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Phia Salter @doctaphia.bsky.social · 8d

We're accepting abstract submissions for the Critical Psychology Preconference until Oct 23rd. Join us! spsp.wufoo.com/forms/2026-p...

Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 8d

The Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference is back again for year two!! If your research breaks boundaries in mainstream social psych or you are applying exciting methods to your experimental research, our submissions are open! #SPSP2026

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keturahragland.bsky.social @keturahragland.bsky.social · 8d

Come join us!!

Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 8d

The Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference is back again for year two!! If your research breaks boundaries in mainstream social psych or you are applying exciting methods to your experimental research, our submissions are open! #SPSP2026

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 8d

Please reach out to the organizers Phia Salter, @jadacopelandhayes.bsky.social, @spruill.bsky.social & @keturahragland.bsky.social with any questions about the preconference and/or submissions.

Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 8d

We have an exciting line up of speakers already, including Courtney Bonam, Neil Lewis Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social, Jessica Remedios, and Keturah Ragland @keturahragland.bsky.social Join our line up with a submission by Oct. 23rd!!!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 8d

We are pleased to invite submissions for poster presentations, data blitzes and 15-minute talks on critical, interdisciplinary research in psychology! spsp.wufoo.com/forms/2026-p...

2026 Preconference Submission Portal

Use this submission form for all preconference submissions. Select your preconference first as this may change submission fields. The submission guide can be found here . You may submit to multi...

spsp.wufoo.com

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 8d

The Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference is back again for year two!! If your research breaks boundaries in mainstream social psych or you are applying exciting methods to your experimental research, our submissions are open! #SPSP2026

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 11d

Join us on September 30 at 3 p.m. ET for a virtual discussion with legal experts and longtime Supreme Court watchers. They’ll break down some of the major cases on the Court's upcoming docket and explain what the outcomes could mean for the future of American democracy. RSVP: bit.ly/4nKeDFP

Democracy’s Day in Court

Supreme Court watchers preview pivotal cases on voting rights, fair representation, and presidential power.

www.brennancenter.org

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · May 15

Supreme Court unanimously rejects the "moment-of-threat rule," which required courts to examine only the exact moment in which a police officer alleged that their safety had been threatened in determining whether they acted reasonably.

Kagan's opinion makes clear that this idea is clearly absurd.

Most notable here, the “totality of the circumstances” inquiry has no
time limit. While the situation at the precise time of the shooting will
often matter most, earlier facts and circumstances may bear on how a
reasonable officer would have understood and responded to later ones.
Prior events may show why a reasonable officer would perceive otherwise ambiguous conduct as threatening, or instead as innocuous.
Plumhoff v. Rickard, 572 U. S. 765, well illustrates this point. There,
an officer’s use of deadly force was justified “at the moment” partly
because of what had transpired in the preceding period. Id., at 777.
The moment-of-threat rule applied below prevents that sort of attention to context, and thus conflicts with this Court’s instruction to
analyze the totality of the circumstances. By limiting their view to the
two seconds before the shooting, the lower courts could not take into
account anything preceding that final moment. So, for example, they
could not consider the reasons for the stop or the earlier interactions
between the suspect and officer. And because of that limit, they could
not address whether the final two seconds of the encounter would look
different if set within a longer timeframe. A rule like that, which precludes consideration of prior events in assessing a police shooting, is
not reconcilable with the fact-dependent and context-sensitive approach this Court has prescribed. A court deciding a use-of-force case
cannot review the totality of the circumstances if it has put on chronological blinders.
The Court does not address a separate question about whether or
how an officer’s own “creation of a dangerous situation” factors into the
reasonableness analysis. The courts below never confronted that issue, and it was not the basis of the petition for certiorari. Pp. 4–9.
91 F. 4th 393, vacated and remanded.
KAGAN, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. KAVANAUGH,
J., filed a con

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · May 15

The Supreme Court's first and only decision today is Barnes v. Felix. Per Kagan, the court unanimously rejects the 5th Circuit's narrow approach to deadly force claims against police, holding that a proper analysis looks to the "totality of the circumstances." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

JUSTICE KAGAN delivered the opinion of the Court.
A police officer’s use of deadly force violates the Fourth
Amendment when it is not “objectively reasonable.” Graham v. Connor, 490 U. S. 386, 397 (1989). And that inquiry
into reasonableness, we have held, requires assessing the
“totality of the circumstances.” Id., at 396 (quoting Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U. S. 1, 9 (1985)).
The question here is whether that framework permits
courts, in evaluating a police shooting (or other use of force),
to apply the so-called moment-of-threat rule used in the
courts below. Under that rule, a court looks only to the circumstances existing at the precise time an officer perceived
the threat inducing him to shoot. Today, we reject that approach as improperly narrowing the requisite Fourth
Amendment analysis. To assess whether an officer acted
reasonably in using force, a court must consider all the relevant circumstances, including facts and events leading up
to the climactic moment.

