Values

How applying basic psychological virtues could help advance science

Science and spirituality are often not compatible, because spirituality usually entails believing in God or a supernatural being that often does not reside in the materially oriented scientific way of thinking.

Image (From Canva @prerna-madans-team)

Religions were primarily developed to guide people in their everyday matters, and to pass down values of harmony and not division, such as compassion, acceptance, humility, kindness, forgiveness, and refraining from injury or revenge against others. Over time, the application of these virtues in the smallest matters of life has diminished. However, if we return to practising psychological virtues now, I believe great progress can be made, including in science. I will illustrate this using an example from my work.


Since 2018, together with my colleagues at UCL, Oxford University and the University of Edinburgh, I have been working on a meta-analysis (which in the words of Richard Dawkins – is “an analysis of analysis”) determining the association between oral hormonal contraceptives (OCs) and depression in healthy women. Following the strict criteria, we included 14 studies with a total of 2.5 million pill users. The results of the analysis showed that in users of contraceptive pills, the incidence of being diagnosed with clinical depression increased by 27%, and the incidence of being prescribed antidepressants increased by 25% compared to non-users. Depression is one of the most commonly reported side effects of any hormonal contraceptives (see the Lowdown), including pills, patches, intra-uterine devices, such as coils, injections, implants, and rings.


Now let’s look at what we found over so many years of delving deeper into the topic:


Very early in our research, we collated a list of prescribed contraceptive pills, and their patient information leaflets. We noted that depression or anxiety are reported in ‘1 in 10’ or ‘Very Common’ categories for almost all types of contraceptive pills. However, we also noted that the 2011 Cochrane Review on this topic has not mentioned depression a single time. The omission of this important data remains unclear and questionable, especially from a body such as Cochrane.
We also noticed how language around the reported side effects in more recent pills has been changed. When reviewing the patient information leaflet for the latest contraceptive pills (e.g., Opill), the terms depression or anxiety are not listed, but are replaced with the term “nervousness”. There are several plausible explanations for this. One is that the trials were conducted on women who already had these as pre-existing conditions (depression, anxiety), in which case, these don’t need to be categorised as a new side-effect. A second possible explanation is that all mental health effects were combined into a single descriptor “nervousness”, which is reductive of the border and more serious mental health side effects of contraception.


A lot could be said for the widespread push-back and lack of acknowledgment of women’s experiences regarding their health, even by the choice of scientific methods. Perhaps one of the most important discoveries while performing our meta-analysis was how little a layperson would know about the methods used in the studies. Almost all studies that showed no effect between OCs and depression used unclear methodological choices. For example, three (21%) of studies treated women as “non-users” if they have been on birth control for less than one month, three months, or six months. This is ambiguous because women become users of contraception the very day they first take the pill or a hormonal contraceptive. This is almost unimaginable in any other type of drug testing. Furthermore, these women were  grouped into “non-users”, which could vastly underestimate the incidence of depression in OC users.


In yet another large study, the methodological decisions became unclear when the authors excluded the category of women who had symptoms of depression combined with symptoms of anxiety. The reasoning seemed to be that women should show only one or the other form of the disorder, again something that is not entirely clear and runs counter to modern diagnostics, which treats the respective diagnoses as two sides of the same psychological coin. In adolescents who have the strongest association between depression and hormonal contraceptives (and as data suggests, persisting and irreversible), it is a common occurrence to experience depression coupled with anxiety. But again, why are such choices made in research that should be sensitive and not omissive of the very experience they are striving to study?


Our meta-analysis was not the first, but the second in the world on this topic. A group of researchers had already performed a meta-analysis in 2021 using a type of statistical method that, for reasons too complex to list here, is completely inappropriate for the data studied. For example, the authors in this meta-analysis made statistical conclusions, unsupported by the data – the authors claimed: “We provide quantitative evidence on experimental data that hormonal contraceptive use is relatively safe regarding the effect on depressive symptoms”, but the authors provided no evidence on the safety of hormonal contraceptives because they did not analyse any safety data! This sort of ambiguity should have been picked up by the reviewers at the least.


If we consistently apply the principles that are not favourable to human experience and wellbeing, and even negate them, we only drive ourselves deeper into confusion and to put it bluntly – “hell”. It has been over 60 years since the pill was first created, and the evidence for hormonal contraception causing a great deal of mental and physical suffering to many of its users is incontrovertible and overwhelming. In the words of Viktor Frankl, “The ultimate freedom given to human beings, at any moment in life, is one’s attitude in any given circumstances. Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning.” What, then, is the meaning of pretending we cannot see the extent of true suffering for contraceptive users? If we didn’t pretend up until now, we could have been at a different reality of contraceptive science. And this is how I see that “spirituality and science as one”.


