A Bit More Complicated

In this episode, we interview Dr. Adam Mastroianni. We discuss misperceptions about social progress and political hatred. We also have an extended discussion about the problems with the scientific system of peer review and what we can do to fix those problems. Adam's Blog: https://experimentalhistory.substack.com/ Adam's article on misperceptions about society: https://experimentalhistory.substack.com/p/youre-probably-wrong-about-how-things Adamn's article on political hatred: https://experimentalhistory.substack.com/p/the-great-myths-of-political-hatred Adam's article on peer review: https://experimentalhistory.substack.com/p/the-rise-and-fall-of-peer-review People are not as divided as we think: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/27/no-america-is-not-on-the-cusp-of-a-civil-war Adam's peer reviewed work on misperceptions: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2107260119 Nosek peer review paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1047840X.2012.692215?casa_token=VW9tufGR3c4AAAAA%3AYNjm4dcV7FB1Xe8jyz_IFo9AttZeLTjdqpD-kygJCqPDMSFrG7H-pxdMSlmeFBBxwdJJmWa3jqGT “Elsevier makes 40% profit”: https://tidsskriftet.no/en/2020/08/kronikk/money-behind-academic-publishing

In this episode, we discuss the high profile case of Steven Robert's mistreatment at Perspective on Psychological Science (PoPS). We recorded an interesting and productive discussion with Steven, but he decided against publication of our conversation with him. We thought this topic was too important to not do an episode on, so we recorded our thoughts on the subject without Steven.  The episode includes: Steven's post-PoPS experiences (that he said we could share with the audience), our thoughts on the 2020 paper, our thoughts on his treatment at PoPS, and finally what we think about the academic critiques he received.   Steven Roberts 2020 paper: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691620927709 Steven Roberts pre-print commentary outlining his experience at PoPS: https://psyarxiv.com/xk4yu Hommels critique: https://psyarxiv.com/hvgrm/ Stanovich’s commentary: http://keithstanovich.com/Site/Essays_files/Stanovich_Commentary_on_Hommel.pdf Stroebe’s commentary: https://psyarxiv.com/prj36/ Jussim’s commentary: https://sites.rutgers.edu/lee-jussim/wp-content/uploads/sites/135/2022/12/Diversity-of-Diversity-Jussim-accepted-revised-double-spaced-2.0.pdf Jussim’s blog: https://unsafescience.substack.com/p/notes-from-a-witch-hunt One of the field experiments showing discrimination in academia: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-15680-001 Meta-analysis of hiring discrimination studies: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1706255114 Meta-analysis of housing discrimination studies: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1489223 Study showing that URM scholars often have prosocial goals in their research: Manny’s article about the psychological roots of racism: https://www.thepipettepen.com/rejecting-the-roots-of-racist-research/ Letter in support of Steven Roberts: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O212esQJDYVuiuvN3OQLg7YOD58PbhlmFjfYV3nREU4/mobilebasic Counter-letter: https://unsafescience.substack.com/p/invitation-to-sign-letter-protesting

In this episode, Manny and Dylan talk with Dr. Jennifer Harman, Associate Professor of Psychology at Colorado State University. The discussion focuses on the topic of parental alienation, or when one parent turns their children against the other parent. When and why does this happen? What can it do to kids and what can we do about it?  Show notes: https://theconversation.com/parental-alienation-what-it-means-and-why-it-matters-60763 Parents behaving badly: Gender biases in the perception of parental alienating behaviors:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27504753/ Gender Differences in the Use of Parental Alienating Behaviors: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10896-019-00097-5 Parental alienating behaviors: An unacknowledged form of family violence: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30475019/ Parental alienation: The blossoming of a field of study: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-19773-016 The relative extent of physical punishment and abuse by mothers and fathers: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2000-14077-003

In this episode, Manny and Dylan chat with Dr. Kalynda Smith about her work on body image and health. Dr. Smith presents a nuanced view on this topic. We acknowledge that while obesity is a significant factor in physical health, at the same time we cannot judge people’s health just by looking at their bodies. Dr. Smith also advocates for focusing on behaviors such as eating healthy foods and exercise, rather than an oversimplified focus on body weight. Dr. Smith’s faculty webpage Dr. Smith’s article on Scienceofsocialproblems Facts on obesity CDC page on obesity