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · Apr 10

The Supreme Court’s emergency ruling blocked the Trump administration from removing supposed Venezuelan gang members without any legal process, @qjurecic.bsky.social writes. But it “also narrowed the path by which those detainees can contest their removal”:

What, Exactly, Is the Supreme Court Thinking?

The justices exhibit a disturbing willingness to ignore the human costs of Trump’s actions, preferring instead to remain within the more comfortable zone of high-minded legal theory.

bit.ly

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · Mar 31

Thank you all so much for having me!! It was a joy to share more about my research in psychology and law.

If you want to learn more about legal judgment & decision making, intriguing Supreme Court cases and what “objectively reasonable” actually means to people, listen to this episode!

Minds Matter Podcast @mindsmatter.bsky.social · Mar 31

New ep! What comes to mind when you hear the term “objectively reasonable”? @spruill.bsky.social shares her research on how legal standards in criminal justice aren't as neutral as they may seem and how lived experience influence jurors' priors

links in 🧵

@monash-m3cs.bsky.social

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J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · Mar 11

Scholarship is an expression of deep hope in the future — by writing things down, we hope that future generations can make some use of what we do.

Writing today about the science of AI policy, I am citing a 1950s book on the role of scientists in labor unions. Thank you Milton Nadworny <3

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Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · Feb 27

Some good news:

"The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years in response to what it calls a 'crisis' prompted by the Trump administration’s freeze..."

www.philanthropy.com/article/maca...

MacArthur Foundation to Increase Giving for Two Years in Response to ‘Crisis’

The move was prompted by the Trump administration’s freeze on federal foreign aid and the now-suspended freeze on federal grants.

www.philanthropy.com

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Association for Psychological Science @psychscience.bsky.social · Feb 27

Congratulations to the newest class of APS Rising Stars ⭐! www.psychologicalscience.org/members/awar...

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Morteza Dehghani @mdehghani.bsky.social · Feb 25

At @spspnews.bsky.social, many asked for guidelines on using LLMs in the social sciences. Our new paper in AMPPS addresses exactly that! We provide a primer for evaluating LLMs in social science research, focusing on methodological rigor, replicability, and validity: osf.io/preprints/ps...

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Isha Smith-Ramakrishnan @ishasr.bsky.social · Feb 25

First @spspnews.bsky.social symposium complete! I presented my work on differing gendered perceptions of East and South Asians. Really excited to continue this line of work as I wrap up my master’s thesis. Thank you to everyone who came to support! #SPSP2025

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · Feb 20

✨Starting in 30 minutes!✨ See you all there! @jadacopelandhayes.bsky.social @keturahragland.bsky.social

Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · Feb 17

Check out the amazing line up of speakers for the inaugural Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference! If you are going to #SPSP2025 you don’t want to miss this!!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · Feb 20

Happy SPSP Day to those who celebrate! I’m looking forward to starting this conference off sharing new research, “Right, Wrong or Reasonable? Morality in Legal Decision Making” in the Moral Pre conference!! #SPSP2025

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Equal Justice Initiative @eji.org · Feb 19

Where the death penalty remains active, increasing jury diversity can increase reliability and help reduce the risk of wrongful convictions.

Diverse Juries More Reliable, Less Likely in Alabama Death Penalty

Accurate representation among juries can reduce wrongful convictions.

eji.org

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Ronda F. Lo @rondalo.bsky.social · Feb 18

I'll be presenting 3 posters at SPSP2025 this weekend!

‼️Thursday Pre-Conferences:
Social Psychology in Legal Contexts - 12:15-1pm
🚔 Psychology of Police Shows

Advances in Cultural Psychology -3:30-4:45pm
🧬 Gene-Culture Studies

‼️Friday Poster Session B (9-10am)
😷 Asian Health Hazard Stereotype

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · Feb 17

Yes!! Can’t wait for you to join & I’m also looking forward to your symposium!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · Feb 17

Check out the amazing line up of speakers for the inaugural Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference! If you are going to #SPSP2025 you don’t want to miss this!!

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Nick Camp @ncamp.bsky.social · Feb 14

Going to #spsp2025? Interested in what psychology can tell us about what works (or doesn't) to change policing? Join me @andreadittmann.bsky.social @calvinklai.bsky.social @spruill.bsky.social & Kyle Dobson very early next Saturday to find out.

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Politics and Social Change Lab @pascl-stanford.bsky.social · Feb 13

A huge thank you to @spruill.bsky.social for sharing her research exploring the influence of legal language on Black and White Americans’ perceptions of police officers and police use-of-force. Truly thought-provoking work!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · Jan 20

“To treat the symptoms of creative maladjustment would be to dull a necessary and noble pain that is an authentic moral response to injustice. For King, maladjustment to injustice is an illness with only one cure—justice.”

Today’s very timely read.🤔

spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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