Some scientific studies choose massively weird topics…this is one of those. But among all those weird topics, a select few also produce results so bizarre, so counterintuitive that it makes you rethink everything…starting with whether teachers look better with tattoos.
Here’s a deeply strange 2010 study in which college undergrads were asked to imagine a female instructor with various tattoos:
“128 undergraduates’ perceptions of tattoos on a model described as a college instructor were assessed. They viewed one of four photographs of a tattooed or nontattooed female model. Students rated her on nine teaching-related characteristics. Analyses indicated that the presence of tattoos was associated with some positive changes in ratings: students’ motivation, being imaginative about assignments, and how likely students were to recommend her as an instructor.”
So tattooed teachers make students more motivated and more creative, not to mention stand a better chance of getting a positive recommendation from her pupils? You know, as a general rule, I think skepticism is a good thing, and we should always be willing to question what we’re told. But in this case? Yeah, I say we forget that crap and mandate all teachers get at least three tats, pronto. Our nation’s children demand it!
Via NCBI ROFL; check out their original post for a pretty hilarious bonus figure. Top image by Cory Doctorow.