In this episode, we dive into a discussion of anti-racism with Dr. Erec Smith. Dr. Smith is a Professor of English Language, Literacy and Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania. He is the author of several books, is a Writing Fellow for Heterodox Academy, and is a co-founder of Free Black Thought. Dr. Smith is an ardent critic of certain ideas relevant to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and anti-racism that have gained popularity and attention in liberal institutions. We have some spirited exchanges about infantilization and mental health, internalized prejudice, and what effective DEI could look like. Dr. Smith also shared some compelling personal stories about his experiences speaking up against some of the more wacky ideas in his field. Following this conversation, Manny and Dylan debrief and reflect on some of the things we agreed and disagreed about. Erec Smith @ York College A Critique of Anti-racism in Rhetoric and Composition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwzpHTdUVuM https://www.uraction.org/ https://twitter.com/Rhetors_of_York Works that Dr. Smith mentioned (with push back): Violence in the Work of Composition Self-presentation in interracial settings: The competence downshift by White liberals. Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

We discuss Dr. Higginbotham's interesting approach to psychological research: using history as a guide. Specifically we discuss his paper which found that racially resentful White Americans were less supportive of gun rights when Black (vs. White) Americans showed greater use of their gun rights. The studies results harken back to how gun control legislation (Mulford Act of 1967) was used to undermine the gun rights of The Black Panther Party in California. Social Psychological Research on Racism and the Importance of Historical Context: Implications for Policy: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09637214221114092 When an irresistible prejudice meets immovable politics: Black legal gun ownership undermines racially resentful White Americans’ gun rights advocacy: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-88684-001?doi=1 Dr. Trawalter’s article on “psychologizing racism”: https://virginiaequitycenter.org/sites/virginiaequitycenter.org/files/Trawalter%2C%20Bart-Plange%2C%20%26%20Hoffman.pdf Twitter people being stupid about the NFL: https://twitter.com/GadSaad/status/1593422136101814272 Interest in purchasing firearms in the United States at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-22091-001 From Backlash to Inclusion for All: Instituting Diversity Efforts to Maximize Benefits Across Group Lines: https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sipr.12040 Dr. Higginbotham’s paper on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/xavkog/new_research_shows_racially_resentful_white/

This is an episode we've been looking forward to since the inception of the podcast. We sat down and talked with Scott Barry Kaufman, one of the more famous living psychologists, about his work on self-actualization, coaching, education and intelligence, scientific controversies, and more. Check out Scott's new book! Choose Growth: A Workbook for Transcending Trauma, Fear, and Self-Doubt Center for the Science of Human Potential Scott's webpage @sbkaufman on Twitter and scottbarrykaufman on Instagram

In the beginning of the episode we discuss the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP): https://spsp.org/events/demonstrating-our-commitment-anti-racism-through-programming-and-events We reference a statement written by Jonathan Haidt and Lee Jussim complaining about this policy: https://unsafescience.substack.com/p/mandatory-diversity-equity-and-inclusion Finally, we quickly discuss a recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS): https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2210412119 Dr. Muscatell's TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpCvLXtMqiw&ab_channel=TEDxTalks Social status and stress: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57d17e77b8a79bfa4e31641d/t/5e8e35ba40223918dabc35e5/1586378180841/Cundiff%2C+Boylan%2C+Muscatell_2020_Current+Directions.pdf Social status and inflammation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6814496/

Dr. Enders joined us to talk about his recent paper published in the journal Political Behavior which is called, Are Republicans and Conservatives More Likely to Believe Conspiracy Theories? It seems like your answer to that question is no. We discuss this paper and explore how political beliefs and conspiracy beliefs relate to each other.  Dr. Enders’s paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35909894/ The impact of economic inequality on conspiracy beliefs: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103121001487 How many republicans believe that Covid is overblown? https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/11/08/sobering-poll-gops-embrace-coronavirus-misinformation/ How many liberals think Trump faked his instance of covid? https://assets.ctfassets.net/ms6ec8hcu35u/33moZ9yGGfgeS05fashev5/06a6a735a43fe54dcd606e17c42fcdaf/Equis_Misinformation_Poll_June_2022.pdf Misinfo belief about covid predicts health outcomes: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.670485/full Anti-democratic behaviors of republicans: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22274429/republicans-anti-democracy-13-charts More on Adam Enders: https://www.adamenders.com/

