Good article, but I think we could add that many of the current government officials & influencers spreading political point-scoring falsehoods during crisis events HAVE BECOME gov officials & influencers BECAUSE of their bullshit-spreading talents. System effects of rotten attention dynamics.

Seasons greetings.

Make a Bond movie academic. A View to a Kill: Eyewitness Identification under Different Viewing Conditions.

This paper for example: people who are toxic on political subreddits are also toxic on subreddits that have nothing to do with politics

My first registered replication report, study on the illusory truth effect, and study published in PB&R with @lkfazio.bsky.social ‼️Preprint here: osf.io/preprints/ps... Previous research found that the illusory truth effect was smaller for conspiracy statements than for trivia statements...

Want to know more about intellectual humility and trust? I have good news for you! We wrote a brief (but thorough) review on IH and trust in Current Opinion in Psychology! 10/10 experience publishing with some of my fave colleagues @michalehmann.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

In case you need some Christmas cheer

Etouffee for Christmas dinner. A few years ago, we decided as a family to have one of our favorite meals at the holidays. We’ve never looked back. It’s now the basic. With garlic breadsticks and a great local beer. And a bonus picture of Cookie with her new Christmas fren.

How would we pay for universal healthcare, like Medicare for all? Easily by using the money currently spent on insurance. Or better yet, tax all income above 2 million per year at 90%. Or heck, do both.

Memo to Trump: Giving people coal for Christmas is a *bad* thing. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/c...

I guess republicans can’t have avocados or guacamole now. They’ll probably try to ban the import of avocados too.

Christmas Eve dinner. Some spinach ravioli with crab in a cream sauce. The meals tomorrow may be more complicated. But good food always matters and especially during the holidays. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ment...

Why do I like owning music rather than subscribing to music services? Generally I want to play the music I want to hear without having the algorithm shove things at me.

I wrote about how X as an online rumor mill that feeds the hard right propaganda machine, destroying lives in the process. Ben Shapiro and others in the movement have started to realize that it’s dangerous and bad — because it’s negatively impacting them too, now…

🚨 Last publication alert of 2025! Why is scene understanding easier and faster for some scenes than for others? Here, we explore whether scenes with too much information slow visual processing. 1/

Best explanation of the liar's dividend that I've ever seen.

How do we manage a Supreme Court when at least one Justice (Alito here) relies on factually incorrect descriptions of situations? How do we deal with incompetence at this level? Sure impeachment is supposed to be the correction. But too many people gain from his votes on the court.

Ambiguous images for the holiday

My latest blog post. Why do holiday meal so often evoke memories and nostalgia? During our holiday meals, my family will be serving memories with a side of nostalgia www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ment...

The sky is glowing as the sun sets over the islands this afternoon. (Yes, it is 4:10 and still officially afternoon although it is also sunset.)

Protecting the victims? You know, the prosecutors who didn’t go after Epstein and made sweetheart deals. Probably redacting to protect other victims too, like the other perps. So many victims to protect. Did I say victims? I meant perps and co-conspirators.

Trump was a frequent traveler on Epstein Air, including trips with Epstein alone and a trip with just Epstein and a [redacted] trafficking victim.

My mind is blown by anti-vaxxers. Vaccines must be in the top 10 human invention clusters in history. With the wheel, sewage and water management, transistor, and other giant things. Entire diseases and so much suffering eliminated. But...nah, they're evil because charismatic grifters tell us so.

Bari who? Asks the NY Times. Never knew the woman.

The @nytimes.com is taking no responsibility for having Ms Weiss work and write for them in the past. Instead they seem unaware of where she was an opinion writer. Hilarious. And harmful. Own your mistakes.

We haven’t really had a freeze so far this season in Bellingham. Unusually warm, and plenty wet. The plants, like this row of roses, are very confused.

Help reimagine how @psychonomicsociety.bsky.social communicates about the amazing research and researchers in cognitive psychology. Psychonomic fellows - Apply for the role of Science Communication Editor by Feb 28th. www.psychonomic.org/page/2026_Sc...

