Mark Rubin

@markrubin.bsky.social

20K followers 1.9K following 5.2K posts

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/ .. more

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · Aug 22

Just published…

I argue that preregistration does not improve the transparent evaluation of the severity of hypothesis tests (a) in Popper’s approach or (b) in Mayo’s error statistical approach when preregistration is treated as “a plan, not a prison.”

Open Access: doi.org/10.1007/s112...

One justification for preregistering research hypotheses, methods, and analyses is that it improves the transparent evaluation of the severity of hypothesis tests. In this article, I consider two cases in which preregistration does not improve this evaluation. First, I argue that, although preregistration may facilitate the transparent evaluation of severity in Mayo’s error statistical philosophy of science, it does not facilitate this evaluation in Popper’s theory-centric approach. To illustrate, I show that associated concerns about Type I error rate inflation are only relevant in the error statistical approach and not in a theory-centric approach. Second, I argue that a test procedure that is preregistered but that also allows deviations in its implementation (i.e., “a plan, not a prison”) does not provide a more transparent evaluation of Mayoian severity than a non-preregistered procedure. In particular, I argue that sample-based validity-enhancing deviations cause an unknown inflation of the test procedure’s Type I error rate and, consequently, an unknown reduction in its capability to license inferences severely. I conclude that preregistration does not improve the transparent evaluation of severity (a) in Popper’s philosophy of science or (b) in Mayo’s approach when deviations are allowed.

Reposted by Mark Rubin

Not that other guy, that's for sure @neogliberal.bsky.social · 1d

My partner made a custom 'guess who' for Christmas :)

Reposted by Mauricio Suárez

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 4d

"Philosophers of science have much to learn from the history and philosophy of art and artistic representation."

Paintings are but research and experiment. I never do a painting as a work of art. All of them are researches. I search constantly and there is a logical sequence in all this research.

#PhilSci

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 7d

UK's Health and Safety Executive to the University of Birmingham:

“The lack of consultation and information gathering means you cannot demonstrate sufficient understanding of the risk to your staff from work-related stress in your business.”

#UKHE #AcademicSky

Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 8d

Oh hey it finally made the media, only a week after the letter was actually sent.
FWIW despite being legally obliged to share with all staff, he so far hasn't.
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/birming...

Birmingham reprimanded over its management of work-related stress

Investigation by Health and Safety Executive found institution ‘does not have appropriate arrangements in place’ to manage burnout among staff

www.timeshighereducation.com

Reposted by Elizabeth Stokoe

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 7d

"These costs are incurred by scientists in writing proposals, by their peers in reviewing them and by the administrative systems that run the process. The question is, which costs more: the research being funded, or the application process itself?"

#AcademicSky 🧪

Reposted by Adrian Barnett

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 7d

"How can funders avoid crossing the Szilard point?"

The Szilard point is "the threshold at which the total cost of competing for a grant equals (or surpasses) the value of the available funding."

Point of no returns: researchers are crossing a threshold in the fight for funding

With so little money to go round, the costs of competing for grants can exceed what the grants are worth. When that happens, nobody wins.

www.nature.com

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 8d

I do too! It's a useful word!

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 8d

With a social identity twist...

"In much the same way as people who are strongly attached to group identities and stereotypes spend more time and effort on motivated categorical reasoning, so might people who are strongly attached to the value of science."

#PhilSci #STS #AcademicSky 🧪

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 8d

My science is more sciencey than your science!

"Boundary work is more contentious, however, when it desciences research on ideological grounds."

New work by Robbie Sutton and @stefanleach.bsky.social on science rejection.

Open Access: doi.org/10.1016/j.co...

Reposted by Mark Rubin, Mike Rowe

Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 8d

Birmingham reprimanded over its management of work-related stress

Investigation by Health and Safety Executive found institution ‘does not have appropriate arrangements in place’ to manage burnout among staff

www.timeshighereducation.com

Reposted by Mark Rubin, Leo McCann

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 8d

'An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the Russell Group university “does not have appropriate arrangements in place” for managing workplace stress and was unable to demonstrate that it is managing the risks associated with excessive workloads.' 1/2

Birmingham reprimanded over its management of work-related stress

Investigation by Health and Safety Executive found institution ‘does not have appropriate arrangements in place’ to manage burnout among staff

www.timeshighereducation.com

Reposted by Mark Rubin, Du Plessis, Greg Walker , and 1 more Mark Rubin, Du Plessis, Greg Walker, Matthew Kelly

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 8d

;Eliminating funding for 3* research in the next Research Excellence Framework (REF) would benefit Russell Group institutions by about £50 million a year, suggests modelling into how potential changes to funding formulas may play out.' 1/3

‘Beware trade-offs’ of removing REF funding for 3* outputs

Review of formula used to allocate £2 billion QR funding could downgrade or withdraw money for ‘internationally excellent’ research, some fear

www.timeshighereducation.com

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 10d

Must add filter to the feed to make that happen! 😆

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 10d

Is that something @philsci-archive.bsky.social would need to do?

