Matt N Williams | Lightnews

Matt Williams

@matthewmatix.bsky.social

1.8K followers 160 following 130 posts

The 8th-ranked Matthew Williams on Google Scholar. Keen on open science, meta-psychology, and conspiracy theories. https://mattwilliams.netlify.app/

Videos

Psychology 36%

Sociology 17%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · 1d

SHE'S ALIVE!!

Reposted by Matt N Williams

mat marques, ph.d. @mdmarques.com · 1d

good morning! here's a new preprint led by @matthewmatix.bsky.social on a fascinating idea about sincere responding on #conspiracybelief studies. together a bunch of us (it's all Matt) take a look at whether we can identify sincerity and whether it distorts known effect sizes

osf.io/preprints/ps...

OSF

osf.io

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · 7d

The absolute state of academic spam

Reposted by Brady T. West, Stacie B. Dusetzina, Alan Richardson , and 10 more Brady T. West, Stacie B. Dusetzina, Alan Richardson, Margot C. Finn, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Bessma Momani, Matt N Williams, Erin O’Donnell, Kate Starbird, Jesús García, Greg Linden, Aviel Roshwald, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 10d

The latest from Anthropic: using Anthropic's products makes you worse at your job

How AI assistance impacts the formation of coding skills

Anthropic is an AI safety and research company that's working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.

www.anthropic.com

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · 16d

I found out I'm a British citizen last week. Happy to turn it over to someone with a nice paddock and a shiny bowl

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · 16d

I think you have the wrong Matt I'm afraid, I've never been on that show!

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · 19d

COPE guidelines endorse this! Specifically, they say you should give the author a chance to explain, but if the explanation is not satisfactory then contact institution

publicationethics.org/guidance/flo...

Fabricated data in a submitted manuscript

Steps for editors to take to investigate concerns about suspected data fabrication before publication, and guidance on what steps to take to address it.

publicationethics.org

Reposted by Matt N Williams

Lukas Röseler @aufdroeseler.bsky.social · 25d

I am very proud to have published my second file-drawer report at my favourite journal Meta-Psychology together with Lisa Incerti, @tobiasrebholz.bsky.social, Christian Seida, and Frank Papenmeier. It includes four failed attempts to confirm a new hypothesis on #anchoringeffects.

Reposted by Matt N Williams

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 28d

1. Aotearoa New Zealand friends and colleagues 🇳🇿,

Logistics for my February trip are coming together. I'd love to meet more of you and/or talk with groups of interested colleagues about AI course and teaching in a ChatGPT world (thebullshitmachines.com).

Right now, my schedule is as follows:

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · 29d

I think it's possible but would be a very hard thing to test empirically. It's a causal question about a thing that's difficult to manipulate experimentally, with a messy society-level outcome. Any paper that might give you a confident answer on this would be probably be bullshitting a tad!

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · Jan 8

Good to see that Gauhar (2016) is now retracted, with a pretty frank editorial note.

spj.science.org/doi/epdf/10....

Reposted by Ian Hussey, Matt N Williams, Winston T. Lin , and 1 more Ian Hussey, Matt N Williams, Winston T. Lin, Maksym Polyakov

Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · Jan 8

Some people bring up (1) the cost of criticism and (2) that a lot of criticism has already been voiced but ignored. Both points are valid, so here are some suggestion for (1) reducing backlash and (2) increasing impact (from this talk of mine: juliarohrer.com/wp-content/u...

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · Jan 8

A neat APS Observer piece in which I am proudly nonsignificant

Reposted by Matt N Williams, John R. Kerr

mat marques, ph.d. @mdmarques.com · Dec 27

Testing the socio-functional model: Does precarity
cause conspiracy belief?
TLDR; probably not
huge thx: Antipodean Misinformation and Conspiracies Club @matthewmatix.bsky.social @lingtax.bsky.social @scicomguy.bsky.social @srhastraea.bsky.social @eddieclarke.bsky.social & students osf.io/nq3y7/

Abstract
Research seeking to explain why people believe conspira-
cies has largely focused on intrapsychic factors, but there is
growing research examining structural-level elements of dis-
advantage. The socio-functional model of conspiracy belief
(Adam-Troian et al., 2023, British Journal of Social Psycholog y,
62, 136) posits that subjective feelings of permanent inse-
curity arising from objective material strain (i.e., precarity)
cause conspiracy belief directly or indirectly through insti-
tutional distrust. Across three preregistered studies using
observational longitudinal designs over 3 (n = 637) and
11 months (n = 832), and a between-group experimental de-
sign (n = 285), we use various methods to estimate causal ef-
fects for this proposition during the current cost-of-living
crisis. In Studies 1 and 2 using random intercept cross-
lagged panel models, we find no evidence that increases in
precarity temporally precede increases in conspiracy belief
(or vice versa) but find stable between-persons effects over
time. In Study 3, despite successfully manipulating precarity
using a self-imagine paradigm, we find no direct or indirect
effect on conspiracy belief through decreased government
trust. We discuss the importance of using methods that per-
mit credible causal inferences and key directions for future
studies investigating the socio-functional model.

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · Dec 17

Yikes. Even if they do realise, and describe it as such.... how many editors saying "wtf no" would it take before the data source named in the manuscript switches from AI to undergrad students or Prolific workers?