We welcome Dr. Michael Kraus to the podcast to talk about his research on the psychology of racial inequality. We discuss the fact that people can't solve a problem if they don't know it exists, and strategies to help people see the ways in which inequality manifests. We also talk a bit about sports and research on physical touch in basketball (Dr. Kraus is a Warriors fan).  Episode 2 featuring Dr. Kraus's research Manny’s blog article outlining the many forms of racial inequality in the US People misperceive racial inequality Black-White wealth inequality Misperception of the Black-White income gap Neighborhoods and perception of inequality Perceptions of economic equality Interventions to reduce misperceptions Misperception of racial progress Narratives and DEI Teammate touching in the NBA Image by Michael Reichelt from Pixabay

In this episode, we revisit the research on abortion and mental health in light of some listener feedback. We also critique some of the commentaries on the Turnaway study. (Note: Manny's audio was a bit wonky and couldn't be fixed, the audio issues should be fixed by next episode!) Pipette Pen statement: http://www.thepipettepen.com/swac-board-statement-on-abortion-and-the-overturning-of-roe-v-wade/ Dr. Coleman’s critique of the turnaway study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.905221/full Meta-analysis critique: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3646711/ Fergusson’s study: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0004867413484597 Steinberg’s study that includes Fergusson’s work: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3929105/ Abortion, regret and decision-rightness: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31941577/ Dr. Chelsea Polis tweet: https://twitter.com/cbpolis/status/1539299448064450560 Image by Chen from Pixabay

In this episode, Manny and Dylan speak with Dr. Haider Warraich about one of his recent publications on voting behavior and mortality rates in counties across the USA. His research found that overall, American mortality rate is going down (which is a good thing–we’re living longer!) but that the rate of mortality rate decline is higher in Democratic counties than in Republican counties. Manny suggests that there are policy implications from this research. Dr. Warraich suggests that at least part of this can be explained by norms for health and medicine diverging in different parts of the country. We can clearly see this happening now in terms of the Democratic and Republican voters’ response to COVID-19. Manny's article on this topic: https://scienceofsocialproblems.com/2022/06/19/who-should-we-vote-for-to-promote-health-and-well-being/ Dr. Warraich’s webpage Dr. Warraich’s paper in BMJ about politics and death The Song of Our Scars: The Untold Story of Pain Leading causes of death in the USA IPCC report on climate emissions Image by Milos Duskic from Pixabay

In this episode continued the conversation about abortion that we began in episode 8. To help us understand the link between abortion and mental health, we were joined by Dr. Julia Steinberg, a professor and researcher at the University of Maryland’s school of Public health. Dr. Steinberg studies whether abortion (and lack of abortion access) is linked to mental health problems and how mental health is associated with unintended pregnancy. The majority of the research about abortion in this episode has been taken from this review of the Turnaway study published by the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health.  Aidaccess.org helps women get abortion medication.

A quick note at the top of the episode here. What follows is a quick addendum to our episode with Dr. Kristen Mark where we discussed sex education. Dylan wrote an article on his blog where he elaborated on false polarization on the topic of sex education. So we got on a call and chatted about that topic for a few minutes. This addendum was recorded after the episode on attitudes about abortion, but before the Supreme Court decision was made official. So STAY TUNED for our second episode about how mental health is linked to abortion and lack of abortion access, which should be dropping in the next few days.  Dylan's article about Sex Education.  False polarization happens when we exaggerate or overestimate the differences between political groups. This can lead to further polarization and animosity. We don’t want this! Dems vs Republicans, libs vs cons, voters vs party, party vs politicians There is bipartisan support for not just sex education, but across the board, there is bipartisan support for a wide variety of policies and political beliefs. As one article from the American Prospect puts it, “Most Americans are Liberal, even if they don’t know it”

