Hugo Mercier

@hugoreasoning.bsky.social

2.5K followers 1.2K following 130 posts

Evolutionary and cognitive psychologist. Author, Not Born Yesterday (http://tinyurl.com/yyh929ns), The Enigma of Reason (http://tinyurl.com/6hbpn84).

Videos

Psychology 27%

Sociology 17%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Alessandro Nai

Yamil Ricardo Velez @yamilrvelez.bsky.social · 1d

As @seanjwestwood.bsky.social's terrifying new PNAS article demonstrates, LLMs can now pass almost every attention check, mirror personas, stay consistent across pages, and systematically bias responses in the aggregate.

So here’s a different angle: verify physical presence, not text.

Reposted by Ruth Dassonneville, Hugo Mercier, Bonnie N. Field

Ignacio Jurado @jurado.bsky.social · 1d

Postdoc call‼️

I am opening a call for a postdoctoral position within my ERC project CONSENT.

Come to Madrid to be part of my research team and more broadly of the @ipp-csic.bsky.social community.

Application deadline: December 10th.

Call details: tinyurl.com/yfu83p9m

Dropbox

tinyurl.com

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher, Helen Tager‐Flusberg, Hugo Mercier , and 1 more Nancy Kanwisher, Helen Tager‐Flusberg, Hugo Mercier, Jenny R. Saffran

Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 2d

Origins of language, one of humanity’s most distinctive traits, may be best explained as a unique convergence of multiple capacities each with its own evolutionary history, involving intertwined roles of biology & culture. This framing can expand research horizons. A 🧵 on our @science.org paper.🧪1/n

What enables human language? A biocultural framework

Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of l...

www.science.org

Hugo Mercier @hugoreasoning.bsky.social · 5d

Congrats! And ironic given that Pierrick has just been denied tenure...

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Brian Keegan, David W. Lawson

Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 8d

This is such a cool study. A parasitic ant queen tricks worker ants into murdering their own queen, so the parasite can take over the colony.

This parasitic ant tricks workers into committing matricide

Newly mated parasitic queen ants invade colonies and spray their victims with a chemical irritant that provokes the workers to kill their mother.

www.sciencenews.org

Reposted by David Lazer, Hugo Mercier, Paul E. Smaldino , and 2 more David Lazer, Hugo Mercier, Paul E. Smaldino, Alex Mesoudi, Alberto Acerbi

Brendan Barrett @bjjbarrett.bsky.social · 8d

Postdoc position in individual-level incentives, social
learning, and payoff-biased imitation shape group-level accuracy in complex prediction and decision-making tasks in Konstanz

files.newsletter2go.com/l3slzozn/s_i...

files.newsletter2go.com

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Nathan Nunn

Cultural Evolution Society @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social · 9d

The deadline has been extended - there is still time to get your abstracts in to join us in Morocco!

Zach Garfield @zhgarfield.com · 10d

The submission deadline for #CESRabat has been extended to 30 November

@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social

ces2026 @ces2026.bsky.social · 15d

👉 A reminder that the deadline for submitting your abstract to the CES 2026 #CESRabat is the 16th of November.

🔗Submit here: airess.fgses-um6p.ma/ces2026

We look forward to seeing you in Rabat!

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Daniela Gabor, Lisa W. Fazio , and 35 more Cas Mudde, Daniela Gabor, Lisa W. Fazio, Jan W. Mueller, Richard S.J. Tol, Dorothy Bishop, Colin F. Camerer, David Brady, Jesse H. Kroll, Hugo Mercier, Rosemary A. Joyce, Caroline Krafft, Jacob Montgomery, Gernot Wagner, Smith, David R. Miller, Aaron Sojourner, Daniel Huppmann, Adrian Daub, Bessma Momani, Claudia Diehl, David J. Berri, Brian Keegan, David Rosnick, Sarah Roberts, Aija Leiponen, Mark Rice, Ann Bartow, Thomas Masterson, Leah Stokes, Nicole Guenther Discenza, Charles T. Mathewes, Annette Yoshiko Reed, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Melinda Baldwin, David Darmofal, Peter Jacobs

Marshall Steinbaum @econmarshall.bsky.social · 9d

The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Nathan Nunn, Rebecca Sear , and 2 more Hugo Mercier, Nathan Nunn, Rebecca Sear, Alex Mesoudi, David W. Lawson

Zach Garfield @zhgarfield.com · 10d

The submission deadline for #CESRabat has been extended to 30 November

@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social

ces2026 @ces2026.bsky.social · 15d

ces2026 @ces2026.bsky.social · Sep 19

We’re delighted to share that the CES2026 Conference website is now live!

We warmly invite researchers, scholars, and practitioners to submit their presentation proposals by November 16th through the submission portal on the website.

Reposted by Olivier Klein, Hugo Mercier, Todd M. Gureckis

Sydney Levine @sydneylevine.bsky.social · 11d

I'm recruiting a grad student! My lab at NYU (psych dept) studies the computational basis of moral cognition and aims to build AI systems that are aligned with human values. Now admitting a PhD student for Fall 2026. Apps due 12/1. sites.google.com/corp/site/sy...

Sydney Levine - Open Positions

Graduate Students (PhD program) I will be accepting PhD students through the NYU psychology department for the current application cycle (for admission in Fall 2026). My lab is joint between the Co...

sites.google.com

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Olivier Morin

Marius Mercier @mariusmercier.bsky.social · 12d

🎉 New preprint: Bayesian Competence Inference guides Knowledge Attribution and Information search

If someone knows that Venus is the only planet in the Solar System that rotates clockwise, will they also know what Earth’s only natural satellite is? What about which planets have no moons at all?

