Subjectivity

Scientific research is often assumed by the lay public to be objective and value free.  Thus, the public can feel safe in assuming that results coming from empirical observation are valid representations of the real world.  Anyone who works in the sciences, especially those of purely social science or human-environment interactions, knows that objectivity is a goal that we sometimes unconsciously or consciously fail to achieve.

Subjectivity can enter research during the researcher's observations and analysis of data.  This is due to our own internal biases about what we chose to observe, what is important in our observations, how we feel about the observed or the subject of the research, and the ultimate meaning of the results.  Our perception of the world is based on, among other things, our environment as a child, and our genetically ingrained temperament or personality (i.e. the nature and nurture influences).

I just finished reading the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.  As an introvert, I identified with the book and found it interesting and a valuable read for anyone, but especially for extroverts who don't understand introverts, or people who you know who you think are introverted, but feel uncomfortable with themselves due to the pressures of an extroverted society.  Having just finished this book it was fresh in my mind and when I was alerted to a highly publicized ranking of the 10 Least Stressful Jobs of 2013 as ranked by Careercast.com.  See link below:

10 Least Stressful Jobs of 2013

So it turns out that being a professor is the least stressful job in 2013, not sure why it is this year but wasn't even on the list in the previous year...  My fear though is that those who already have been working publicly to denigrate and demoralize the profession to push political and commercial agendas in higher education will use this as further fuel in their efforts.  However, that is ancillary to my point.

Many professors are introverts who work in a field where major proportion of our responsibilities involves weekly, if not daily, public speaking.  This can be in front of a small seminar of graduate students, a moderately sized class of upperclassmen, or an auditorium sized freshman level course with hundreds of students.  Public speaking is one of the most feared and stressful responsibilities for any occupation.  Many people can relate to he feeling of nervousness or fear before being forced to stand and speak before and audience.  Of course, those who do this frequently become accustomed to public speaking, and standing before classes becomes more normal with preparation and repetition.  However, it never becomes relaxing, especially for those, i.e. the majority of professors and as much as 30-50% of the world population, whose personality causes them to feel discomfort in public and social situations and who are most comfortable and productive in small groups or individually.  Teaching is quite exhausting for introverts.

Extroverts may think this sounds rather strange.  These individuals are comfortable in social and public situations and actually thrive on interaction with many people.  Extroverts may perceive the stresses of a professor's occupation differently than introverts.  Thus, the conclusions of a study about what career is most or least stressful could ultimately be directly related to the personalities of the people conducting the research.  Can we be so unbiased to ignore our own personality and truly put ourselves in the shoes of others with different personalities and perceive how they relate and feel in the course of their lives?  Are we empathetic enough to cross the boundary of personality to understand another person's internal world?  How often does this personality issue arise in science or just daily life?