Andy Vonasch
@andyvonasch.bsky.social
Senior lecturer in social psychology at the University of Canterbury. I study moral judgment and decisions
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
We are quick to condemn people as irrational for not choosing the most generous offer, but cool research by @andyvonasch.bsky.social et al suggests this is overlooking how people suspect ‘phantom costs’, eg in very high pay offers, or very cheap products or services:
buff.ly/bVPs9ln
buff.ly/bVPs9ln
September 6, 2025 at 3:09 PM
We are quick to condemn people as irrational for not choosing the most generous offer, but cool research by @andyvonasch.bsky.social et al suggests this is overlooking how people suspect ‘phantom costs’, eg in very high pay offers, or very cheap products or services:
buff.ly/bVPs9ln
buff.ly/bVPs9ln
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
Only a small % of people engage in toxic activity online, but they’re responsible for a disproportionate share of hostile or misleading content on nearly every platform
Because super-users are so active, they dominate our collective impression of the internet www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Because super-users are so active, they dominate our collective impression of the internet www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Are a few people ruining the internet for the rest of us?
Why does the online world seem so toxic compared with normal life? Our research shows that a small number of divisive accounts could be responsible – and offers a way out
www.theguardian.com
July 13, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Only a small % of people engage in toxic activity online, but they’re responsible for a disproportionate share of hostile or misleading content on nearly every platform
Because super-users are so active, they dominate our collective impression of the internet www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Because super-users are so active, they dominate our collective impression of the internet www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
Essential reading (by @jasonstanley.bsky.social) for every American. The media, aided by a handful of reactionary academics and compliant university administrations, has sold the public a huge lie about wokeness on college campuses, enabling the extreme right. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The mainstream media has enabled Trump’s war on universities | Jason Stanley
For the past decade, the US press has fueled a moral panic over leftists on campus while failing to report on the right’s assault
www.theguardian.com
June 13, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Essential reading (by @jasonstanley.bsky.social) for every American. The media, aided by a handful of reactionary academics and compliant university administrations, has sold the public a huge lie about wokeness on college campuses, enabling the extreme right. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Moral Saurus learns the three goals of philosophy from Preston Stovall
youtu.be/sZ_Yu9LwhO8
youtu.be/sZ_Yu9LwhO8
Moral Saurus learns the three goals of philosophy from Preston Stovall
YouTube video by Moral Saurus
youtu.be
April 3, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Moral Saurus learns the three goals of philosophy from Preston Stovall
youtu.be/sZ_Yu9LwhO8
youtu.be/sZ_Yu9LwhO8
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
Disappeared Tufts Human Dev. PhD student Rumesya Ozturk is also a graduate of Teachers College - she’s a dev. psychologist studying children’s media & prosocial development. She also bakes without recipes and binge-watches cartoons. She is our colleague & she was abducted on the street w/ our tax $.
March 27, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Disappeared Tufts Human Dev. PhD student Rumesya Ozturk is also a graduate of Teachers College - she’s a dev. psychologist studying children’s media & prosocial development. She also bakes without recipes and binge-watches cartoons. She is our colleague & she was abducted on the street w/ our tax $.
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
I just don’t think that - real brainwave here - “believe in something and stand up for it” is some niche leftist tactic. Baffled by those who do. It’s what normal people respond to.
And everyone, when evaluating James Carville's winning advice, please consider what Gavin Newsom's anti-trans swing has done for his numbers:
March 18, 2025 at 12:27 AM
I just don’t think that - real brainwave here - “believe in something and stand up for it” is some niche leftist tactic. Baffled by those who do. It’s what normal people respond to.
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
"even lawmakers within his party have feared for their personal safety, and at least one has told confidants that it has swayed his decision-making"
"Tillis told people that the FBI warned him about 'credible death threats' when he was considering voting against Pete Hegseth’s nomination"
"Tillis told people that the FBI warned him about 'credible death threats' when he was considering voting against Pete Hegseth’s nomination"
“They’re Scared Shitless”: The Threat of Political Violence Informing Trump’s Grip on Congress
With the president smashing norm after norm, even lawmakers within his party have feared for their personal safety, and at least one has told confidants that it has swayed his decision-making.
www.vanityfair.com
February 20, 2025 at 12:08 AM
"even lawmakers within his party have feared for their personal safety, and at least one has told confidants that it has swayed his decision-making"
"Tillis told people that the FBI warned him about 'credible death threats' when he was considering voting against Pete Hegseth’s nomination"
"Tillis told people that the FBI warned him about 'credible death threats' when he was considering voting against Pete Hegseth’s nomination"
Very excited to announce that my former PhD student, Scott Danielson, has accepted a faculty position at Lincoln University!
