The Fence: how to handle it

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You've done the research. Half of the literature says one thing, the other half says the opposite. It's so annoying, you could nut someone.

But that's what scientists do at the creative edge; pick away at the unknown, chuck it behind them, and then have a few (peer-reviewed) fights with each other about what's valuable. It just so happens you have got mixed up in this weird process.

So, how do you handle a mixed literature? Stay on the fence and say 'On the one hand this, on the other hand that'? No. Be bold! Jump off! Make the field you land in home and then chuck mud at the others.

In other words, settle on a position, acknowledge the criticisms but think of ways in which they could be wrong (is their methodology crap, are their assumptions poor?). Or can the other position be assimilated into your account. Does the fence even need to be there? Psychology students frequently get bogged down in false dichotomy. One way to be creative is to find compromise, a third way.

You could have a module nestled within a general purpose system (so in some tests it looks like a module, in others a domain-general system). You could have a innate mechanism that requires experience to be activated. You could have an account of consciousness that is still computation (functionalism) just in a different flavour from the digital one most people assume (like quantum).

Now, I am not saying to run polemically as far from the fence as you can. You may like to be cautious (cautious is good) and stay close to it whilst arguing one side. Just for the sake of your reader, for the sake of your ability to demonstrate that you can defend one side and be critical of the other and for the sake of coming up with a creative compromise get off the fence and muck in.

Nothing makes any sense!

He's confused too. You are not the only one.

The more you read the more confused you become. Areas start out fairly straight-forward and rapidly become mired in dizzying confusion; one research group thinks black, another says white, a third seems to be saying grey but you aren't quite sure. Then some old goat says that actually there is no colour at all. Argh! Nothing makes any sense!

This is one of the most annoying feelings in the world. An arresting dissatisfaction with your understanding, like being stuck inside a David Lynch film. I am confident that it will be horribly familiar to most of you from researching essays.

The bad news is that it's only going to get worse as you attempt to make sense of whole courses (effectively the same work you did for an essay multiplied by the number of different areas you revise multiplied by your number of courses.)

At school (and with many other degrees) the information you need to learn is well set out, the conclusions have been arrived at already and you just need to soak them up. With this degree things are a bit tougher and it doesn't feel good. You need to research heavily and then try and make sense of it all.

The result of all this fishing with no fish to show for it is the 'whatever effect'; so overwhelmed are you by conflicting, theories, evidence and conclusions that you throw your hands up and say 'Whatever. I am off to the pub.'

I think the 'whatever effect' is one of the principle sources of grit in the resentment-of-psychology oyster, which in addition to being an unpleasant state to be in is not conducive to good marks. Being excited is good.

Throwing in the towel, also holds people back from higher marks because of the barrier it presents to understanding. The 'whatever effect' begets poor essays.

If you are happy to settle for a muddied picture of material then you don't deserve more marks but if you are hungry for those shiny extra prizes, you will need to work through confusion and learn to tolerate ambiguity until the fog clears (and it will clear if you are determined enough). It's a change in mindset: from being defensive and quitting to persisting when everything seems negative. It sounds a bit new agey, like you should be air punching when you get out of bed in the morning, but this is an idea with empirical support and cognitive benefits.

It will be tough. You'll have to hang up your party heels and put down your pint. However, beyond the unpleasant time spent grappling with the literature is a nirvana of clarity, where high scoring skills like critical thinking and creativity can flourish.

The other thing to remember is that you are not alone in this. Sometimes work is desperately lonely but it need not be: active discussion with others is often a shortcut to better understanding.

So if you are feeling confused - and the degree is deliberately designed to engender a bit of bafflement - don't give up. If you are willing to sweat a little, chew it over with friends and try and make sense of this confusion, higher marks and more more enjoyment await you.