Our meta-analysis is due for submission in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health in May 2025.

 

Have you ever been commsplained?

There I was, scrolling through LinkedIn, when a post stopped me in my tracks: ‘Have you ever been commsplained?’ It was a moment of instant recognition. ‘Commsplaining’ is real, and while subtle, it is a more common example of workplace dynamic than you might think.

We explain to everyone, all the time

Indeed, many a time, a colleague, who is not a comms professional, has tried to explain communications (or something about communications) to me. However, unlike the infamous notion of ‘mansplaining’ derived from the influential essay by Rebecca Solnit, the person wouldn’t necessarily be condescending. And time and again, colleagues make confident statements about comms-related issues to me, while being wrong. Or sometimes, very wrong.

We probably all do it with no malice and feel embarrassed when it’s pointed out that we are talking to an expert, or that we are wrong and why (again, different from the case of ‘mansplaining,’ which includes the ‘mansplainer’ not being embarrassed).

A photo of a black door in a white frame within a brick wall

Number 10 Downing Street
Photo by: Sergeant Tom Robinson
under the Open Government Licence version 1.0 (OGL v1.0).RLC/MOD

After all, most of us think we know, for example, what the government should be doing, what policies it should pursue, and in what timelines, even though hardly any of us have experience governing.

It’s the opposite of impostor syndrome: a cognitive bias that makes us believe we know more than we do, and since we don’t know what we don’t know – well, we are blissfully ignorant!

Lift them up, don’t bring them down

However, the problem with preaching to the experts is how it makes them feel – I certainly get irritated when it happens to me. It’s also not always obvious how to tactfully make the ‘commsplainer’ aware that what they are sharing is not news to me: on the contrary, I have already tried and tested the exact same idea. Most people who approach me in a professional context know that I work in comms. Still, they are ignorant of the fact that I must have knowledge about it, resulting from education, qualifications, and some 20 years of experience.

But it gets worse: when we tell people what they already know, positioning ourselves as experts, we might inadvertently make them doubt themselves or even underestimate their own expertise. Especially, if they perceive us as being in a position of power. In this case, it is no different to ‘mansplaining,’ or simply patronising anyone, who we have power over (even if perceived only).

Do we want our expert colleagues to feel they lack expertise? Or do we want to empower them to be even better at what they do?

Patience is everything

I chatted with a couple of academic colleagues about situations when I wouldn’t be given credit for my knowledge and expertise and instead be lectured, and they pointed out the obvious: ‘That’s probably because we are lecturers! So, it sounds like we are lecturing, but we do not mean to.’

It gave me something to consider. Most people don’t mean to be mean; they might just be wearing their ‘lecturer’s hat.’

The author of the meme I started my post with suggests that the best strategy to deal with ‘commsplaining’ is not to take it personally. Be respectful and kind and take the ’lecturing’ in good spirits.

Last summer the InfComms team hosted a summer intern, a lovely and inquisitive Aagoon, who asked me: ‘What is the most important skill in comms?’ Without a second thought, I said ‘patience.’

A lot of work in communications is done in the background, in the solitude of one’s office. The outcome (a story, a social media post, a newsletter, a paragraph in someone else’s comms, a website, a microsite, an ad, or a blog) can seem easy to create. But there is a lot of work behind the scenes to do research, ask questions, proofread, refine, re-write whole passages to ensure the message is accurate and appropriate, and so on. It can sometimes take weeks to develop one output. If the outcome seems ‘easy’ and not laboured then your comms colleagues have done their job right. But it might have required a lot of effort and knowledge. Just because you can’t see the work put into achieving something, it doesn’t mean someone didn’t work extremely hard for things to happen.

It’s a bit like seeing your GP, who takes one look at your results and diagnoses you. Easy! But it took years of study and experience to be able to do that.

Be like Lieutenant Columbo

A black and white photo of a middle-aged curly-haired man

Peter Falk as Lt Columbo, public domain

For a comms professional, patience isn’t just a virtue; it’s a necessity. You need to do, what I call ‘being Columbo’ (referring to the persistent and thorough detective portrayed by Peter Falk in the classic TV series): keep asking questions, until you are absolutely certain that you have all the knowledge you need to write your story accurately, and that you’re observing embargoes, not stepping on anyone’s toes, and not dumbing down the story.

But you also need a lot of patience to deal with outside pressures: deadlines, expectations, and yes, you guessed it, ‘commsplainers.’

We all communicate every day, so it’s easy to assume that we all have a level of expertise in comms. It may result in putting undue pressure on or having an unreasonable expectation of our colleagues working in comms roles.

