Lunacy the Relation of Lunar Phases to Mental III-Health

Coles, E. M.; Cooke, Donna J.

doi:10.1177/070674377802300304

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Seven years have elapsed since Campbell and Beets (1978) concluded that “lunar phase is not related to human behavior” (p. 1123). Their conclusion is similar to those reached by astronomers (Abell & Singer, 1981), physicists (Culver & Ianna, 1979), and other psychologists (Coles & Cooke, 1978; Cooke & Coles, 1978). Further, books championing the lunar hypothesis have received skeptical and, in a few cases, hostile reviews (Abell, 1979; Earley, 1978; Ornstein, 1978; Rotton, 1982a).…”

supporting

confidence: 83%

“…Because Garzino (1982b) claimed that previous reviewers had been selective in their choice of references, we took several steps to locate relevant articles and unpublished papers. One was to retrieve references from previously cited reviews of the literature (e.g., Coles & Cooke, 1978) and books linking lunar cycles and behavior (e.g., Katzeff, 1981). Another was to obtain a computer listing of articles published after 1978, when Campbell and Beets completed their review, from three abstract services (Psyc INFO , ERIC , and SOCIAL SCISEARCH ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Much ado about the full moon: A meta-analysis of lunar-lunacy research.

Rotton

Kelly²

1985

Psychological Bulletin

127

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Data from 37 published and unpublished studies were combined in a metaanalysis that examined relations between phase of the moon, type of lunar cycle, sex, publication practices, geographical features (latitude, population density), and several types of lunacy, including mental hospital admissions, psychiatric disturbances, crisis calls, homicides, and other criminal offenses. Although a few statistically significant relations emerged, effect size estimates indicated that phases of the moon accounted for no more than 1% of the variance in activities usually termed lunacy. Alleged relations between phases of the moon and behavior can be traced to inappropriate analyses, a failure to take other (e.g., weekly) cycles into account, and a willingness to accept any departure from chance as evidence for a lunar effect.

show abstract

supporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Much ado about the full moon: A meta-analysis of lunar-lunacy research.

Rotton

Kelly²

1985

Psychological Bulletin

127

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In fact, "if an hypothesis does not hold up under replication attempts that are methodologically similar to the original srudies, then doubt should be cast upon the truth of the hypothesized relationship" ( Campbell, 1982, p. 420). Coles and Cooke ( 1978) have expressed a similar conviction: "The test for the falsification of scientific fact is replication of a particular study by an independent investigator" (p. 150). However, several reviewers (Campbell, 1982;Rotton & Kelly, 1985) have not appreciated the scientific meaning of replication.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

Geophysical Variables and Behavior: XLVI. The Lunar-Lunacy Relationship: A Poorly Evaluated Hypothesis

Cyr

Kalpin

1987

Psychol Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Authors of several published studies and important reviews have recommended that attempts to validate the lunar hypothesis be terminated. It is suggested in this reply to these critics that such recommendations are premature on the basis that the literature is replete with haphazard attempts at confirmation prior to demonstrating replicable findings. Several reasons are provided which may account for the failure to obtain reliable results in the literature on psychiatric admissions, regardless of whether the data supported the hypothesis. A more systematic approach to investigating the lunar-lunacy hypothesis is proposed.The lunar cycle and its possible effects on human behavior has long been a fascinating and intriguing topic in the literature. There has been much controversay regarding the validity of the lunar-lunacy relationship on the basis of empirical studies. Some reviewers (Campbell g: Beets, 1978; Rotton & Kelly, 1985) have recommended that attempts to validate the lunar hypothesis be terminated. It is our contention that such recommendations are premature, not on the basis of a literature which claims to support a lunarlunacy relationship, but rather on the fact that this literature is replete with poorly conceived attempts to confirm previous findings. Regardless of outcome, the methodologies of chese studies have been inconsistent, rendering them incomparable. Misconceptions about the meaning of replication and lagging procedures are prevalent in reviews of the licerature. These problems are addressed with respect to the literature which evaluates the lunar hypothesis based on psychiatric admission data specifically. Although these concerns are not limited to studies of psychiatric admissions, this licerature serves as a good illustration of why it is premature to condude that research endeavors to examine the lunar hypothesis be terminated on the basis of a lack of supportive research evidence.The variables in published studies are confounded at several levels (e.g., time of admission, type of behavior, geographic location, etc.). Such methodological chaos has made impossible any consistency in results in the evaluation of the lunar hypothesis. In light of chese confounds, reviewers have been stating the obvious. For example, one would have to expect the outcome of Campbell and Beet's (1978) review: "The studies of psychiatric hospital -.'Request reprints from J. J. Cyr, Psychology

show abstract

“…I n the past 25 years phenomena suspected of being influenced by the full moon have included misbehaviors among mentally retarded persons and the mentally ill, plus crisis and poison center calls, accidental injuries, suicide, emergency room visits, drug overdose, and human birth and menstrual cycles, among others. As one reads the literature one becomes aware of the controversy as some researchers cite evidence for the hypothesis (Coles & Cook, 1978;Stone, 1976;Leiber & Sherin, 1972;Leiber, 1978;Menaker, 1967;Templer, Veleber, & Brooner, 1982;Odera & Klein-Schwartz, 1983), while other researchers cite evidence against it (Abell & Greenspan, 1979;Culver, Rotton, & Kelly, 1988;Kelly & Rotton, 1983;Lester, 1979;Michelson, Wilson, & Michelson, 1979;Sanduleak, 1985;Pokorny & Jachimyczky, 1974). As Kelly, Rotton, and Culver (1985-86) 'Address correspondence to William E. Hicks-Caskey, Ph.D., P O Box 18940A, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, T N 37614-0002. wrote in their review of the literature, "For every study that had found that people behave more strangely than usual when the moon is full, another had found that people's behavior was not affected" (p. 131).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of the Full Moon on a Sample of Developmentally Delayed, Institutionalized Women

Hicks-Caskey

Potter

1991

Percept Mot Skills

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over 19 lunar months reports of all aggressive acting-out misbehaviors as recorded by direct-care staff were evaluated and recorded on a day-by-day basis for a randomly selected sample of 20 developmentally delayed women, CA 18 to 50; MA, 9 to 18 months. All had been in continuous residence in a residential treatment center for a minimum of 31 months. A grid representing the 24-hr. period of the full moon (a), the three days prior to the day of the full moon (b), the three days after the full moon (c), and the balance of the lunar period (d) was placed over the record. Comparisons using the Duncan multiple-range test indicated that the mean number of misbehaviors on the day of the full moon was significantly higher than the mean number on any other day of the lunar period (the next highest was for the three days prior to the day of the full moon).

show abstract

Lunacy the Relation of Lunar Phases to Mental III-Health

Cited by 8 publications

References 18 publications

Much ado about the full moon: A meta-analysis of lunar-lunacy research.

Much ado about the full moon: A meta-analysis of lunar-lunacy research.

Geophysical Variables and Behavior: XLVI. The Lunar-Lunacy Relationship: A Poorly Evaluated Hypothesis

Effect of the Full Moon on a Sample of Developmentally Delayed, Institutionalized Women

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About