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Rafael H. M. Pereira, Rebecca Sear

Jorge Peña @jorgeapenas.bsky.social · 12d

📣 Are you a PhD student in the quantitative social sciences interested in interdisciplnary research? Join us at the Toulouse Summer School in Quantitative Social Sciences (25 May-19 Jun 2026) at @tse-fr.eu.

Apply by 15 Dec 2025 🎓🔍

👉 More info + application: www.tse-fr.eu/toulouse-sum...

Toulouse Summer School in Quantitative Social Sciences

www.tse-fr.eu

Reposted by Hugo Mercier

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 12d

Right now, Karoline Leavitt is being coached on how to say “ephebophilia” in the least creepy way possible.

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Mark J. Brandt, Mary Feeney , and 3 more Hugo Mercier, Mark J. Brandt, Mary Feeney, Jacob Montgomery, Nazita Lajevardi, Georg Weizsäcker

Bastian Jaeger @bxjaeger.bsky.social · 13d

Three preregistered experiments with prolific participants (N = 2,254) found no evidence for experimenter demand effects

osf.io/preprints/ps...

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Nathan Nunn, Randall A. Kramer , and 1 more Hugo Mercier, Nathan Nunn, Randall A. Kramer, Clark Gray

Human Behavior & Evolution Society @humbehevosoc.bsky.social · 14d

Two postdoctoral opportunities in evolutionary anthropology at Duke University!
The Pontzer Lab is hiring for projects on human ecology, energetics, and aging & health.
More info: www.hbes.com/two-postdoct...

Two postdoctoral opportunities in evolutionary anthropology at Duke - HBES

https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30783 Position Description The Pontzer Lab in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University seeks two Postdoctoral Associates for research in h...

www.hbes.com

Reposted by Steven French, Hugo Mercier, Juan Rocha , and 1 more Steven French, Hugo Mercier, Juan Rocha, Massimiliano Simons

H-Net Job Guide @h-net-job-guide.bsky.social · 18d

New job:

Professor of History

University of Wisconsin - Madison

jobs.h-net.org/jobs/69456

Hugo Mercier @hugoreasoning.bsky.social · 20d

Merci !

Reposted by Serge Guimond, Hugo Mercier

Antonin Atger @antoninatger.bsky.social · 20d

Rarement, un livre m'a autant stimulé intellectuellement !

"Pas né de la dernière pluie", d'Hugo Mercier démonte l'idée reçue que les gens seraient majoritairement stupides et les foules crédules.

J'extrais ici trois arguments très pertinents pour défendre son hypothèse. ⤵️

Pas né de la dernière pluie de Hugo Mercier

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Rosemary A. Joyce, Ryan Enos , and 1 more Hugo Mercier, Rosemary A. Joyce, Ryan Enos, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 20d

this is an obvious overcorrection that misleads the polling data and will lead to disaster in the Heartland. the results of tonight show that the Democrats should moderate: adopting two or at most three of the five pillars of Islam

Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 20d

if democrats are serious about winning they need to learn from tonight and convert to islam

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Rebecca Sear, Andrew K Przybylski , and 1 more Hugo Mercier, Rebecca Sear, Andrew K Przybylski, Amy Orben

Tanay Katiyar @adigitaltanay.bsky.social · 21d

My first paper, out in PsychReview!!

Along with @orbenamy.bsky.social, Nik & @jaeggiadrian.bsky.social, @realadamhunt.bsky.social & I revisit an old theoretical question using concepts from evo psychiatry and anthro:

Why do mixed associations exist b/w social media & mental health?

A 🧵

Reposted by Diane Coyle, Joanna Bryson, Richard S.J. Tol , and 5 more Diane Coyle, Joanna Bryson, Richard S.J. Tol, Julie L. Lockwood, Hugo Mercier, Nathan Nunn, Paul Lehmann, Kate Starbird

Christina Gravert @cgravert.bsky.social · 21d

I am looking for a post-doc working on behavioral/environmental/urban/energy economics to join my group at the University of Copenhagen. Position is 2 years (possibly 3), good salary, free health insurance, one of the most livable cities in the world. Apply here: jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...

Postdoctoral Position in Behavioral and Environmental Economics

jobportal.ku.dk

Reposted by Hugo Mercier

Alec Baker @sladeb.bsky.social · 22d

Does the Danish foreign minister just go around giving everyone culturally appropriate lego sets? That has to be the best job.

Bruce Gorrie @bsrg1.bsky.social · 22d

Anyway, we need some joy, so here's the Egyptian foreign minister being given a Lego Pyramid by the Danish foreign minister.

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Leigh Sparks, Lesley A. Hall , and 1 more Hugo Mercier, Leigh Sparks, Lesley A. Hall, Rod Earle

Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 23d

Great investigation of the Nazis, racists and criminals mobilising the flag-on-lamp-posts movement. This is the kind of journalism that the national media could and should have conducted:

manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Hugo Mercier, Calvin K. Lai

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 25d

"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."

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

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Olivier Morin

Edgar Dubourg @edgardubourg.bsky.social · 25d

Excited to see our research highlighted in @psychscience.bsky.social Observer!
With @oliviermorin.bsky.social , @hugoreasoning.bsky.social , and Thomas Dheilly, we explored how people infer others’ knowledge: even from a single answer, they can estimate how much someone knows about a topic!