Brent W. Roberts
@bwroberts.bsky.social
Respirating carbon-based life form. Pit of despair dweller. Bread maker. Sometimes personality psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
I updated the personality psychology starter pack a bit:
go.bsky.app/TwHBMQi
go.bsky.app/TwHBMQi
November 25, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I updated the personality psychology starter pack a bit:
go.bsky.app/TwHBMQi
go.bsky.app/TwHBMQi
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Congratulations to @simine.com well deserved winner of the Einstein Foundation Individual Award for Promoting Quality in Research 2025 🎉 www.einsteinfoundation.de/en/media/pre...
November 24, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Congratulations to @simine.com well deserved winner of the Einstein Foundation Individual Award for Promoting Quality in Research 2025 🎉 www.einsteinfoundation.de/en/media/pre...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
New paper with @jzberman.bsky.social finally out!
📈Most people are interested in improving themselves, but why do they show less interest in improving moral traits? New research suggests that this is because they believe nonmoral improvements have a bigger impact on their well-being.
Read more in #PSPB: ow.ly/E6zX50XuYGh
Read more in #PSPB: ow.ly/E6zX50XuYGh
November 21, 2025 at 5:56 PM
New paper with @jzberman.bsky.social finally out!
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Are you a US-based PhD student WITHOUT summer funding who is interested in adolescent development, trans youth, and/or gender? Reach out to me about applying to join my lab in Summer 2026 for the VIPS program! psych.princeton.edu/diversity/vi...
Visiting Internship for Ph.D. Students (VIPS) Program
The VIPS program is an initiative of the DEI committee of the Department of Psychology at Princeton University. VIPS will support up to 4 Ph.D. students who are full-time students at other universitie...
psych.princeton.edu
October 31, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Are you a US-based PhD student WITHOUT summer funding who is interested in adolescent development, trans youth, and/or gender? Reach out to me about applying to join my lab in Summer 2026 for the VIPS program! psych.princeton.edu/diversity/vi...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
This guy’s mad about fake research, and he should be. Research incompetence, research fraud, and the promotion of fraudulent or incompetent work . . . these are not victimless crimes.
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/11/19/t...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/11/19/t...
This guy’s mad about fake research, and he should be. Research incompetence, research fraud, and the promotion of fraudulent or incompetent work . . . these are not victimless crimes. | Statistical ...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
November 19, 2025 at 2:39 PM
This guy’s mad about fake research, and he should be. Research incompetence, research fraud, and the promotion of fraudulent or incompetent work . . . these are not victimless crimes.
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/11/19/t...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/11/19/t...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
I agree the botpocalpyse is not yet upon us, but nanobrowser is scary easy to use. bsky.app/profile/rube...
November 18, 2025 at 9:52 PM
I agree the botpocalpyse is not yet upon us, but nanobrowser is scary easy to use. bsky.app/profile/rube...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Generative AI has really been wreaking havoc on the teaching component of higher ed. But at least the researc- oh.
new paper by Sean Westwood:
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
November 18, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Generative AI has really been wreaking havoc on the teaching component of higher ed. But at least the researc- oh.
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Always a good reminder, I still see this error quite often:
"The difference between significant and not significant is not itself significant. If you want to carry out inference for a difference, you need to construct the standard error for that difference."
www.econometrics.blog/post/overlap...
"The difference between significant and not significant is not itself significant. If you want to carry out inference for a difference, you need to construct the standard error for that difference."
www.econometrics.blog/post/overlap...
Overlapping Confidence Intervals | econometrics.blog
Perhaps you’ve seen a claim like this in an applied paper: “the estimated effect for Group A is statistically significant, but the estimated effect for Group B is not; this treatment helps As but not ...
www.econometrics.blog
November 18, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Always a good reminder, I still see this error quite often:
"The difference between significant and not significant is not itself significant. If you want to carry out inference for a difference, you need to construct the standard error for that difference."
www.econometrics.blog/post/overlap...