However, when you’re at the receiving end of such pressures, you need a lot of patience to listen and explain what is and isn’t possible, and more importantly, what is and isn’t good practice. But, on the other hand, if someone takes the time to come to you with their ideas, even if they sound like lecturing, consider listening and harnessing their enthusiasm. Use the opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise to manage their expectations and teach them something new.

If you find yourself advising the expert, take a moment to reflect: are you offering new insight, or might you be ‘commsplaining’? Perhaps start with giving some kudos to your comms colleague for their effort and expertise before sharing your ideas. Make them feel like the expert that they are and listen to their words of wisdom. After all, they have been doing it for a little while longer than you. Appreciating them will take you a long way and maybe will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Collectively, we can shift our workplace dynamics toward mutual respect and understanding.

 

Disclaimer 1: Sometimes people will just be patronising and malicious. Don’t dwell on them.

Disclaimer 2: I asked ELM to proofread the final copy of this blog (and used some of its proposed improvements)

 

 

About the author: Kasia Kokowska is the Marketing, Communications and Outreach Manager at the School of  Informatics, at the University of Edinburgh. She has an MA in Journalism and Social Communications and an MSc in science Communications and Public Engagement. She’s a member of STEMPRA and CIPR.

 

Related content

If you haven’t, you should also read two great blogs about the impostor syndrome, written by Andrea and Eillidh:

Psst – don’t listen to me!

Am I even good enough to have imposter syndrome??


A Single Traveller’s Guide to starting out in the School of Informatics

Ah! The thrill of embarking on a new adventure! Whether it’s hopping on a plane to a foreign land, or starting out as a new student or staff member at the University of Edinburgh – the excitement and nervousness are almost indistinguishable. During a recent two-week holiday to Croatia, I came to realise that there are more similarities between these journeys than you might think. Here are some of the parallels I drew while travelling alone in an unknown country.

Navigating the unknown

Arriving in a new country is scary. Not knowing how to get from A to B can be really daunting. However, taking a leap of faith and stepping out into the cobbled back streets of Zadar old town, I realised that discovering new places can also be exciting. I started to like the feeling of being lost and discovered some amazing sights: the sea organ; roman ruins; and the best fried sardines EVER! As I explored this unknown city, I realised that this is how it must feel to be a new student or staff member turning up at Appleton Tower or the Informatics Forum for the very first time. Getting lost at university is inevitable; but it is something to embrace, not fear. Trying to find Lecture Hall AT_ M2, an obscure meeting room or a computer lab in a maze-like university campus provides you with opportunities to stumble across hidden gems… like the NASA Valkyrie interactive experience installed at Bayes Centre NASA Valkyrie interactive experience installed at Edinburgh Centre for Robotics in the Bayes Centre, and the mindfulness Labyrinth in the north-west corner of George Square Gardens.

Making Friends

As a single traveller, you’re thrown into situations where you are forced to make friends with complete strangers. The same is true of university life. Attending your first cohort event, lecture or society as a new student is likely to be nerve-wracking. Trying to meet new people and form connections can be difficult and tiring. It’s certainly how I felt at times during my holiday. But be brave – try not to let your nerves get the better of you. Putting yourself ‘out there’ and speaking to people gets easier the more you do it. And it’s also an essential part of being at university. University isn’t just about attending lectures and tutorials: it also about getting to know your peers, academics, and professional services staff to create a lasting support network that is vital to your success and enjoyment as you embark on a new chapter in your academic journey.

Language and Culture

Travelling to a foreign country often means grappling with a new language. Suddenly ‘cold’ becomes ‘baltic’ and ‘sandwich’ becomes ‘piece’. In the School of Informatics, it’s not only human language we need to wrap our heads around – we also need to get to grips with computer language. When I started at the School of Informatics I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the acronyms and systems: Haskell, Java, Theon, and DICE. I didn’t just feel like foreigner – I felt as if I’d landed on another planet! However, as time has gone on, I have found myself to be at home here and that the School of Informatics is actually “pure dead brilliant”. Academics have taken the time to explain to me with enthusiasm and patience the wonderful research that is taking place, right here, under my nose. What I enjoy so much about being part of a world-leading research community is the rich cultural diversity of staff and students it attracts. Few other Schools can boast the representation of over 100 countries. As someone who loves travelling, this aspect of the school really excites me.

Values

Some of us are new to the School of Informatics and are just starting out on their journeys. Others have been part of the fabric of the school for a long time. However, whether we are embarking on or continuing our travels, what I find reassuring is that the People and Culture Committee has worked hard to create and establish a set of Values that can guide us all. So, no matter what our background, each one of us feels welcomed, respected, and appreciated for the extraordinary and invaluable contribution we make to the Informatics community. No matter what challenges you face, I know that you will find these values in everyone and everywhere you look: Civility, Collaboration, Curiosity, Integrity, and Humility.

