Category Archives: Psychology

Playing the alphabet factor game: the S factor for satisfaction

I also wanted to make a name for myself in the competitive field of alphabet factoring in psychology. G factor. P factor. I factor. D factor. Aaaaall the factors. My recent list is already outdated. So here I’ll introduce the S factor, for satisfaction. Look how satisfied this little student frog is! Seriously though, there… Read more »

Zombie theories: why so many false ideas stick around

When I talk to friends or family members who do not work in academia, they have beliefs about how science works — beliefs that appear entirely sensible. Most published results are correct or at least plausible, because scientific journals are the most thorough outlets. Errors occur very rarely, and if they do, they are corrected… Read more »

Antidotes to cynicism creep in academia

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This is one of these blog posts that doesn’t read well if you stop halfway. First, I provide evidence that academia can look pretty broken: there is low-quality work everywhere you look, the peer-review system has long outlived its utility, and academic publishing is a dumpster fire. Add considerable work pressure, the publish-or-perish culture, and… Read more »

SIPS18 collected resources, and reflections of a SIPS virgin

The Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS) hosted their third annual conference in Grand Rapids MI a few days ago. This blog provides a summary and some collected resources for those who couldn’t join, and a few reflections (praise & challenges) of a SIPS virgin. SIPS: an introduction I will not repeat all… Read more »

Measurement Schmeasurement

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TL;DR This post summarizes our recent APS symposium entitled “Measurement Schmeasurement” (feat. Jessica Flake, Mijke Rhemtulla, Andre Wang, and Scott Lilienfeld); provides a brief history of how it came to be, and the important role social media plays in modern psychology; and serves as a shameless plug for an invited measurement workshop Jessica and I… Read more »

When small samples are problematic

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A few days ago, Richard Morey started a discussion on Twitter arguing that small samples are not inherently problematic. In the interesting discussion that ensued, I kept thinking about clinical psychology and clinical trials, where I believe that small samples are problematic. To explain my position, let’s look at situations where small samples are fine,… Read more »

Are we asking too much? A list of competencies people expect me to have

Working between disciplines is exciting, and I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. Psychology has become much more interdisciplinary in recent years, and there was a discussion today on social media whether psychologists should ‘know math’. This reminds me of the statement Plato had famously engraved at the door of his Academy in… Read more »

The tone-police police, rude dudes, & how to be social on social media

TL;DR: The tone-police police on social media must take responsibility for silencing early career folks in psychological science debates on social media. I also talk about rude dudes, a dinner with Dawkins, and Coyne calling my work “insufferable pomposity”. Introduction: the tone-police police and social media We founded a roleplaying website in 2001 that quickly… Read more »