"The difference between significant and not significant is not itself significant. If you want to carry out inference for a difference, you need to construct the standard error for that difference."
www.econometrics.blog/post/overlap...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Arising out of discussions in @csi-research.bsky.social we conducted a Registered Report replicating Triplett’s (1898) experiment with over 400 children, showing children completed the task faster when paired with a coactor, compared to competing the task alone rdcu.be/eQwAE 1/3
A replication of Triplett’s ‘social facilitation experiment’
Scientific Reports - A replication of Triplett’s ‘social facilitation experiment’
rdcu.be
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Arising out of discussions in @csi-research.bsky.social we conducted a Registered Report replicating Triplett’s (1898) experiment with over 400 children, showing children completed the task faster when paired with a coactor, compared to competing the task alone rdcu.be/eQwAE 1/3
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
New paper with @statsepi.bsky.social and @deevybee.bsky.social in which we show there's really no evidence for a link between the gut microbiome and autism www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism
Claims that the gut microbiome causally contributes to autism regularly appear in
the scientific literature and popular press. Mitchell et al. critically examine influential
studies underpinning these...
www.cell.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:10 PM
New paper with @statsepi.bsky.social and @deevybee.bsky.social in which we show there's really no evidence for a link between the gut microbiome and autism www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Are methodological and causal inference errors creating a false impression that the gut microbiome causes autism? In this strong analysis, Mitchell, Dahly, and Bishop question the evidence.
They show that triangulation in science requires multiple robust lines of research.
They show that triangulation in science requires multiple robust lines of research.
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Are methodological and causal inference errors creating a false impression that the gut microbiome causes autism? In this strong analysis, Mitchell, Dahly, and Bishop question the evidence.
They show that triangulation in science requires multiple robust lines of research.
They show that triangulation in science requires multiple robust lines of research.
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
How do we succeed at self-control? In a new paper in @pnas.org with James Wilson, David Kalkstein, and Melissa Ferguson, we use mouse-tracking of ~47,000 decisions of long-term over short-term to show that 'willpower' is too narrow a conception of self-control www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
November 12, 2025 at 7:32 PM
How do we succeed at self-control? In a new paper in @pnas.org with James Wilson, David Kalkstein, and Melissa Ferguson, we use mouse-tracking of ~47,000 decisions of long-term over short-term to show that 'willpower' is too narrow a conception of self-control www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
The Shifting 'Self' of Science's Self-Governing Capacity: Four Decades of Research Integrity Discussions in Science and Nature pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41199636/
November 10, 2025 at 5:51 PM
The Shifting 'Self' of Science's Self-Governing Capacity: Four Decades of Research Integrity Discussions in Science and Nature pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41199636/
Had a great day yesterday with the first annual Midwestern Personality Meeting held in our own Champaign/Urbana. H/T to @cavanvbonner.bsky.social, Muchen Xi, and Derek Simon for organizing. @chops310.bsky.social @rcfraley.bsky.social @jaime.phd @jessiesun.bsky.social @joshuajackson.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Had a great day yesterday with the first annual Midwestern Personality Meeting held in our own Champaign/Urbana. H/T to @cavanvbonner.bsky.social, Muchen Xi, and Derek Simon for organizing. @chops310.bsky.social @rcfraley.bsky.social @jaime.phd @jessiesun.bsky.social @joshuajackson.bsky.social
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Results from the most well-known dissonance experiment are mathematically impossible @steamtraen.eu
(To get the intuition behind this analysis, imagine that we take the mean of 10 Likert scale scores. The mean could be 4.20 but not 4.25)
mattiheino.com/2016/11/13/l...
(To get the intuition behind this analysis, imagine that we take the mean of 10 Likert scale scores. The mean could be 4.20 but not 4.25)
mattiheino.com/2016/11/13/l...