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 10d

There is probably some sophisticated solution - like the bundle approach you mentioned - but currently beyond my meagre SkyFeed skills ATM!

an elderly man is sitting at a desk using a computer .

ALT: an elderly man is sitting at a desk using a computer .

media.tenor.com

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 10d

To me, seems weird to remove @philsci-archive.bsky.social from the #PhilSci feed, but happy to hear other views. Separate feed is possible but it would be a bit of an orphan feed.

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 10d

Thanks Marshall. Fair question. I get the concern re. 15 recent posts from @philsci-archive.bsky.social. But is it glomming up the feed? Not sure. People can just scroll fast over the posts if they want?

Reposted by Mark Rubin, Flávio Azevedo, Madeleine Pownall

Framework for Open and Reproducible Research Training @forrt.bsky.social · 11d

📣We are excited to announce that FORRT is one of the few initiatives worldwide to be formally endorsed as a Programme of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD, 2024–2033)! 🎉

Reposted by Mark Rubin, Efrén O. Pérez

Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 12d

A global study of minimal groups finds discrimination in favor of the in-group in all 20 countries, yielding a large overall effect (OR = 4.58).

The degree of intergroup discrimination was related to higher societal uncertainty www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Reposted by John Drury, Flávio Azevedo, Hannah Walker

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 12d

Minority Power

"Marginalized groups develop sophisticated alternative conceptualizations of power as collective resistance, cultural preservation and mutual aid that enable transformation despite structural disadvantages."

#SocialPsyc

This article synthesizes cutting-edge research from our special issue examining power across groups, communities and nations to advance a fundamental reconceptualization that reveals power's inherent plurality, dynamism and cultural embeddedness. Drawing on evidence from a diverse set of countries and innovative methodologies, we demonstrate that traditional definitions of power as asymmetric resource control fail to capture its real-world complexity. The collected research reveals three critical insights. First, power operates through multiple, intersecting mechanisms—from ideological frameworks like hegemonic masculinity to seemingly benevolent helping behaviours that maintain hierarchies. Second, power's meaning and operation vary dramatically across cultural contexts, with the power-status relationship ranging from nearly synonymous in some societies to entirely disconnected in others. Third, marginalized groups develop sophisticated alternative conceptualizations of power as collective resistance, cultural preservation and mutual aid that enable transformation despite structural disadvantages. These findings necessitate theoretical frameworks that accommodate power's plurality while identifying general principles, examining dynamic processes rather than static attributes and integrating multiple levels of analysis. We argue for moving beyond imposed definitions to understand how diverse groups conceptualize their own agency, examining not just domination but resistance and developing interventions that promote more equitable power distributions.

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 12d

Ha! Maybe!

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 12d

Yes, they explain immediately after that quote...

"(for similar conclusions, see Fog, 2021; Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Minkov & Kaasa, 2021a; Minkov et al., 2017; Pelham et al., 2022; Van de Vliert et al., 2025; Welzel, 2013)."

Reposted by Efrén O. Pérez, Jill A. Jacobson

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 12d

"Our analyses highlight that the United States and other English-speaking countries are not the most individualist cultures in the world...Instead, Northwest European countries rank highest on measures of individualism."

New work by @pakaliyski.bsky.social et al.

dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp...

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 14d

Yes, I think they're concerned about the lack of adoption of multiplicity control, the lack of consistency in its implementation, and the lack of rationale for that implementation. So, they're commenting on the confusion in the area and taking that as a sign for caution and further discussion.

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 14d

A perspectivist framework for understanding statistical assumptions:

"The description of the world underlying statistical models has to be understood from the perspective that is sketched by the statistical assumptions."

By @kinozhao.bsky.social

hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/qasl4fza

#PhilSci

This article presents a perspectivist framework for understanding and evaluating statistical assumptions.
Drawing on the thesis of perspectivism from the philosophy of science, this framework treats statistical
assumptions not as empirical hypotheses that are descriptively accurate or inaccurate about the world but as prescribing a particular perspective from which statistical knowledge is generated. What this means is that we ought not judge statistical models solely by how closely they correspond with the world as we independently
understand it, but by whether they paint a picture of the world that is epistemically significant.

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 14d

Yes, I know. Shame about paywall. I couldn't find a preprint version unfortunately.

The quote is from the Conclusion section. See below.