In the wake of the leaded Supreme Court decision to essentially overturn Roe v. Wade, we decided to do an episode on the science of abortion attitudes. Manny and Dylan discuss Americans’ attitudes towards abortion with Dr. Kristen Jozkowski, who is the William L. Yarber Endowed Professor in Sexual Health at Indiana University Bloomington. She has written extensively on the topic of public opinions on abortion. As with all of the topics we cover, abortion attitudes are complicated! PBS article: Majority of Americans don’t want Roe overturned 538 article using polling: Where Americans Stand On Abortion, In 5 Charts Dr. Jozkowski article: Abortion Complexity Scores from 1972 to 2018: A Cross-Sectional Time-Series Analysis Using Data from the General Social Survey Dr. Jozkowski research: “Roe v. Wade” versus “Legalized Abortion”: Wording effect influences on survey responses 92% of abortions occur in the first trimester Information deficit model of science communication review Dr. Jozkowski research: Examining the Relationship Between Roe v. Wade Knowledge and Sentiment Across Political Party and Abortion Identity Out-of-Pocket Costs and Insurance Coverage for Abortion in the United States Dr .Jozkowski research: If it’s legal, it’s easy: (Mis)perceptions of abortion access across the US Dr. Jozkowski research: DO RACE AND PREGNANCY SITUATION AFFECT EMPATHY FOR WOMEN WHO SEEK ABORTIONS IN ARKANSAS? A RANDOMIZED- CONTROLLED VIDEO INTERVENTION Benevolent sexism predicts attitudes towards abortion Find out more about Dr. Jozkowski’s research at @IU_DAMSS_team & @KMJozkowski

In this episode, Dylan and Manny chat about sex education with Dr. Kristen Mark. Kristen is the Joycelyn Elders Endowed Chair in Sexual Health Education and a tenured Professor at University of Minnesota Medical School. She is the Director of Education in the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, and also an Affiliate Research Faculty at the Kinsey Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University. In light of some recent political controversies involving how we teach about sex and gender in K-12 schools, Kristen schools us about what sex education actually is, who supports it and why, other ways to teach kids and teenagers about sex outside of the classroom, and cultural differences in attitudes toward sex. Kristen Mark’s webpage & publications Sex Education in Amsterdam Sex Science Happy Hour SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States) Guttmacher Institute

In this episode, we interview Jake Womick and Tom Costello about psychological similarities and differences between liberals and conservatives. Jake is a postdoctoral scholar working with Dr. Kurt Gray at UNC. Tom is working with David Rand at MIT & Gordon Pennycook at University of Regina. We hope you enjoy this conversation. Manny and Jake's article on this topic. Evidence that conservatives think differently than liberals: Reducing uncertainty & ambiguity Wanting order/closure.  Emphasizing purity, sanctity & loyalty  Rigid thinking Viewing threat & danger Upholding status quo Evidence that extremists on both sides: See their beliefs as superior Avoid exposure to counter-beliefs Have motivated disbelief Struggle to find flaws in their sides’ arguments View information more favorably when it supports their preferences Hate each other Align with their tribes more than their own beliefs Other mentions: Feldman, 2013 Malka, 2017 Norris, 2020 Pan & Xu, 2018 Saucier, 2000 Conservatives in the US compared to other countries. GOP voters change in the Trump era Pew data on Black democrats

In this episode, Manny interviews Dylan (no, not a typo) about his research on the psychology of dreams. We talk about how dreams are a social phenomenon, how they connect with daily experiences and ongoing concerns, as well as personality traits such as attachment style. Dylan talks about some formative personal experiences he had which inspired his research. We also talk about how dreams are connected with psychological health and well-being, and sleep. We close the conversation with a discussion about how the science of sleep and dreams can be utilized to improve our lives. Happy dreaming! Citations Dream polling data Dylan’s 2014 paper Dylan’s 2012 paper Social simulation theory paper Dylan’s 2016 paper Demographics of sleep paper Broaden-and-build paper Cartwright, R. D. (2010). The twenty-four hour mind: The role of sleep and dreaming in our emotional lives. Oxford University Press. Hajek, P., & Belcher, M. (1991). Dream of absent-minded transgression: an empirical study of a cognitive withdrawal symptom. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100(4), 487. Iceland's Huge Four-Day Working Week Trial An "Overwhelming Success" (full report here). Image by Biljana Jovanovic from Pixabay

