To Love Research

For the psychology student who dislikes research, this article is for you. If you would rather spend your time connecting to people than analyzing data, I understand, as I felt exactly the same way. As an aspiring therapist, one of the most rewarding aspects of psychology is interacting and learning about people in a personal and profound way. As a result of that predisposition, I found research to be a dehumanizing exercise; surveys, statistics, and data seemed to reduce people to numbers, removing the ‘humanity’ from the psychological process. 

I first grappled with this frustration when I was exposed to mental health statistics in my General Psychology class. Various health administrations like the World Health Organization provide detailed statistics on the current state of the mental health of the world. Reading those statistics, such as rates of depression internationally, was hard to digest and reinforced my motivations to become a therapist. What does it mean that 332 million people all experience the same suffering that I once experienced? How can you express such immense, profound, complex suffering with a simple numerical value? 

It wasn’t until I joined the Love and Communication research team that I came to appreciate the processes through which real human experiences, relationships, and struggles manifest as data. Early in my time with the lab, I participated in data collection for our research about romantic relationships. Interacting with the people who participated in our studies finally helped me establish a visceral connection between person and number. What had initially been represented as a numerical value, had now manifested into physical reality where I was subject to the social and psychological reality of these individuals. I could observe their expressions, hear their opinions and thoughts, and participate in a process of measuring their experiences as thoughtfully as possible. Meeting and interacting with our participants provided me with the connection of numbers to people that I had previously missed. 

Research doesn't remove the human element; it helps us understand it more clearly. 

Over time I had come to understand the importance of research and I had come to love it not through engaging in the activity, but through understanding its impact on the world. Think of the latest therapies that clinicians use to save lives, or improve marriages, all of which are grounded in research. For instance, consider one of the most transformative new therapies, Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy. This new therapy has the potential to help countless individuals to combat conditions like depression, suicidality, and PTSD. But, what would Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy look like without research? It might look something like Sigmund Freud recommending cocaine to a friend struggling with morphine addiction (and, later, almost killing a patient while under the influence of cocaine). Without rigorous research and the scientific insights it yields, we risk not only limiting our capacity to help people as effectively as possible, but also potentially even worsening their conditions.

Without research, psychology would rely on unsubstantiated ideas rather than scientific evidence. Research expands the horizon of human knowledge and chips away at the ignorance behind the greatest mysteries of the human condition. 

It teaches us how to be more human. I still have some reservations with the ways research can dehumanize people; but, I now believe that, when done right, research can humanize and benefit us all. I came into the field to help people, and I appreciate now more than ever the role that research plays in the important work of people on the front lines. So, for those who dislike research, perhaps the best cure is to get involved - to witness, firsthand, the ways researchers transform experiences into data, and data into solutions.