I believe one of the most important things we can do for our kids is to model resilience.
So I’d like to thank this year’s journal decision letters (so far) for the opportunity.
Onwards!
It’s here, just in time for my commute! Who else needs some fun, intellectual reading for the train?
𝘊𝑜𝘨𝑛𝘪𝑡𝘪𝑜𝘯, 𝑠𝘦𝑐𝘰𝑛𝘥 𝘦𝑑𝘪𝑡𝘪𝑜𝘯, by Chun & Most: pages.oup.com/he/us/cognit...
Significant differences are indicated with 🐦⬛
Ha! I'm currently doing cardio by replying to your reply!
In my case, my behavior change isn’t subtle. Lately, my commute includes walking the 6 km from Central Station to UNSW (and back if I have time) instead of taking the light rail. It partly addresses my problem that I don’t like gyms.
Yeah, I wonder the same. I suspect that if the effect is replicable it is likely due to a subtle change in behavior. When I remind myself that dog-walking is exercise, I find myself stepping with more vigor.
I think about this study a lot.
The world's a gymnasium... if you notice it.
I’m a cognitive psychologist. Don’t tell me this isn’t a stroopwafel.
Here, Marvin and I chat briefly about what to expect from our new, second edition... and why we're excited about it.
Find out more, and request a free examination copy, at: pages.oup.com/he/us/cognit...
We're excited to share our love of the field. Share with anyone who might be interested!
3/3
Cover of Chun & Most's second edition Cognition textbook
Opening to Chun & Most, chapter 1
Opening to Chun & Most, chapter 2
Opening to Chun & Most, chapter 12
It's an approach that Marvin and I also tried to weave throughout our 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 textbook, mining news, history, and everyday experience for compelling real-world illustrations of cognition in action.
2/3
Cognitive psychology is everywhere, including in unexpected places!
"Epistemic" emotions (e.g., surprise, curiosity) give us powerful tools to engage students — which I tried to use here, in this lecture opening from the Covid days of remote teaching.
1/3
#EduSky #PsychSciSky #cognition
The 2nd edition of Marvin's and my textbook, 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, is out! A labor of love.
We hope our excitement for the field shines through. And look at this wonderful team at Oxford University Press we got to work with!
You can request a free examination copy here: pages.oup.com/he/us/cognit...
And find out more about the new edition of Marvin's and my 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 textbook here: pages.oup.com/he/us/cognit...
If you've checked it out and like it, please help us get the word out!
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(One quick note: my lab's recent work on effort aversion — described later in the podcast — builds on the foundational work of Westbrook, Inzlicht, Botvinick, and others. I should have made that clearer in the moment.)
2/3
Thank you to Garth Neufeld for having me on his PsychSessions podcast. Garth got me reflecting on the power of sharing our stories with students, AI in education, my research journey from cluelessness to a love affair with cognition, to why universities feel like home to me.
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#PsychSciSky
Co-authored with recent UNSW Psychology Honours student, Nathan Clout.
This study echoes a claim I made in a 2024 TEDx talk: technology and AI may excel at spreading knowledge, but human connection is key for nurturing curiosity and joy of learning.
4/4
Although AI and tech promise to increase the accessibility of education (a public benefit), we need to stay alert to what might get lost. Who we believe our teachers to be — and the degree to which we relate and feel personal connection to them — 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.
3/4
All participants heard the same lecture. Half read a relatable backstory for the lecturer; the others were told that the voice was AI generated. The backstory fostered a greater sense of personal connection, which translated into greater curiosity to learn more about the 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤.
2/4
In my >25 years as a researcher, this is one of my favorite and most personally meaningful studies to come out of my lab:
𝙀𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚: 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝
Preprint here: osf.io/preprints/ps...
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#AcademicSky #EduSky #AI #HigherEd #SciComm
A new edition of Chun & Most's Cognition textbook — out now!
Our 2nd edition updates our coverage and explores the evolving role of cognitive psychology in today’s world — all while aiming to help students love the field as much as we do.
Request an exam e-copy here: pages.oup.com/he/us/cognit...
The purpose of assignments isn’t just to get As. It’s to try, see where you went wrong, and try to improve.
It’s a problem that institutions, and their incentive structures, often misunderstand this as much as students do.
Here are the slides for a talk I gave earlier today on social media for academics, which includes a mention of an excellent new LinkedIn guide from @emilynordmann.bsky.social
emilynordmann.github.io/linkedin-for...
PSA: With recent spikes in the news, I decided to get tested for my immunity to measles. Results came back saying I had none. If you got your vaccination back in the 1970s like me, you might want to check too.
For families like ours — who have a kid moving into middle school / high school — thought I’d reshare these science-backed tips on how to study and learn more effectively. Good luck, everyone!
#EduSky #PsychSciSky #scicomm
I wonder if any alien civilizations out there celebrate another revolution around their sun like this. Sydney really does do New Year's Eve spectacularly. Happy New Year!
Things aren’t always black and white. These horses are identically bright.
Academics who love doing public outreach and #scicom don't always get this level of support from their universities. That's a shame because the more we share knowledge and passion, the more it encourages investment in what we do. Thanks to #UNSW for investing energy and time in this profile!
Within a week of the tragic and terrorist events that targeted the Jewish community here in Sydney, the Australian Prime Minister has announced a gun buy-back scheme to get guns off our streets.
This is just one action item, there are more in the works (like license regulations, max caps, etc.)
Super figure-ground confusion here!
Compare this to the United States, where the 1st graders shot at Sandy Hook in 2012 could have been students at Brown shot 13 years later, and where we have done nothing.
It's not impossible to make gun violence rare.
We just keep choosing not to try.