The conclusion of our interview with Dr. Nicolè Ford on the war between Ukraine and Russia. If you haven't yet, listen to Part 1 of this interview first (Ep. 3).  Dr. Nicolè Ford’s webpage& Twitter Dr. Ford’s recent article Dr. Sam Greene’s twitter thread on EU & article Peer reviewed pub by Kari Roberts on NATO & Crimea invasion Interview w John Mearsheimer about Putin’s aggression Article by Stephen Walt for the role of NATO Article by Seva Gunitsky against the focus on NATO Peer reviewed pub by Kimberly Marten: NATO’s role is overblown Reporting on Zelensky forgoing NATO membership to avoid war Reporting about Azov battalion Twitter thread: racist language from reporters on Ukrainian war Article describing why sanctions fail. Article arguing sanctions may push Russian elites closer to Putin. Photo of Zelensky and Trump Dr. Ford’s partially annotated bibliography/reading listfor Russia’s War on Ukraine Peer reviewed pub by Keating et al. (2019) that Russia wield “Conservative soft power” News coverage of the Christian Right’s support for Russia here and here Cover art image by ChiaJo from Pixabay

In this episode, Manny and Dylan interview Dr. Nicolè Ford, who holds a Ph.D. in political science and whose specific area of expertise is on Ukraine and Russia. In the episode, we dive into a deep understanding of this horrible war. Dr. Ford schools us on the historical context, NATO, Putin’s ambitions, and more. We really appreciate Dr. Ford’s knowledge and insight into this topic. Dr. Nicolè Ford’s webpage & Twitter Dr. Ford’s recent article Dr. Sam Greene’s twitter thread on EU & article Peer reviewed pub by Kari Roberts on NATO & Crimea invasion Interview w John Mearsheimer about Putin’s aggression Article by Stephen Walt for the role of NATO Article by Seva Gunitsky against the focus on NATO Peer reviewed pub by Kimberly Marten: NATO’s role is overblown Reporting on Zelensky forgoing NATO membership to avoid war Reporting about Azov battalion Twitter thread: racist language from reporters on Ukrainian war Article describing why sanctions fail. Article arguing sanctions may push Russian elites closer to Putin. Photo of Zelensky and Trump Dr. Ford’s partially annotated bibliography/reading list for Russia’s War on Ukraine Peer reviewed pub by Keating et al. (2019) that Russia wield “Conservative soft power” News coverage of the Christian Right’s support for Russia here and here Cover art image by ChiaJo from Pixabay

In this episode, Manny and Dylan talk about a recent high-profile tenure decision involving Michael Kraus, a psychologist and Associate Professor at the Yale School of Management. Do Ivy League schools promote from within? Are tenure decisions based on merit, or based on ideological preferences of senior faculty? Then, we highlight some of Kraus’s influential research, and specifically do a deep dive into some papers he’s published on the psychology of inequality. Also mentioned in the episode: Dylan’s NPR interview about the science of dreams, Dylan’s Heterodox Academy interview about education and learning, and Manny’s Master’s Thesis. http://www.michaelwkraus.com/ Michal Kraus’s publication record 2016 review of Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences Tenure Appointment Policy 25 Ways to Reduce the Cost of College - Center for College Affordability and Productivity Norton, M. I., & Ariely, D. (2011). Building a Better America—One Wealth Quintile at a Time. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(1), 9–12.  Kraus, M. W., & Tan, J. J. (2015). Americans overestimate social class mobility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 58, 101-111.  Kraus, M. W., Rucker, J. M., & Richeson, J. A. (2017). Americans misperceive racial economic equality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(39), 10324-10331.  Tan, J. J., Kraus, M. W., Carpenter, N. C., & Adler, N. E. (2020). The association between objective and subjective socioeconomic status and subjective well-being: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 146(11), 970.  Recent op-ed by Kraus in LA Times about perceptions of inequality Photo by DS stories from Pexels

[UPDATED AUDIO] In this episode, Manny and Dylan chat with Will Blakey, a post-bac researcher at UNC. Will, along with social psychologist Kurt Gray, recently published a Substack article about our changing perceptions of evil in the world, and a psychological phenomenon known as “concept creep.” Why do we see more villains in the world now compared to 30 years ago? Notes: Will and Kurt’s Substack article. Haslam (2016) Concept Creep: Psychology's Expanding Concepts of Harm and Pathology, Psychological Inquiry, 27:1, 1-17 Haslam et al. (2021) Concept Creep and Psychiatrization. Frontiers in Sociology. Concept Creep example #1 and example #2. Gray & Wegner (2012). Morality takes two: Dyadic morality and mind perception. Pinker (2011): The Better Angels of Our Nature. Ferguson (2009): Pinker's List: Exaggerating Prehistoric War Mortality The Progress Paradox

Manny and Dylan launch a podcast! Here is a brief introduction to the podcast.