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Calvin Lai

@calvinklai.bsky.social

2.4K followers 430 following 70 posts

Social psychologist & professor at Rutgers University. Studying how to reduce prejudice and discrimination. Opinions are my own. he/him calvinklai.com

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Psychology 28%

Political science 26%

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Calvin Lai @calvinklai.bsky.social · Sep 9

🚨We're hiring!🚨 The Dept of Psychology at Rutgers is hiring an Assistant Professor in Social Psychology. Review of applications begin on Oct 18. Details here: jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/259...

I'm chairing the search committee and am happy to field questions about the position. 🧵

Assistant Professor in Social Psychology, Tenure-Track

The Department of Psychology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ, plans to hire a tenure-track Assistant Professor in SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, with a start date of September 1, 2026. We seek a candidate...

jobs.rutgers.edu

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Reposted by David Lazer, Will Jennings, Efrén O. Pérez , and 5 more David Lazer, Will Jennings, Efrén O. Pérez, Calvin K. Lai, Ryan Enos, Andrew L. Whitehead, Leticia Bode, Sebastian Stier

Tiago Ventura @tiagoventura.bsky.social · 2d

How common are “survey professionals” - people who take dozens of online surveys for pay - across online panels, and do they harm data quality?

Our paper, FirstView at @politicalanalysis.bsky.social, tackles this question using browsing data from three U.S. samples (Facebook, YouGov, and Lucid):

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Reposted by Calvin K. Lai, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · 16d

This.

(The entire article is required reading, but I especially appreciate this section)

"Very few of us are moral saints—certainly not me. Unlike everlasting, lofty, abstract principles, we who try feebly to live up to them down in the muck of reality face mucky obstacles: we get tired, impatient, envious, and angry. Our values and principles ask more than most of us are able to give—if they don’t, they are probably too weak to be worth holding. But we don’t have to celebrate our failures or, worse still, confuse them with our successes. This is one valuable function of shame: it reminds us of who we want to be when we fall short, a goalpost that is necessarily anchored to the lofty height that our conduct fell beneath. We also encourage and defend these general social standards when we hold others to them, and not just ourselves."

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 16d

Depolarization is not "a scalable solution for reducing societal-level conflict.... achieving lasting depolarization will likely require....moving beyond individual-level treatments to address the elite behaviors and structural incentives that fuel partisan conflict" www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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Reposted by Norbert Schwarz, Jacob Montgomery, Calvin K. Lai , and 1 more Norbert Schwarz, Jacob Montgomery, Calvin K. Lai, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Jeremy C. Young @jeremycyoung.bsky.social · 22d

When the Founding Fathers adopted the First Amendment, the censorship that kept them up at night was censorship or private citizens by the government. That's what they made unconstitutional. Not social pressure. Not social media pile-ons. Not hate speech. Censorship by the government.

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Reposted by Linda J. Skitka, Jennifer A. Richeson, Calvin K. Lai , and 1 more Linda J. Skitka, Jennifer A. Richeson, Calvin K. Lai, Michael W. Kraus

Joel Le Forestier @joelleforestier.bsky.social · 23d

Announcing SPSP's 2026 Self & Identity precon (bit.ly/4mn2WDT), which will have a timely focus on activist and ally identities. We have a phenomenal set of speakers (Linda Tropp! Kim Rios! Lucy De Souza! Teri Kirby! Dan McAdams!) and are accepting data blitz and poster submissions until Oct 23!

The Self & Identity Preconference provides a forum for discussion and investigation of the complexity of the individual and the collective self. This year's preconference introduces a special focus on activism and allyship, highlighting factors facilitating the formation of activist and ally identities and barriers to identifying as activists or allies. This preconference will explore the impact of context in shaping activist identification and consider the role of the current socio-political climate on our ability to advocate for our "selves" and for others. In addition to several speakers, the preconference will also include presentations by scholarly award winners, a poster session, an early-career data blitz, and a mentoring/networking session.

