Getting Psyched Over

"Psyberspace"

A psychologist (sy-CALL-uh-jist) in North Dakota has found a way to test kids and adults all around the world without leaving his office. Guess how.

His name is James Penland.

So far Dr. Penland has been a part of nutrition studies in
China, Guatemala, New Zealand, California and Texas.

But what's a "head doctor"
doing in nutrition studies?

I'll bet you already know.
Check by clicking here.

Trouble is, only a few psychologists are involved in nutrition research. And Dr. Penland may be the only one who does it full time.

So he developed a bunch of computerized tests—like computer games—using familiar pictures that scientists can use anywhere in the world. Kids in China, for example, recognize a piece of fruit or a stack of blocks just like kids in the U.S.

You're just itching to take some tests, aren't you?
(Click the moving eyes below)

Dr. Penland sends the tests to researchers on the Internet. They send back the test data to him in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He scores and analyzes the data and returns the results to the study leader—again, all across the Internet.

One long-distance study took place in poor areas in China. For this, Dr. Penland joined with Dr. Harold Sandstead at the University of Texas to study 1,400 Chinese school kids.

The scientists wanted to know if giving these undernourished kids adequate amounts of certain minerals and vitamins would help them learn better and stay healthier.

China looks like this!

But that didn't happen in China, because a computer gave the tests and recorded the answers—even the answer speed—the same way every time.

The results showed that the kids getting a little extra zinc or zinc plus other minerals and vitamins could perceive, remember and reason better than the kids who didn't. This is the kind of information governments need to decide whether to provide supplements to needy kids.