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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 13h

Why do some ideas spread widely, while others fail to catch on?

Our new review paper on the PSYCHOLOGY OF VIRALITY is now out in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social (it was led by @steverathje.bsky.social)

Read the full paper here: www.cell.com/trends/cogni...

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 13h

The paper was led by @madalina.bsky.social & @kimdoell.bsky.social and included 256 authors who all deserve to share in this prize.

Thanks to everyone who contributed!

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 13h

I'm excited to share the news that our climate change project won the @spspnews.bsky.social Robert Cialdini Prize for a "paper that uses field methods and demonstrates the relevance of social psychology to outside groups and communities"!

You can read it here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Reposted by Jay Van Bavel, PhD

Steve Rathje @steverathje.bsky.social · 16h

Our recent review article "The Psychology of Virality" with @jayvanbavel.bsky.social
is on the front cover of this month's issue of
@cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social.

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Reposted by Jay Van Bavel, PhD

Mark Ho @markkho.bsky.social · 1d

I'm recruiting grad students!! 🎓

The CoDec Lab @ NYU (codec-lab.github.io) is looking for PhD students (Fall 2026) interested in computational approaches to social cognition & problem solving 🧠

Applications through Psych (tinyurl.com/nyucp) are due Dec 1. Reach out with Qs & please repost! 🙏

codec lab

codec-lab.github.io

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Reposted by Jay Van Bavel, PhD

Rob Sica @robsica.bsky.social · 4d

"In countries with multiparty systems or less polarized media ecosystems than the U.S., ideological and partisan gaps in self‐reported trust in science are typically substantially weaker than in the U.S., if they exist at all... not a stable characteristic of conservativism"

Are There Ideological Differences in Science Denial?

Debates about issues such anthropomorphic climate change have raised alarm that there may be systematic differences in liberals’ and conservatives’ tr…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 4d

They are less likely to judge outgroup members more harshly than ingroup member. Instead, they treat all transgressors equally because they see people as individuals:

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 4d

People who have more complex social identities view political identity as a less reliable source of information about others. Therefore they rely less on group-based stereotypes when judging outgroup members.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103125000915

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Reposted by Jay Van Bavel, PhD

Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 5d

In a new paper, we find that sycophantic #AI chatbots make people more extreme--operating like an echo chamber

Yet, people prefer sycophantic chatbots and see them as less biased

Only open-minded people prefer disagreeable chatbots: osf.io/preprints/ps...

Led by @steverathje.bsky.social

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Reposted by Jay Van Bavel, PhD

Society for Personality and Social Psychology @spspnews.bsky.social · 5d

Do people expect to be judged by their own moral standards or someone else's? New #SPPS research reports that we actually expect out-group members to judge us by their values, not ours.

📖 Read more: ow.ly/1tnF50X5yNP

Close-up of three people using hand gestures while engaged in a serious conversation indoors.

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 5d

Other coauthors are @MerylYe @rmpillai.bsky.social @LauraGlobig and @VictoriaOldemburgodeMello

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 5d

In a new paper, we find that sycophantic #AI chatbots make people more extreme--operating like an echo chamber

Yet, people prefer sycophantic chatbots and see them as less biased

Only open-minded people prefer disagreeable chatbots: osf.io/preprints/ps...

Led by @steverathje.bsky.social

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 5d

I’m so excited about this—it’s great for APS to host their main conference in another country Barcelona is such an incredible city!

Pam Davis-Kean, PhD @umpamdk.bsky.social · 5d

@psychscience.bsky.social Submission site for Barcelona 2026 opens Oct. 30th!!! Join us in Spain for the first APS to be held outside the U.S. Many new ways to interact and to share psychological research being done around the world. www.psychologicalscience.org/conventions/...

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 5d

I’m so excited about this—it’s great for APS to host their main conference in another country Barcelona is such an incredible city!

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Reposted by Jay Van Bavel, PhD

Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 6d

Larger scientific teams produce more impactful breakthroughs + patents

I wrote a paper with 4 principles to optimize large scientific collaborations based on the science of cooperation & collective intelligence: osf.io/preprints/ps...

And a substack summary: powerofus.substack.com/p/four-princ...

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Reposted by Jay Van Bavel, PhD

Steve Rathje @steverathje.bsky.social · 6d

🚨 New preprint 🚨

Across 3 experiments (n = 3,285), we found that interacting with sycophantic (or overly agreeable) AI chatbots entrenched attitudes and led to inflated self-perceptions.

Yet, people preferred sycophantic chatbots and viewed them as unbiased!

osf.io/preprints/ps...

Thread 🧵

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 6d

Larger scientific teams produce more impactful breakthroughs + patents

I wrote a paper with 4 principles to optimize large scientific collaborations based on the science of cooperation & collective intelligence: osf.io/preprints/ps...

And a substack summary: powerofus.substack.com/p/four-princ...

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 6d

One of the favorite parts of my job is working with the next generation of scientists to understand the science of conflict & cooperation.

Every 2 years I host a conference with Tessa West where we invite our former PhD students & postdocs to share new research on these topics and reconnect.

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Reposted by Jay Van Bavel, PhD

Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 7d

Our new paper finds that AI can overcome partisan #bias

We find that AI sources are preferred over ingroup and outgroup sources--even when people know both are equally accurate (N = 1,600+): osf.io/preprints/ps...

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Reposted by Jay Van Bavel, PhD

ACLU @aclu.org · 7d

NEW: We filed a brief in support of a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s unprecedented attacks on academic freedom at Columbia University.

The First Amendment doesn't allow the president to force a university to censor its teaching, research, and faculty to align with his ideology.

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 7d

You’ll have to ask Steve and my other postdocs typical that is. i Think take out lunch is extremely common, dinner out is somewhat common and cocktail bars are less common

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 7d

We have a paper on how that happens too...watch this space in a couple of days.

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 7d

This video describes a day in the life of a researcher at New York University

My Postdoc @steverathje.bsky.social made this video and it provides a sneak peak into what it looks like to work at the Center for Conflict and Cooperation ww.centerconflictcooperation.com

Let us know what you think!

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 7d

Agree 100%. That's a point we directly raise in our general discussion.

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 7d

Our data suggest that AI’s perceived neutrality could help reduce “echo chambers” by broadening people’s exposure to diverse information--so long as AI systems remain trusted as impartial and prioritize accuracy. osf.io/preprints/ps...

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