November 6, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Results from the most well-known dissonance experiment are mathematically impossible @steamtraen.eu
(To get the intuition behind this analysis, imagine that we take the mean of 10 Likert scale scores. The mean could be 4.20 but not 4.25)
mattiheino.com/2016/11/13/l...
(To get the intuition behind this analysis, imagine that we take the mean of 10 Likert scale scores. The mean could be 4.20 but not 4.25)
mattiheino.com/2016/11/13/l...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Multilab replication study fails to find result in induced compliance paradigm, long seen as core evidence for the theory @vaidis.bsky.social
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Multilab replication study fails to find result in induced compliance paradigm, long seen as core evidence for the theory @vaidis.bsky.social
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
My Shiny app containing 3530 Open Science blog posts discussing the replication crisis is updated - you can now use the SEARCH box. I fixed it as my new PhD Julia wanted to know who had called open scientists 'Methodological Terrorists' :) shiny.ieis.tue.nl/open_science...
Open Science Blog Browser
Open Science Blog Browser
shiny.ieis.tue.nl
November 8, 2025 at 7:15 PM
My Shiny app containing 3530 Open Science blog posts discussing the replication crisis is updated - you can now use the SEARCH box. I fixed it as my new PhD Julia wanted to know who had called open scientists 'Methodological Terrorists' :) shiny.ieis.tue.nl/open_science...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Out now at PSPR: our love letter to the personality trait of Openness!
Amber Thalmayer and I identify and (try to) explain the many ways that openness/intellect is the weirdest & WEIRDest of the Big Five. (Big improvements over the old preprint! thx reviewers)
journals.sagepub.com/eprint/HBGXT...
Amber Thalmayer and I identify and (try to) explain the many ways that openness/intellect is the weirdest & WEIRDest of the Big Five. (Big improvements over the old preprint! thx reviewers)
journals.sagepub.com/eprint/HBGXT...
November 7, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Out now at PSPR: our love letter to the personality trait of Openness!
Amber Thalmayer and I identify and (try to) explain the many ways that openness/intellect is the weirdest & WEIRDest of the Big Five. (Big improvements over the old preprint! thx reviewers)
journals.sagepub.com/eprint/HBGXT...
Amber Thalmayer and I identify and (try to) explain the many ways that openness/intellect is the weirdest & WEIRDest of the Big Five. (Big improvements over the old preprint! thx reviewers)
journals.sagepub.com/eprint/HBGXT...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
It takes a village to make moms feel bad for not having enough friends: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
The Most Useless Piece of Parenting Advice
The problem with telling moms “It takes a village”
www.theatlantic.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
It takes a village to make moms feel bad for not having enough friends: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
Ok, just wow. If the content of this article is right, this is depressing. We're slowly reaching the point where ~100% of what I was taught in Social Psych was either innocently wrong or plainly frauded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”
In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Ok, just wow. If the content of this article is right, this is depressing. We're slowly reaching the point where ~100% of what I was taught in Social Psych was either innocently wrong or plainly frauded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
I’ve spent the last 8 years(!) working from the position that HiTOP relies too much on analyses of traditional diagnoses, baking in limitations of the DSM, and that we need to move to symptom-level analyses to fix it
It turns out that rebuilding HiTOP from the ground up doesn’t change much 💀
1/
It turns out that rebuilding HiTOP from the ground up doesn’t change much 💀
1/
November 4, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I’ve spent the last 8 years(!) working from the position that HiTOP relies too much on analyses of traditional diagnoses, baking in limitations of the DSM, and that we need to move to symptom-level analyses to fix it
It turns out that rebuilding HiTOP from the ground up doesn’t change much 💀
1/
It turns out that rebuilding HiTOP from the ground up doesn’t change much 💀
1/
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
📣Hi #EconSky! I am on the job market! 📣
My JMP builds a 20-year panel showing an after-school care reform increased university grad. rates. 🎓
The key: moving children from home 🏠 to care centers 🧑🧒🧒, where peer interactions shaped preferences and beliefs — not skills🧮.