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Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, David Rothschild , and 6 more Will Jennings, Steve Peers, David Rothschild, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Calvin K. Lai, David R. Miller, Mark Rice, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 23d

this from my piece on charlie kirk is probably the most important takeaway if you want to know why bad faith, right-wing voices in media are treated as just another set of peers

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Reposted by Marc Lynch, Lisa W. Fazio, Will Jennings , and 4 more Marc Lynch, Lisa W. Fazio, Will Jennings, Efrén O. Pérez, Calvin K. Lai, Scott A. Imberman, Mark Rice

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 24d

White House Officials Vow Vast Crackdown on Liberal Groups
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

Open authoritarianism. Happening right in front of us.

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Reposted by Calvin K. Lai, Jeremy Ginges

Niv Reggev ניב רגב نيڤ ريچيڤ @nivreggev.bsky.social · 24d

Breaking a hiatus to post this.

A group of Israeli Social Psychologists, myself included, wrote a letter to speak out clearly against the Israeli government’s decisions and the resulting devastation in Gaza.
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

In hopes of peace and safety for all, and soon

A Letter by Israeli Social Psychologists

Dear friends of the Social Psychology community, After October 7, a group of Israeli social psychologists, including many of us, wrote a letter expressing our deep shock at the massacre, abuse, rape,...

docs.google.com

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Calvin Lai @calvinklai.bsky.social · 27d

I was listening to that playlist while reading your thread and they pair together well 😊

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Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Gordon Pennycook, Laura K. Taylor , and 4 more Lisa W. Fazio, Gordon Pennycook, Laura K. Taylor, Efrén O. Pérez, Calvin K. Lai, Melanie C. Green, Jill A. Jacobson

Erin Westgate @erinwestgate.bsky.social · 27d

🚨 TT job alert! 🚨 The University of Florida is hiring an Assistant Professor in Social Psychology; open to ALL AREAS within social psych.

Review begins 10/10.

Job ad here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...

I'm co-chair of the search committee and happy to answer questions! 🧵

Payne's Prairire, where you could watch the sunset every evening if you came to UF

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Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

Calvin Lai @calvinklai.bsky.social · 27d

So uhh..I made a mixtape 🎶. If you're obsessed with KPop Demon Hunters (like I am) but don't know much about KPop outside of the movie, I put together a 3.5h playlist that matches the flow of the film. 👇

open.spotify.com/playlist/5SN...

#KPopDemonHunters #Rumi #Mira #Zoey #SajaBoys #Huntrix

KPop Demon Hunters 201

open.spotify.com

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Reposted by Gordon Hodson, Jennifer A. Richeson, Calvin K. Lai

Kristina Olson @olsonista.bsky.social · 28d

Princeton is running its Presidential Postdoctoral Program again this year. If you are interested in applying to work with me, please reach out by October 10 so that I can consider all interested applicants and support a candidate for my lab this year.
dof.princeton.edu/faculty-deve...

Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellows

We encourage early career scholars to pursue a career in academia by supporting their postdoctoral work at Princeton

dof.princeton.edu

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Reposted by Gordon Hodson, Robert M. Ross, Mark J. Brandt , and 7 more Gordon Hodson, Robert M. Ross, Mark J. Brandt, Calvin K. Lai, Ian Hussey, Patrick S. Forscher, Andrew Livingstone, Kate A. Ratliff, Eric Hehman, Paul Nightingale

Samantha Joel @datingdecisions.bsky.social · 29d

In a new paper, my colleagues and I set out to demonstrate how method biases can create spurious findings in relationship science, by using a seemingly meaningless scale (e.g., "My relationship has very good Saturn") to predict relationship outcomes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Pseudo Effects: How Method Biases Can Produce Spurious Findings About Close Relationships - Samantha Joel, John K. Sakaluk, James J. Kim, Devinder Khera, Helena Yuchen Qin, Sarah C. E. Stanton, 2025