While I normally focus on AI deepfake pornography, there's an under-discussed AI-gen harm that's particularly prevalent during the holidays: AI product scams. We counted down the top 10 holiday scams to look out for this year (check out the video), but here are some extra highlights below

Wow: Cottle: Are you just suggesting they’re trying to keep Grandpa busy? Bouie: I think they’re trying to keep Grandpa busy, and this is one way to do it. And they were worried about his cognitive decline. I’d say the sharks are circling, finally maybe. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/o...

Candace Owens Is the Conservative Movement’s Frankenstein Monster? More like conspiracy theories are the monster. Everyone spreads disinfo and conspiracy theories. When they agree, everyone is fine. But now they’re fighting about which lies to believe. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/o...

How many kids are going to have to die for no reasons? Impeach RFK jr. NOW. Standupforscience.net/impeach-rfkjr

Today on Volts: I've got a nerdy one for you! I talk with political scientist @samuel-bagg.bsky.social about the epistemic crisis & its roots in social identity. He explains why factchecking & media literacy classes will never solve misinformation -- why something deeper & stronger is required.

My bio mom is in the hospital right now for a COPD flare up and one of my spicy medical takes is that we have a lot research about how sleep deprivation is horrible for health and recovery but somehow this is totally ignored in clinical situations and waking you up every two hours is fine

Academics who love doing public outreach and #scicom don't always get this level of support from their universities. That's a shame because the more we share knowledge and passion, the more it encourages investment in what we do. Thanks to #UNSW for investing energy and time in this profile!

This research on using AI during note taking looks important. Students like using the AI and they find it easier. But the cognitive offloading decreases comprehension and memory. Students often prefer less effective techniques for studying. They sometimes avoid the harder work that actually works.

“My most daring idea is to just refuse.” Rather than build the AI future for the wealthy and powerful so they can continue to dehumanize everyone else, just refuse, just say no. Thank you @tressiemcphd.bsky.social

📣 Faculty line in cognitive psychology in my department at Western Washington University. We just, finally, received permission to search. Details will be posted in early January. But hey, I just want to get this out so people will be watching. Nice place and university. I’ve liked it.

This looks weird enough that I might have to see it. @drlambchop.bsky.social should definitely go.

📣 Faculty line in cognitive psychology in my department at Western Washington University. We just, finally, received permission to search. Details will be posted in early January. But hey, I just want to get this out so people will be watching. Nice place and university. I’ve liked it.

I don’t trust the results of single studies. Not unless the tell me to eat more chees

Another way in which academics get the right-wing attacks directed at them. Right wing media directs some of the harassment people receive.

Or instead of going after the young people shining a light on your failures, you could actually address the failures.

We're hiring at the Associate Professor level in Social Psychology! Join us in our vibrant and wonderful department and area. Contact Markus Brauer, search committee chair, for details ([email protected]). Job ad here: shorturl.at/nnvv8

Poll finds that 94% adults in the UK reported seeing misinformation on social media, but just 3% have ever taken any media literacy course! www.turing.ac.uk/news/more-90...

Much better to be a conspiracy theorist about song lyrics, album covers, one screen shot in a movie.

Fentanyl was one of the examples of police/government as sources of crime misinformation I’d teach about in #CMN396 Media and Crime. We’d talk about how the misinfo, spread by news and social media, leads to harmful policy attitudes, priorities, and outcomes. It doesn’t have to be like this.

We're currently accepting applications to hire up to two @cip.uw.edu postdoctoral scholars to join our team in Seattle. The priority deadline to apply is January 15, 2026. For the position description, salary range, qualifications and application process, click here: apply.interfolio.com/177901

Happy "Grades Are Submitted Day" to everyone who celebrates.

One of the biggest moments of my career: USCIS canceled my client’s naturalization oath ceremony. We filed a lawsuit, went to trial, and the judge swore him in right there in the courtroom!