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Robb Willer

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Robb Willer is an American sociologist and social psychologist whose research has examined American politics, political psychology, moral persuasion, and… more

Robb Willer
H-index: 54
Political science 34%
Sociology 23%
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Reposted by: Robb Willer, Joanna Bryson

socialmedialab.ca
Wow, that looks seriously bubblicious. The velocity of AI $ is now in a league of its own.

Nvidia and OpenAI tangle web of deals are “increasingly complex and interconnected web of business transactions is artificially propping up the trillion-dollar AI boom.“ www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
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Reposted by: Robb Willer, David Lazer

chrisbail.bsky.social
Junior and senior faculty positions in computational social scientists at Bocconi, one of the world's best universiites: Assistant Prof: jobmarket.unibocconi.eu?id=841
Associate/Full Prof: jobmarket.unibocconi.eu?id=843
Job Market - Bocconi University
Recruiting, Faculty, Post-doc Grant, Collaboration Contracts
jobmarket.unibocconi.eu
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Reposted by: Robb Willer, Nazita Lajevardi, Brian Keegan , and 2 more

chrisbail.bsky.social
New jobs for computational social scientists at UNC and USC: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307... amd uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/194...
Assistant Professor
This Assistant Professor position will teach graduate and undergraduate courses, conduct research in the field of Sociology, participate in departmental service, and mentor graduate students.
unc.peopleadmin.com
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Reposted by: Robb Willer

by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
Paper: osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF/prereg: osf.io/g59fm/
All chatbots linked above!
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
Major kudos to brilliant post-doc Jonas Schoene, who led this project!

Thanks to co-authors: Johannes Eichstaedt, Aadesh Salecha, Sonja Lyubomirsky

And to: @stanfordhai.bsky.social
@stanfordpacs.bsky.social
@pascl-stanford.bsky.social
@uclaanderson.bsky.social
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
We find high public interest in using validated well-being chatbots.

In a nationally rep survey (N=3,056), about 1/2 of U.S. adults said they’d use empirically validated well-being chatbots. About 1/4 have already used #generativeAI chatbots for well-being.
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
Importantly, results generalized to key subpopulations, including those with high baseline levels of anxiety or depressed mood.
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
Linguistic analyses showed users had diff conversations with each chatbot:

Savoring → Sensory perceptions & positive emotions
Gratitude → Social interactions & positive emotions
Meaning → Reflection on others & cognitive processes
Hero’s journey → Achievement & cognitive processes
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
Does use tradeoff with human therapy?
Maybe, though initial evidence against: conversations increased willingness to try well-being chatbots again and to seek human therapy, even among those previously reluctant.
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
RESULTS: All four chatbots…

⚡️Improved happiness, life satisfaction, and meaning,
⚡️Reduced anxiety and depressed mood, relative to control.

Effect sizes exceed or match those from traditional positive psych interventions in @dunnhappylab.bsky.social recent meta-analysis.
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
#4: The Hero’s Journey Chatbot

Guides the user to reframe their life story in terms of the archetypal Hero’s Journey, highlighting challenges, strengths, and next steps (h/t Ben Rogers,
@kurtjgray.bsky.social, Herrison Chicas)

👉 herobot.cpwbinterventions.xyz/readme
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
#3: The Meaning Chatbot

Prompts the user to reflect on what gives their life purpose, such as people, activities, and beliefs that are meaningful to them.

👉 cpwbinterventions.xyz/readme
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
#2: The Gratitude Chatbot

Guides user through a short exercise to express gratitude to a specific person. Encourages the user to notice others’ contributions and articulate what they appreciate.

👉 gratitudebot.cpwbinterventions.xyz/readme
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
#1: The Savoring Chatbot

Guides user to slow down and reflect on a positive moment from their life in detail, e.g., associated sensations, thoughts, and meaning.

👉 savoringbot.cpwbinterventions.xyz/readme
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
In a preregistered, randomized experiment (N=2,922), we tested whether four different AI chatbots could improve happiness and feelings of meaning in life.
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by Robb Willer

robbwiller.bsky.social
Millions use #GenerativeAI chatbots for emotional support, yet little research re: whether AI dialogues can improve psychological well-being

We test whether brief, structured dialogues grounded in psych research can reliably help

WP👉 osf.io/preprints/ps...
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by Robb Willer — Reposted by: Nicholas A. Christakis

robbwiller.bsky.social
🚨New WP!🚨

Structured AI Dialogues Can Increase Happiness and Meaning in Life

In a preregistered RCT, four psychology-grounded #AI chatbots improved well-being across several outcomes.

Co-authors: Jonas Schoene, Johannes Eichstaedt, Aadesh Salecha, Sonja Lyubomirsky

🧵👇
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by Robb Willer

Reposted by: Robb Willer

Reposted by: Robb Willer, Christopher Wlezien

Reposted by: Robb Willer

Reposted by: Robb Willer

Reposted by: Robb Willer

Reposted by: Robb Willer

by Michael McFaul — Reposted by: Robb Willer

Reposted by: Robb Willer

Reposted by: Robb Willer, Stephen L. Brusatte, Dean Baker , and 1 more

Reposted by: Robb Willer

by Robb Willer

References

Fields & subjects

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