Research on interpersonal relationships frequently relies on accurate self-reporting across various relationship facets (e.g., conflict, trust, appreciation). Y...

journals.sagepub.com

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Reposted by Calvin K. Lai

Jin X. Goh | 吴晋勋 @jinxungoh.bsky.social · Sep 9

You forgot the best part is to be your colleague!!! A dream to work alongside Calvin ❤️

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Calvin Lai @calvinklai.bsky.social · Sep 9

There's so much more I could gush about -- my wonderful colleagues, the interdisciplinary connections, all the great dimsum nearby -- but I'll stop here. I hope you (or a friend or advisee) will shoot your shot and apply!

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Calvin Lai @calvinklai.bsky.social · Sep 9

We’re also an hour from NYC 🏙️, Philly 🌆, and the Jersey Shore 🏖️. We're close enough for big city energy, but with space to breathe and enjoy nature.

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Calvin Lai @calvinklai.bsky.social · Sep 9

Living in New Jersey is wonderful. There's so much to explore, plus we've the best diner food and delis in the country (🥯☕).

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Calvin Lai @calvinklai.bsky.social · Sep 9

🌍 Rutgers is also incredibly diverse—racially, socioeconomically, and culturally. Teaching here is a joy: every class is energized by the perspectives students bring.

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Calvin Lai @calvinklai.bsky.social · Sep 9

I want to share a few things I love about Rutgers. Rutgers is one of the first universities in the U.S., founded in 1766. 🏛️ Walking across campus, you feel the weight of that history.

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Reposted by Calvin K. Lai

Avram Holmes @avramholmes.bsky.social · Sep 5

The @cahbir.bsky.social and @rutgersbhi.bsky.social are hiring! Multiple open area and open rank faculty jobs, wonderful colleagues, amazing resources, and one of the largest communities of brain science research groups on the planet. Please apply and share widely.

jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/209...

Human Neuroimaging Faculty Positions in Rutgers Brain Health Institute

The Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research (CAHBIR), a component of the Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI) on the Busch campus in Piscataway, NJ, is recruiting for two open rank (Assistant...

jobs.rutgers.edu

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Reposted by Diarmid Campbell‐Lendrum, Calvin K. Lai, Zen Faulkes , and 1 more Diarmid Campbell‐Lendrum, Calvin K. Lai, Zen Faulkes, Juan Ramón

Sander van der Linden @profsanderlinden.bsky.social · Sep 5

In a new paper we show how misinformation derails support for public action on climate change by casting doubt on the scientific consensus (which undermines public opinion).

Disinformers attack expert consensus because they know it works.

Free: bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Reposted by Calvin K. Lai

Olivier Corneille @ocorneille.bsky.social · Aug 26

New article on the potential contribution of experimental demand artifacts to evaluative conditioning effects now published OA in SPPC: compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Evaluative Conditioning has a Vexing Demand Problem

Attitude research has long been concerned with the potential influence of demand characteristics in evaluative conditioning effects. Here, we argue that this concern remains justified and cannot be r...

compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Reposted by Calvin K. Lai

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · Aug 19

New preprint by @elliotgould.bsky.social and colleagues introduces “adaptive preregistration."

Adaptive preregistration comprises two key components: registered flexibility and interim preregistrations.

doi.org/10.32942/X2G...

Figure 2 Implementing Adaptive Preregistration. The preregistration (blue steps) and modelling and analysis processes (orange steps) operate in parallel. Purple tags represent git tags, corresponding to incremental versions of the preregistration. Any changes to the analysis plan receive a GitHub release and major version number increment. Step 3 corresponds to the initial preregistration document, Step 6 corresponds to an interim preregistration, and Step 8 245
corresponds to the final preregistration. The execution of the Final Preregistration occurs in Step 9.