February 17, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Very excited to announce that my former PhD student, Scott Danielson, has accepted a faculty position at Lincoln University!
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
I haven’t listened to the podcast yet, but this summary is an interesting and hopeful take on why “getting out into nature” - a common intervention I use with my clients is so often helpful - the “awe walk” apple.news/AZGLdS58nSdm...
Scientists Asked People To Do 1 Thing Differently While Taking A Walk. The Results Were Astounding. — HuffPost
“It [creates] an amazing cascade of physiology that we can find almost any day and is very good for you,”
apple.news
December 28, 2024 at 5:46 PM
I haven’t listened to the podcast yet, but this summary is an interesting and hopeful take on why “getting out into nature” - a common intervention I use with my clients is so often helpful - the “awe walk” apple.news/AZGLdS58nSdm...
At SASP and just met a very friendly colleague
November 25, 2024 at 10:13 PM
At SASP and just met a very friendly colleague
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
We are launching MetaROR, a peer review service for research on research, about an hour from now!
researchonresearch.org/project/meta...
You could join us online by registering for our ongoing conference (low free or free) here: agbarnett.github.io/aimos.confer...
researchonresearch.org/project/meta...
You could join us online by registering for our ongoing conference (low free or free) here: agbarnett.github.io/aimos.confer...
MetaROR - Research on Research
A platform for open peer review of metaresearch
researchonresearch.org
November 20, 2024 at 8:40 PM
We are launching MetaROR, a peer review service for research on research, about an hour from now!
researchonresearch.org/project/meta...
You could join us online by registering for our ongoing conference (low free or free) here: agbarnett.github.io/aimos.confer...
researchonresearch.org/project/meta...
You could join us online by registering for our ongoing conference (low free or free) here: agbarnett.github.io/aimos.confer...
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
Nature Human Behaviour
The effect of seeing scientists as intellectually humble on trust in scientists and their research
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The effect of seeing scientists as intellectually humble on trust in scientists and their research
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The effect of seeing scientists as intellectually humble on trust in scientists and their research - Nature Human Behaviour
Across five pre-registered studies, Koetke et al. find that perceptions of scientists’ intellectual humility positively affect the perceived trustworthiness of scientists and their research.
www.nature.com
November 19, 2024 at 1:33 PM
Nature Human Behaviour
The effect of seeing scientists as intellectually humble on trust in scientists and their research
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The effect of seeing scientists as intellectually humble on trust in scientists and their research
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
youtu.be/FEw98ipUA1I Need some levity in your life? Watch a new episode of Moral Saurus! He talks with philosopher Manuel Vargas about how humans flourish through moral responsibility... and not eating their young.
Moral Saurus discovers the secret to human flourishing… don’t eat your young
YouTube video by Moral Saurus
youtu.be
November 9, 2024 at 10:27 PM
youtu.be/FEw98ipUA1I Need some levity in your life? Watch a new episode of Moral Saurus! He talks with philosopher Manuel Vargas about how humans flourish through moral responsibility... and not eating their young.
www.eurekalert.org/news-release... we discovered a psychological bias toward killing anonymous bystanders in war
Bystanders in a combat zone are treated as guilty until proven innocent
People’s bias toward sacrificing unknown bystanders appears to stem from assuming the unidentified person is an enemy, according to a study published October 23, 2024, in the open-access journal...
www.eurekalert.org
October 25, 2024 at 1:00 AM
www.eurekalert.org/news-release... we discovered a psychological bias toward killing anonymous bystanders in war
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
Gossiping carries the risk of backfiring on the gossiper, but new research suggests women’s gossip, when disguised as concern, harms reputation the reputation of the target, while protecting the gossiper: https://buff.ly/4heeKam
October 23, 2024 at 4:35 PM
Gossiping carries the risk of backfiring on the gossiper, but new research suggests women’s gossip, when disguised as concern, harms reputation the reputation of the target, while protecting the gossiper: https://buff.ly/4heeKam
Wow this is so reasonable. What a shock that this is shocking
Adding a gift link for this b/c for many of us it is pretty remarkable to see uni presidents like this exist (despite that what he’s saying should be basic moderate consensus)
“To strengthen our democracy and the educational institutions that depend on it, we must learn to practice freedom better.”
“To strengthen our democracy and the educational institutions that depend on it, we must learn to practice freedom better.”
September 2, 2024 at 1:56 PM
Wow this is so reasonable. What a shock that this is shocking
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
Hi I’m a psych researcher. My greatest hits include:
-p-values can’t tell you that
-that definitely won’t replicate
-ok but some humans are not US college students
-you measured that with a self-report?
