Mark Rubin
@markrubin.bsky.social
social psychology ▪︎ metascience ▪︎ philosophy of science ▪︎ higher education
Professor at Durham University, UK. He/him.
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/markrubinsocialpsychresearch/
Substack: https://markrubin.substack.com/
Professor at Durham University, UK. He/him.
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/markrubinsocialpsychresearch/
Substack: https://markrubin.substack.com/
Maybe!
There are so many potentially influential factors though that I think we need to use theory and background knowledge to make educated guesses about what might matter.
There are so many potentially influential factors though that I think we need to use theory and background knowledge to make educated guesses about what might matter.
“A quick look at the majority of research articles in psychology journals reveals that most never specify the lab room’s dimensions and set-up (e.g., lighting), even though these things may matter.”
a cartoon character with the words it 's so dark in here on the bottom
ALT: a cartoon character with the words it 's so dark in here on the bottom
media.tenor.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Maybe!
There are so many potentially influential factors though that I think we need to use theory and background knowledge to make educated guesses about what might matter.
There are so many potentially influential factors though that I think we need to use theory and background knowledge to make educated guesses about what might matter.
They don't mention it explicitly, but I'm sure they'd also welcome philosophical takes on those issues. Maybe get in touch with them if in doubt.
January 24, 2026 at 7:32 AM
They don't mention it explicitly, but I'm sure they'd also welcome philosophical takes on those issues. Maybe get in touch with them if in doubt.
Interesting stuff!
"Empirical scientific reports are about characterizing effects, not about describing the abilities of scientists. A bias that influences the former is a serious problem, but a bias that influences the latter is mostly irrelevant."
"Empirical scientific reports are about characterizing effects, not about describing the abilities of scientists. A bias that influences the former is a serious problem, but a bias that influences the latter is mostly irrelevant."
January 22, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Interesting stuff!
"Empirical scientific reports are about characterizing effects, not about describing the abilities of scientists. A bias that influences the former is a serious problem, but a bias that influences the latter is mostly irrelevant."
"Empirical scientific reports are about characterizing effects, not about describing the abilities of scientists. A bias that influences the former is a serious problem, but a bias that influences the latter is mostly irrelevant."
See also...
January 21, 2026 at 5:37 PM
See also...
Paolini, Dixon, Kotzur, Friehs, Bracegirdle, Lauterbach, Köbrich, Graf, Kauff, Stefaniak, Wright, Barlow, Luebbering, & Harwood (2026). Towards a habit-rupture model of intergroup contact in everyday settings. Nature Reviews Psychology.
#SocialPsyc #AcademicSky 🧪
#SocialPsyc #AcademicSky 🧪
Towards a habit-rupture model of intergroup contact in everyday settings - Nature Reviews Psychology
The literature assumes that intergroup contact is naturally occurring, positive and consistently associated with positive outcomes, but these premises are inconsistent with everyday intergroup contact...
doi.org
January 21, 2026 at 9:04 AM
Paolini, Dixon, Kotzur, Friehs, Bracegirdle, Lauterbach, Köbrich, Graf, Kauff, Stefaniak, Wright, Barlow, Luebbering, & Harwood (2026). Towards a habit-rupture model of intergroup contact in everyday settings. Nature Reviews Psychology.
#SocialPsyc #AcademicSky 🧪
#SocialPsyc #AcademicSky 🧪
Drawing inspiration from Allport’s classic intergroup contact theory, Paolini et al. introduce contact rupture — moments when habits are disrupted.
Lifespan and macro-level ruptures reveal when and how contact can drive change and social cohesion.
Lifespan and macro-level ruptures reveal when and how contact can drive change and social cohesion.
January 21, 2026 at 9:04 AM
Drawing inspiration from Allport’s classic intergroup contact theory, Paolini et al. introduce contact rupture — moments when habits are disrupted.
Lifespan and macro-level ruptures reveal when and how contact can drive change and social cohesion.
Lifespan and macro-level ruptures reveal when and how contact can drive change and social cohesion.
“Intergroup contact habit” helps to explain why contact often fails to produce positive societal outcomes. Many people live inside “contact bubbles”:
🔹 stable avoidance + persistent prejudice
🔹 or stable engagement + positive attitudes.
🔹 stable avoidance + persistent prejudice
🔹 or stable engagement + positive attitudes.
January 21, 2026 at 9:04 AM
“Intergroup contact habit” helps to explain why contact often fails to produce positive societal outcomes. Many people live inside “contact bubbles”:
🔹 stable avoidance + persistent prejudice
🔹 or stable engagement + positive attitudes.
🔹 stable avoidance + persistent prejudice
🔹 or stable engagement + positive attitudes.
No worries Rob. Look forward to reading the end product!
January 20, 2026 at 9:21 PM
No worries Rob. Look forward to reading the end product!
"Drawing on philosophy of science (e.g., Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos, Roy Bhaskar, Rom Harré, John Searle) and theoretical alternatives (e.g., critical realism, constructivism, Luhmannian systems theory), we welcome...[work] from psychology, philosophy, systems theory, and related disciplines."
January 20, 2026 at 8:32 PM
"Drawing on philosophy of science (e.g., Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos, Roy Bhaskar, Rom Harré, John Searle) and theoretical alternatives (e.g., critical realism, constructivism, Luhmannian systems theory), we welcome...[work] from psychology, philosophy, systems theory, and related disciplines."
"We invite work that examines how psychological constructs are formed and stabilized, what kinds of explanations are being pursued, what counts as evidence for theoretical claims, and how epistemological, methodological, and ontological commitments jointly shape theory (often implicitly)."
January 20, 2026 at 8:32 PM
"We invite work that examines how psychological constructs are formed and stabilized, what kinds of explanations are being pursued, what counts as evidence for theoretical claims, and how epistemological, methodological, and ontological commitments jointly shape theory (often implicitly)."
Sort of meta-knowledge about how to know our own ignorance!?
January 20, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Sort of meta-knowledge about how to know our own ignorance!?
Absolutely! It's the things you don't know you don't know that are the real problem!
Unknown unknowns in science
"We can report our known knowns, and we can be transparent and speculative about our known unknowns, but we can’t say much about our unknown unknowns because we don’t know what they are!"
markrubin.substack.com/p/the-prereg...
#philsci 🧪
"We can report our known knowns, and we can be transparent and speculative about our known unknowns, but we can’t say much about our unknown unknowns because we don’t know what they are!"
markrubin.substack.com/p/the-prereg...
#philsci 🧪
January 20, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Absolutely! It's the things you don't know you don't know that are the real problem!
"The most commonly reported detrimental effects of activism were burnout and increased depression."
#SocialPsyc #MentalHealth #ClinPsyc 🧪
#SocialPsyc #MentalHealth #ClinPsyc 🧪
January 19, 2026 at 5:16 PM
"The most commonly reported detrimental effects of activism were burnout and increased depression."
#SocialPsyc #MentalHealth #ClinPsyc 🧪
#SocialPsyc #MentalHealth #ClinPsyc 🧪