To summarize, this systematic review explored the pattern of use
of MC within empirical psychology articles. It is clear that MC is
seldom used, and when it is, there is a notable inconsistency in, for
example, the choice of control or its implementation across different
types of analysis families. Further, researchers rarely provide a
rationale for adopting or not adopting MC, lending more support to
the impression that there is a lot of confusion surrounding the issue
of MC.
Given the results of this review and previous literature, it could
be prudent to revisit the question of whether MC is ever necessary.
If MC is only rarely being adopted, and with no rationale or
consistency, does it make sense to recommend such an approach?
Researchers have argued, for example, that the nil hypothesis is
rarely (if ever) true in psychology research (Cohen, 1994; Tukey,
1991), that MC can lead to inconsistent results across studies with
varying numbers of hypotheses (Rothman, 1990), that replication
is a better tool for verifying the conclusions of hypotheses (Cohen,
1990; Hunter et al., 2020), that the natural unit of analysis is the
direct test/comparison of interest (Saville, 1990), and that effect
sizes (with confidence intervals) should be the primary source of
information regarding an effect (Cumming, 2014; Saville, 1990).
Thus, when we pair these reasons for not adopting MC with the
results of this study, there is definitely a need for discussions
regarding the necessity of MC within psychological research. We
hope that the results of our review of empirical MC practices can be
a starting point for these discussions.
To be clear, we would love to be able to make a stronger recommendation regarding MC practice within the field of psychology
(i.e., beyond simply recommending more discussion/research).
However, given the nature of our research, we are not able to make
concise recommendations regarding whether/when researchers
should adopt MC. In other words, we reviewed t…

Reposted by Mark Rubin, Pamela K. Gilbert

Kelly Jakubowski @kellyjakubowski.bsky.social · 14d

We’ve got 8 PhD studentships open in Durham for interdisciplinary research, especially projects sitting at the intersection of humanities and sciences. Many music psychology projects can tick these boxes! Feel free to get in touch www.durham.ac.uk/departments/...

PhD Studentships in Transformative Humanities - Durham University

www.durham.ac.uk

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 14d

Multiple Testing

"Given the results of this review and previous literature, it could be prudent to revisit the question of whether MC [multiplicity control] is ever necessary."

doi.org/10.1037/cap0...

#Psychology #Methodology 🧪

Whenever researchers test multiple hypotheses, the risk that one or more of the hypotheses might be falsely supported (i.e., Type I errors) increases with the number of hypotheses evaluated (i.e., the multiplicity problem). Because most studies evaluate multiple hypotheses, the risk that at least one hypothesis is a Type I error appears substantial. However, it is necessary to evaluate how consistently multiplicity control (MC) is applied and the rationale behind its application, to understand the merit of MC in psychological research. We conducted a systematic review of MC practices in 250 articles from 10 high-impact psychology journals. There was a median of 76 hypotheses tested per article; however, only 7.5% of all hypotheses were protected by MC. The most popular type of MC was familywise error control, via the Bonferroni method. The results highlight the wide range of situations wherein multiplicity occurs, the inconsistency with which MC is applied, and the lack of rationale for MC decisions. We hope that the results will create an active discussion on the merit of MC within the field of psychology.

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 14d

Meanwhile, in the UK...

"This article shows how management consultancy firms, particularly the Big Four, leveraged their position to become key brokers in English higher education, expanding their influence across multiple areas of governance and management."

#UKHE #AcademicSky #HigherEd

Management consultants and university futures: Academic capitalism and the capture of UK public higher education

This article shows how management consultancy firms, particularly the Big Four, leveraged their position to become key brokers in English higher education, expanding their influence across multiple...

doi.org

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 14d

Recent report highlights the strong representation of major consulting firms and large corporations on Australian university councils.

parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/dow...

A summary of council composition at a sample of universities was provided by
Professor Cortese, who also highlighted the strong representation of consulting
firms on university councils (see Figures 2.4 and 2.5).107

2.104 In doing so, Professor Cortese emphasised the interwoven nature of
relationships between university council members, major consulting firms and
large corporations, which adds 'to the intricacy of the networks of interest that
can permeate university councils' and 'brings an orientation of 'big business' at
the highest level'.

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 16d

Author's thread 👇

#SocialPsyc #PsycSci #AcademicSky

Fabian Hutmacher @fabianhutmacher.bsky.social · 18d

Motivated reasoning is a well-understood phenomenon - or is it?

In a new paper just published at @collabrapsychology.bsky.social we discuss three known unknowns.

doi.org/10.1525/coll...

Here is a 🧵

Known Unknowns in Motivated Reasoning: A Closer Look at Three Open Questions

Motivated reasoning denotes the phenomenon that individuals are more likely to arrive at conclusions that they want to arrive at. Properly understanding this phenomenon requires at least three things:...

doi.org

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