-your brain images don’t impress me
and
-sorry that’s not the only plausible mechanism
-p-values can’t tell you that
-that definitely won’t replicate
-ok but some humans are not US college students
-you measured that with a self-report?
-your brain images don’t impress me
and
-sorry that’s not the only plausible mechanism
Hi I'm a fact checker. My greatest hits include:
- this is wrong
- this is only half right
- you've confused this with something else and they're both wrong
- this whole entire section is wrong
- this one thing is so wrong that your entire premise is now wrong
- none of this is right
- this is wrong
- this is only half right
- you've confused this with something else and they're both wrong
- this whole entire section is wrong
- this one thing is so wrong that your entire premise is now wrong
- none of this is right
hi, i’m a ux writer. my greatest hits include:
-this is called a content band aid. it’s when you try to solve an interaction problem by explaining it a bunch. it never works.
-that’s not going to localize well in russian
-do we need this *points at words*
-em dash is the long one
-this is called a content band aid. it’s when you try to solve an interaction problem by explaining it a bunch. it never works.
-that’s not going to localize well in russian
-do we need this *points at words*
-em dash is the long one
June 1, 2024 at 12:47 AM
Hi I’m a psych researcher. My greatest hits include:
-p-values can’t tell you that
-that definitely won’t replicate
-ok but some humans are not US college students
-you measured that with a self-report?
-your brain images don’t impress me
and
-sorry that’s not the only plausible mechanism
-p-values can’t tell you that
-that definitely won’t replicate
-ok but some humans are not US college students
-you measured that with a self-report?
-your brain images don’t impress me
and
-sorry that’s not the only plausible mechanism
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.... new study showing ai cannot be detected with enough accuracy to prevent fraudulent participants from ruining online studies… we don’t know how prevalent this issue is yet, but soon it will likely be a problem
February 8, 2024 at 11:38 PM
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.... new study showing ai cannot be detected with enough accuracy to prevent fraudulent participants from ruining online studies… we don’t know how prevalent this issue is yet, but soon it will likely be a problem
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S00… New (open access) article! People took a personality test--but it was rigged to tell them they were high on one trait and low on another. THE HIGH/LOW TRAITS WERE ASSIGNED AT RANDOM. We then asked them how morally important those traits were...
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S00…
January 5, 2024 at 7:55 PM
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S00… New (open access) article! People took a personality test--but it was rigged to tell them they were high on one trait and low on another. THE HIGH/LOW TRAITS WERE ASSIGNED AT RANDOM. We then asked them how morally important those traits were...
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
Nice website showing graphically what it means to allow for random intercepts, slopes, and both
mfviz.com/hierarchical...
mfviz.com/hierarchical...
A Visual Introduction to Hierarchical Models
A visual explanation of multi-level modeling
mfviz.com
November 29, 2023 at 8:38 PM
Nice website showing graphically what it means to allow for random intercepts, slopes, and both
mfviz.com/hierarchical...
mfviz.com/hierarchical...
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
Feature suggestion: Editorial Manager Clippy
November 17, 2023 at 4:00 PM
Feature suggestion: Editorial Manager Clippy
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
A cool paper on an important topic: Questionable research practices in student projects. Students may engage in QRPs not knowing that they’re questionable, or not thinking that the data would be used for a real article.
See full thread 👇
https://spb.psychopen.eu/index.php/spb/article/view/9411
See full thread 👇
https://spb.psychopen.eu/index.php/spb/article/view/9411
November 17, 2023 at 8:30 PM
A cool paper on an important topic: Questionable research practices in student projects. Students may engage in QRPs not knowing that they’re questionable, or not thinking that the data would be used for a real article.
See full thread 👇
https://spb.psychopen.eu/index.php/spb/article/view/9411
See full thread 👇
https://spb.psychopen.eu/index.php/spb/article/view/9411
Reposted by Andy Vonasch
If your institution or organization is interested in having me visit to talk about a Pedagogy of Kindness next summer or fall, you can find all the important details at bit.ly/CateSpeaking. Remember, pre-orders are open at bit.ly/PreOrderPoK!
A Pedagogy of Kindness - University of Oklahoma Press
Academia is not, by and large, a kind place. Individualism and competition are what count. But without kindness at its core, Catherine Denial suggests, highe...
bit.ly
November 7, 2023 at 12:40 PM
If your institution or organization is interested in having me visit to talk about a Pedagogy of Kindness next summer or fall, you can find all the important details at bit.ly/CateSpeaking. Remember, pre-orders are open at bit.ly/PreOrderPoK!