School Values, part 2

Three months ago we opened for discussion a draft of our School Values, a proposed list developed by a group of about 25 people. There have been many contributions and views, often very thoughtful. It’s great to see that a large part of our School community is involved and actively helps to ground our shared values!

Two main themes coming out of this discussion were that the previous list was not specific to Informatics, too generic. We have curated suggestions and have now adopted the following as our School values, which are more specific to our work and are easier to base decisions and actions on. This is the end result of careful contributions of around 100 people.

Civility
We treat everyone considerately, care for each other, and seek to influence society responsibly.

Collaboration
We share responsibilities across our community, work together to achieve our goals, and help each other effect positive change.

Curiosity
We seek diverse evidence and opinions, and welcome things that challenge our views as an opportunity to learn.

Integrity
We make decisions as rationally and transparently as we can.

Humility
We acknowledge that our understanding of the world and each other is always incomplete, and revise continually.

Many more aspects that we do value highly may not be highlighted enough, but we have to prioritise. As our common culture evolves naturally, so will the underlying Values. Therefore this record will be revised in years to come, but for now the School is adopting these as its core principles.

Our next goal is to ensure that actions and decisions, especially tricky ones, can be led back to these Values. At all levels of our organisation. So whenever you next wonder “How can I best help this colleague?”, “How should I collaborate with that company?”, “What shall I prioritise when training students?”, “How can I communicate about working with this new system?”, or “What direction is best for my research group to go in?”, you can remember we have shared values you can fall back on to guide you.


School Values

Values, with a capital V, are core principles that we, as a School, stand for. They are part of our School strategic plan, and are specific to our community. You may think this is a pointless exercise in bureaucracy.
Why would we have to write these things down? There are three reasons why I think it really is valuable to explicitly record them.

  • Culture is a nebulous thing. Most of us recognise a rotten work environment when we’re in one. But it is much more difficult to pin down how to bring about a pleasant culture, and how to keep it up. Having a common core to tie together fragmented policies helps and sets expectations. Agreeing on, and being reminded of, our shared values lets us all make better decisions about how to behave, staff and students alike.
  • Having values explicit makes it easier for others to appreciate our School culture. In the last rounds of academic recruitment, many candidates commented on how welcoming and collegial they found the School. The same goes for professional services, where staff move around Schools within the University more often, but they come to Informatics because it’s a nice place to work. And the same goes for prospective students deciding whether they want to spend some of their formative years with us. We want to attract the best and nicest people to work with, and having explicit values for applicants to see when they do their homework before applying helps with that.
  • Having a common frame of reference makes it easier stand up to actions that do not live up to our standards. When something happens that you’re not sure was necessarily the best thing, it can be hard to actively say something about it yourself if you’re unsure how others feel. That’s sometimes called the bystander effect. But if we have agreed on our values, you do know to some extent how others feel, making it easier to see what we think is ok and what is not, and so help each other improve and become more effective as a community.

Now, this culture belongs to all of us, not just the 25 or so people who drafted the below list. All of us should agree on it, and revise this living document over time. So we’re going to ask all of you for your input. There is room for improvement on the draft list below. For example, some items cover similar sentiments and might be fused. Or maybe you plain don’t agree with some. Please look at the draft values and other’s thoughts, and contribute your comments.

  • Respect: We value openness and high standards of fairness, always being principled, considerate, and respectful to each other.
  • Inclusion: We are diverse, inclusive and accessible to all, and celebrate our deep-rooted and distinctive internationalism.
  • Collaboration: We have a strong sense of community, work together to achieve our goals, and help to get the best out of each other.
  • Excellence: We aim to achieve excellence in all that we do: teaching, research, societal responsibility.
  • Curiosity: We are open-minded lifelong learners who value freedom of expression.
  • Bravery: We are willing to question norms we take for granted, and call out injustices.
  • Humility: We appreciate that we may never fully understand, but educate ourselves to be as competent as we can be.

Research shows, time and again, that people are more productive when they feel valued and secure. As our Head of School likes to say, “happy chickens lay more eggs”. We don’t all have to be best buddies. In fact we can have passionate disagreements and robust discussions, about academic content, about how to improve working processes, or about teaching approaches. And that’s a good thing. But we do have to be able to work together. Agreeing on shared values explicitly is good hygiene for interpersonal work relationships.

Do you feel these represent (y)our values? Would you change, add, remove, fuse, or reorder any?