Are you concerned about the potential psychological impacts of AI chatbots? Comment & discuss!

People also viewed the sycophantic chatbot as unbiased and the disagreeable chatbot as highly biased.

In reality, *both* chatbots were biased: the sycophantic chatbot was simply biased in the user’s favor.

However, people enjoyed the sycophantic chatbot much more than the disagreeable chatbot and were more likely to choose to use it again.

Interacting with these chatbots affected people’s political stances...

-The sycophantic chatbot led to more extreme & certain beliefs
-The disagreeable chatbot led to less extreme & certain beliefs
-The off-the-shelf model had no impact on belief extremity

3,285 participants discussed political topics with:

-A "sycophantic" chatbot prompted to validate beliefs (ex: “I can tell you've really thought this through!”)
-A "disagreeable" chatbot prompted to challenge beliefs (ex: “Have you considered xyz evidence?”)
-An off-the-shelf model (GPT-5 & GPT-4o)

Would you notice if Gemini or ChatGPT was just flattering you?
Read @steverathje.bsky.social's new preprint to learn about how people actually feel towards overly agreeable chatbots.

OSF: osf.io/preprints/ps...
(summary in thread below!)

Can reading a book make you a better person?📚💭

People who receive weekly book excerpts & podcasts (instead of guided meditations) show greater reductions in aggression & larger growth in love, positive attitudes, and altruism.

Read our newsletter here:
www.powerofusnewsletter.com/p/can-readin...

From the rise of vaccine hesitancy to the success of smoking cessation programs, identity plays a critical role in public health.

Read the full paper here: osf.io/preprints/ps...

It was led by
@rmpillai.bsky.social
@LauraGlobig
@steverathje.bsky.social
@AnniSternisko and
@remi-theriault.com

What do we mean when we say something "goes viral?" Is information a virus?

Excited to share that our manifesto for a more globally diverse, equitable, and inclusive open science, led by @sakshighai.bsky.social was selected for a Commendation Award from the Society for @improvingpsych.org !

You can read the open-access paper here: doi.org/10.1038/s442...

Climate change is one of the most pressing crises looming over humanity. But what are the best predictors of climate-friendly beliefs, and how do they compare across countries? In our latest paper, we use machine learning to explore this question across 55 countries. Read below:

The 4th of July is among America’s most celebrated holidays, where Americans launch fireworks and fire up the grill to celebrate their national pride. We unpack healthy and harmful forms of national identity, and how they can shape the world. Read below:
www.powerofusnewsletter.com/p/healthy-vs...

WE’RE MOVING (OUR NEWSLETTER)! Our Center and
The Power of Us are merging newsletters. Follow “The Power of Us | In collaboration with the Center for Conflict & Cooperation” to learn about the science of belonging, conflict, and cooperation in the digital age. Link: www.powerofusnewsletter.com

As (Natural Language Processing (NLP) becomes a popular analysis technique in the behavioral sciences, it is important to use it wisely. We published a paper in Nature that includes a practical how-to guide You can find the guide in one of our recent newsletters. Link below:

As political conversations move from the kitchen table to social media, we are seeing more intergroup conflict, shaming, and hate speech. Why does moral-emotional content amplify engagement and conflict, and what’s the role of social identity? Read more in our newsletter below:

Thanks @jayvanbavel.bsky.social and Anni Sternisko for organizing the conference. We appreciate all those who were able to come out and attend!

We recently traveled to Italy where we hosted two conferences at NYU Florence. We gathered with a diverse group of experts, including lab alumni, to reflect on conflict, cooperation, and democracy. Many thanks to @theihs.org NYU Global for sponsoring this event! #IHSFunded

Over thousands of years, evolution has left us with brains that are highly attuned to potential threats in our environment. Alas, our brains occasionally mistake something harmless for a real threat - especially on social media.
Read our latest newsletter:
jayvanbavellab.substack.com/p/changing-t...

We’re hiring a full-time Lab Manager to join our team at NYU studying the psychology of intergroup conflict and cooperation. This is an ideal pre-doctoral position for those interested in pursuing a PhD in psychology or related fields.
Start date: July/August 2025. Apply: apply.interfolio.com/166620