the real ones for entrance exams. They were certainly in bookshops over here in the 1980s  - had been for decades - and they're still  available.  Sheldon would have loved the numerical ones best, I suppose. Perhaps he split his pocket-money between them and comic-books.

Official tests can be purchased online, yes, these days, but the order has to be direct from the publishers using the tester's official registration number and all items are delivered by security firms and signed-for. Sometimes adults take tests online using secure methods. They've always used registration numbers as far as I know. Pre-internet you had to write your number down on the paper order form. If you worked for an institution such as a school all the orders went through named persons, often only one. A list was kept of who could administer the tests.

 

Edited October 20, 2018 by joyceraye
Deleting lines irrelevant to the show.

[bfm]

2 hours ago, joyceraye said:

 

Over here nobody but authorised testers can purchase official tests but there are companies who publish books of  'IQ - style' verbal and non-verbal reasoning  tests for practice at home. Selective schools suggest parents buy the children's ones so they're less nervous when they take the real ones for entrance exams. They were certainly in bookshops over here in the 1980s  - had been for decades - and they're still  available.  Sheldon would have loved the numerical ones best, I suppose. Perhaps he split his pocket-money between them and comic-books.

Official tests can be purchased online, yes, these days, but the order has to be direct from the publishers using the tester's official registration number and all items are delivered by security firms and signed-for. Sometimes adults take tests online using secure methods. They've always used registration numbers as far as I know. Pre-internet you had to write your number down on the paper order form. If you worked for an institution such as a school all the orders went through named persons, often only one. A list was kept of who could administer the tests.

 

As for the kinds of tests you are describing, that is different. Of course the more similar they are Wechsler (and other tests) items the more damage they do, but there are many tests being used to assess cognitive skills by other institutes and professionals and the rules for them are different. Sheldon though mentioned Wechsler's test. He would not be able to read it. But that's just a mistake made due to the writers' lack of knowledge, not that big of a deal. They probably just googled cognitive skills tests and used some names they saw.

Edited October 20, 2018 by bfm

[bfm]

I edited some of my posts. Not that they gave anything away but I thought it would be better to not have anything at all about that. 

The message was mostly about problems regarding test security and how people should not be guided by the way testing is presented on TV. 

[joyceraye]

13 hours ago, bfm said:

13 hours ago, bfm said:

9 hours ago, bfm said:

I edited some of my posts. Not that they gave anything away but I thought it would be better to not have anything at all about that. 

The message was mostly about problems regarding test security and how people should not be guided by the way testing is presented on TV. 

 

I'm editing some of mine too.