For more: sevinkaytan.com
My JMP builds a 20-year panel showing an after-school care reform increased university grad. rates. 🎓
The key: moving children from home 🏠 to care centers 🧑🧒🧒, where peer interactions shaped preferences and beliefs — not skills🧮.
For more: sevinkaytan.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:34 AM
📣Hi #EconSky! I am on the job market! 📣
My JMP builds a 20-year panel showing an after-school care reform increased university grad. rates. 🎓
The key: moving children from home 🏠 to care centers 🧑🧒🧒, where peer interactions shaped preferences and beliefs — not skills🧮.
For more: sevinkaytan.com
My JMP builds a 20-year panel showing an after-school care reform increased university grad. rates. 🎓
The key: moving children from home 🏠 to care centers 🧑🧒🧒, where peer interactions shaped preferences and beliefs — not skills🧮.
For more: sevinkaytan.com
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
"only about 5% of the variance in personality can be
predicted from digital footprints, and personality‐tailored messages show negligible effects on behavior... When design and evaluation flaws are controlled, the combined end‐to‐end effectiveness of psychological targeting approaches zero."
predicted from digital footprints, and personality‐tailored messages show negligible effects on behavior... When design and evaluation flaws are controlled, the combined end‐to‐end effectiveness of psychological targeting approaches zero."
The (In)Effectiveness of Psychological Targeting: A Meta‐Analytic Review
The use of psychological targeting—employing machine learning to predict consumer personality from digital footprints and subsequently tailoring persuasive messages—has emerged as a controversial yet...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:55 PM
"only about 5% of the variance in personality can be
predicted from digital footprints, and personality‐tailored messages show negligible effects on behavior... When design and evaluation flaws are controlled, the combined end‐to‐end effectiveness of psychological targeting approaches zero."
predicted from digital footprints, and personality‐tailored messages show negligible effects on behavior... When design and evaluation flaws are controlled, the combined end‐to‐end effectiveness of psychological targeting approaches zero."
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
There still seems to be a lot of confusion about significance testing in psych. No, p-values *don’t* become useless at large N. This flawed point also used to be framed as "too much power". But power isn't the problem – it's 1) unbalanced error rates and 2) the (lack of a) SESOI. 1/ >
But here's, the thing, p values and significance become useless at such large sample sizes. When you're dividing the coefficient by the SE and the sample size is in the tens of thousands, EVERYTHING IS SIGNIFICANT. All you're testing is whether the coefficient is different than zero.
October 31, 2025 at 8:13 AM
There still seems to be a lot of confusion about significance testing in psych. No, p-values *don’t* become useless at large N. This flawed point also used to be framed as "too much power". But power isn't the problem – it's 1) unbalanced error rates and 2) the (lack of a) SESOI. 1/ >
Reposted by Brent W. Roberts
New release of PowerLMM.js! Browser-based power analysis for longitudinal models with dropout.
Now includes:
- Power analysis summary report
- Reproducible & shareable configs (URL/JSON)
- Calculations validated against R
- Hypothesis region visualization
powerlmmjs.rpsychologist.com
Now includes:
- Power analysis summary report
- Reproducible & shareable configs (URL/JSON)
- Calculations validated against R
- Hypothesis region visualization
powerlmmjs.rpsychologist.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:02 PM
New release of PowerLMM.js! Browser-based power analysis for longitudinal models with dropout.
Now includes:
- Power analysis summary report
- Reproducible & shareable configs (URL/JSON)
- Calculations validated against R
- Hypothesis region visualization
powerlmmjs.rpsychologist.com
Now includes:
- Power analysis summary report
- Reproducible & shareable configs (URL/JSON)
- Calculations validated against R
- Hypothesis region visualization
powerlmmjs.rpsychologist.com