Happy Halloween [aka The Most Wonderful Time of the Year–Ed.] ! See below for a grab bag of Halloween-related research!
Gangsters, Pranksters, and the Invention of Trick-or-Treating, 1930-1960, by Samira Kawash
From the American Journal of Play
• A little bit of scholarly research on the history of trick or treating
Access at https://eric.ed.gov/?q=halloween&ft=on&id=EJ985578
Halloween Provides a Look into Human Psychology
From National Public Radio
• Listen to this short news story on how researchers have used Halloween to shed light on the human mind and behaviour.
Access at http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/10/31/500034064/halloween-provides-a-look-into-human-psychology
Halloween’s Secret Walking Benefits, by Christine Voss and Amanda Frazer
From the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, University of British Columbia
• Aside from all that candy, trick or treaters are also getting a hearty dose of the “miracle drug” of exercise.
Access at http://www.hiphealth.ca/blog/HalloweenWalkingBenefits
Hauntings, Homeopathy, and the Hopkinsville Goblins: Using Pseudoscience to Teach Scientific Thinking, by Rodney Schmaltz and Scott O. Lilienfeld
From the journal Frontiers in Psychology
• Discusses how to teach scientific skepticism, so students approach topics with an open mind, and a willingness to accept only those that have survived scrutiny in rigorous scientific tests.
Access at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24860520
Happy haunting!