Article archive / November 1, 2014
Originally published: . Volume 5, No. 15. Source pages: 9.
Dr. Ruscher in Observer Storytelling Helps Communicate the Value of Psychology
In “Storytellling From a Three- Legged Stool,” Dr. Janet Ruscher, Tulane Dean and previous Chair of the Tulane Psychology Department, writes for the Association for Psychological Science Observer about how to communicate science with storytelling techniques.
In this column, “Speaking of Science,” she describes communicating psychology to diverse audiences such as teachers, community leaders, and the media, and ways psychological scientists and psychologists can put complex issues into clear, under- standable, and interesting ways for people outside the discipline.
In her current article Ruscher describes capturing and communicating what psychology has to offer by using literary devices. She gathered ideas from experts Dacher Keltner (BBC series The Human Face) and Lera Boroditsky (National Geographic series Brain Games) and suggests focusing on meaning, coherence, and memorability.
“… assume the role of storyteller,” she says, “drawing our audience into tales of the human condition, of the scientist’s journey, of the bizarre coincidences of psychological science.”
In storytelling it helps to think of meaningfulness, coherence, and memorability as the three legs of a stool, Ruscher explains. Establishing meaningfulness should be a straightforward task. “… psychological researchers hold the enviable advantage of a ready and invested audience,” writes Ruscher.
Good stories have a structure, and the predictable structure is already part of human experience, she explains. Good stories also are easy to remember, they stay with us, she writes. Audiences can be drawn into the stories of psychological science because it describes the universal experiences that define us all.
“So relish opportunities to share a science that lends itself naturally to storytelling,” says Ruscher. “And tell your stories often, widely, and well.”
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.