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Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Brian A. Nosek, Calvin K. Lai , and 5 more Dorothy Bishop, Brian A. Nosek, Calvin K. Lai, Elwys De Stefani, Ian Hussey, Margot C. Finn, Sebastian Karcher, Johannes Breuer

Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS) @improvingpsych.org · Aug 15

PsyArXiv is seeking new moderators to help combat an increase in AI submissions! If you've ever posted a preprint to PsyArXiv, please consider joining. Minimum commitment 1h/month, there's a training session this Monday @ 1pm ET. More info here: forms.gle/9LB1rEtxHAeZ... #PsychSciSky

Expression of Interest in Serving as a PsyArXiv Moderator

As you might have heard, PsyArXiv is having some issues with an increase in low-quality submissions, ranging from AI generated manuscripts to inflate citation metrics, incoherent or nonsensical docume...

forms.gle

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Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Gordon Pennycook, Hugo Mercier , and 3 more Lisa W. Fazio, Gordon Pennycook, Hugo Mercier, Calvin K. Lai, Erika Franklin Fowler, Mohammad Atari

Manikya Alister @manikyaalister.bsky.social · Aug 10

We know that a consensus of opinions is persuasive, but how reliable is this effect across people and types of consensus, and are there any kinds of claims where people care less about what other people think? This is what we tested in our new(ish) paper in @psychscience.bsky.social

Screenshot of the article "How Convincing Is a Crowd? Quantifying the Persuasiveness of a Consensus for Different Individuals and Types of Claims"

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Reposted by Calvin K. Lai

Brian Nosek @briannosek.bsky.social · Aug 4

My new PLOS Bio piece about when one's work is misrepresented: "[T]here is a normative expectation within scholarly research that all parties are well-intentioned and truth-seeking...when invitations to engage genuinely are not accepted..scholarly discourse is ill-equipped to resolve the conflict."

Science becomes trustworthy by constantly questioning itself

What happens when the greatest strengths of science, such as openness, humility, self-criticism and self-correction, are exploited for political gain? This Perspective calls for scientists to affirm t...

journals.plos.org

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Reposted by Brian Schaffner, Calvin K. Lai, Erika Franklin Fowler , and 4 more Brian Schaffner, Calvin K. Lai, Erika Franklin Fowler, Bruce Bradbury, Jon Dean, Maik Arnold, Beatriz Goulão

Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · Mar 20

I’ve long used FiveThirtyEight’s interactive “Hack Your Way To Scientific Glory” to illustrate the idea of p-hacking when I teach statistics. But ABC/Disney killed the site earlier this month :(

So I made my own with #rstats and Observable and #QuartoPub ! stats.andrewheiss.com/hack-your-way/

Screenshot of the linked Quarto website, with input checkboxes to change different conditions for a regression model that predicts economic performance based on US political party, with a reported p-value

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Reposted by Steven H. Woolf, Calvin K. Lai, Michael Harris

Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · Feb 11

Here's why your education friends had a real rough one today. It's... it's the entire education data collection apparatus of the United States.

www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Screenshot of the article that reads: The Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, appears to be the latest agency in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency office.

Dozens of researchers and contractors received notices Feb. 10, directing them to immediately stop work on research projects and program evaluations financed by IES, a federal agency with a roughly $800 million budget, sources say.

It was not immediately clear which—or how many—of IES’ hundreds of contracts are affected, though one source estimated roughly 170.

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Reposted by Mario Gollwitzer, Mark J. Brandt, Mark Rubin , and 5 more Mario Gollwitzer, Mark J. Brandt, Mark Rubin, Calvin K. Lai, Jonas R. Kunst, Michael W. Kraus, Andrew Livingstone, Sofia Stathi

Jin X. Goh | 吴晋勋 @jinxungoh.bsky.social · Jul 20

Newly accepted in PSPB! We examined whether Asian and Black Americans perceived one another through a zero-sum lens. Inspired by the SCOTUS affirmative action decisions, I wanted to know if Asians thought they were losing to Black people and how this mindset affects coalition
osf.io/preprints/ps...

OSF

osf.io

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