Woozle effect

English

WOTD – 14 October 2019

Etymology

A reference to the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) by English author A. A. Milne (1882–1956), in which the characters Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet follow their own tracks in the snow, believing them to be the tracks of the imaginary “Woozle”. The term in its precise form is believed to have been coined by Beverly Houghton in a paper entitled Review of Research on Women Abuse delivered at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 7–10 November 1979: see the 1980 quotation. However, earlier mentions of the Woozle in this context exist.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwuːz(ə)l ɪˈfɛkt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwuz(ə)l əˈfɛkt/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Woo‧zle ef‧fect

Proper noun

Woozle effect

1. The phenomenon whereby frequent citation of earlier publications leads to a mistaken public belief in something for which there is no evidence, giving rise to an urban myth.
   • 1980 November, Richard J[ames] Gelles, “Violence in the Family: A Review of Research in the Seventies”, in Journal of Marriage and Family‎^[1], volume 42, number 4, Minneapolis, Minn.: National Council on Family Relations, →DOI, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 January 2017, page 880, column 1:

     One general problem is what [Beverly] Houghton (1979) calls the "Woozle Effect" (based on a Winnie the Pooh story). The "Woozle Effect" begins when one investigator reports a finding, such as Gelles's (1974) report that 55 percent of his sample of families reported one instance of conjugal violence in their marriage. The investigator may provide qualifications to the findings. [...] In the "Woozle Effect," a second investigator will then cite the first study's data, but without the qualifications (such as done by Straus, 1974a). Others will then cite both reports and the qualified data gain the status of generalizable "truth."

   • 1989, Howard Dubowitz, Eli Newberger, “Pediatrics and Child Abuse”, in Dante Cicchetti, Vicki Carlson, editors, Child Maltreatment: Theory and Research on the Causes and Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, published 1997, →ISBN, part I (History and Definition), page 84:

     Faulty science is seen in the "woozle effect," where questionable research findings become "established facts" despite being based on an unsatisfactory methodology. A cyclical dynamic is set in motion. If more blacks are reported as abusive, this is then reflected in incidence data (of reported cases), and later can be misinterpreted as a "characteristic" of child abuse. A stereotype results, and blacks are more likely to be diagnosed and reported as abuse cases.

   • 2000, Maryl L. Winningham, Margaret Barton-Burke, “Preface”, in Maryl L. Winningham, Margaret Barton-Burke, editors, Fatigue in Cancer: A Multidimensional Approach, Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, →ISBN, page xi:

     Slavish worship of "political correctness" is the death of scientific progress and is the worst form of mind control. It brings about stagnation and stifles creativity. It also contributes to the Woozle effect as suffered by Winnie the Pooh and his research assistant, Piglet. [...] Readers are encouraged to challenge and explore, to resist the tendency to fall victim to the Woozle effect as they search for answers.

   • 2006, Donald G. Dutton, “The Social Psychology of the Perpetrator”, in Rethinking Domestic Violence, Vancouver, B.C.: UBC Press, →ISBN, page 182:

     What is measured after the violence occurs may not have existed beforehand. The infamous woozle effect appeared for reports of attitudes to violence.

Translations

phenomenon whereby frequent citation of earlier publications leads to a mistaken public belief in something for which there is no evidence

• Arabic: تأثير ووزل
• Ukrainian: ефект Бабая m (efekt Babaja)

Further reading

• Woozle effect on Wikipedia.Wikipedia