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · Dec 12

Congratulations John!! This is awesome news. Very well deserved!!

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · Dec 9

The motivation for calculations like these isn't to get p values for their own sake. It's to identify p values in journal articles that are inconsistent with other info provided in the articles. That in turn can signal mistakes in the analysis or writing, or fraud.

Reposted by Matt N Williams

mat marques, ph.d. @mdmarques.com · Dec 8

years ago I took some interest in the notion of precarity–the subjective experience of permanent insecurity rising from objective material strain–causing conspiracy belief. along with my undergraduate students (over 2 yrs), and my antipodean collaborators we tested this theory
osf.io/preprints/ps...

OSF

osf.io

Reposted by Matt N Williams, Greg Linden

Dr. Casey Fiesler @cfiesler.bsky.social · Dec 5

Did you guess "that paper does not actually exist"?

Did you also guess that NOT A SINGLE PAPER IN THEIR REFERENCES APPEARS TO EXIST? (Though I confess I only thoroughly checked for half of them, including databases for the journals.)

REFERENCES
Brown, L., & Taylor, M. (2021). Artificial companionship and social withdrawal: Psychological implications of AI interaction. Journal of Social Psychology, 58(3), 245-267.
Chen, R., & Zhou, H. (2023). AI companionship and emotional reciprocity: The illusion of meaningful relationships. AI & Society, 38(2), 112-130.
Harris, J. (2022). The ethics of AI companionship: Emotional support or social isolation? Ethics and Technology Review, 45(4), 310-328.
Johnson, P., & Miller, D. (2023). Digital isolation and AI-driven interactions: Understanding the long-term impact on human relationships. Journal of Digital Psychology, 67(1), 78-95.
Jones, T., Smith, R., & Kim, S. (2023). The social presence of AI: Examining human responses to artificial companions. Human-Computer Interaction Journal, 29(1), 1-22.
Kim, Y., & Park, S. (2021). AI mental health chatbots: A supportive tool or a replacement for human therapy? Psychological Technology Journal, 19(2), 134-152.
Nguyen, L., Patel, A., & Wong, C. (2022). AI and social interaction: Bridging or widening the gap? Digital Communication Studies, 52(5), 267-285.
Smith, A., & Lee, B. (2022). AI companionship: Comforting presence or psychological risk? Journal of Human-AI Interaction, 36(2), 200-222.
Williams, D., Carter, E., & Green, P. (2020). Maslow’s hierarchy and AI: Can artificial companionship fulfill human social needs? Journal of Psychological Studies, 48(3), 145-162.

Reposted by Matt N Williams

Grumpy @grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social · Dec 4

www.vegetablegardeningnews.com/nz-bans-home...

Nz Bans Home Vegetable Gardens — Vegetable Gardening News

New Zealand has recently implemented a controversial ban on home vegetable gardens, sparking a national debate on the implications for its citizens. This

www.vegetablegardeningnews.com

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · Dec 3

I haven't so far, but it's a good idea. I'll look into it!

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · Dec 3

100%. As an editor I've seen some eye-watering examples lately. And if you ask for open data before considering the paper further, the authors pull the 'Homer disappearing into the hedge' trick...

Reposted by Ian Hussey, Matt N Williams

Martin Plöderl @ploederl.bsky.social · Dec 3

Currently busy with updating a systematic review and have the impression that the flood of "clinical studies" from certain countries is intensifying - results too good to be true: enduring effects (usually uncommon), no drop-out, perfectly balanced sample sizes etc.

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · Dec 1

Do you find the peer review at Frontiers too demanding? The standards too rigorous? The frontiers too... plural? Introducing: Frontier in Medical and Health Research!

Reposted by Gordon Hodson, Efrén O. Pérez, Matt N Williams

mark brandt @mjbsp.bsky.social · Nov 27

Stop submitting AI slop to journals and preprint servers

This is anti-social behavior. It is making life harder for everyone involved except for the person submitting the slop

SocArXiv @socarxiv.bsky.social · Nov 27

In light of record submission rates and a large volume of AI-generated slop, SocArXiv recently implemented a policy requiring ORCIDs linked in the OSF profile of submitting authors, and narrowing our focus to social science subjects. Today we are taking two more steps:
/1

Matt Williams @matthewmatix.bsky.social · Nov 26

Thank you for your excellent work as editor, David. AMPPS is such a great asset for the field.

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, David A. Ellis, Ian Hussey , and 1 more Dorothy Bishop, David A. Ellis, Ian Hussey, Matt N Williams

David A. Sbarra @dsbarra.bsky.social · Nov 26

My time as Editor of AMPPS is coming to an end-- here are some parting thoughts. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... .

Taking Stock of Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science at the End of the Beginning - David A. Sbarra, 2025

journals.sagepub.com

Reposted by Steve Peers, Matt N Williams

Marsden Fund @marsdenfund.bsky.social · Nov 26

What prompts people to change their minds about conspiracy theories? Associate Professor Matt Williams and team from Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University set out to answer this curious question! 👽👽👽👽👽👽👽👽👽

www.royalsociety.org.nz/research/new...

What prompts people to change their minds about conspiracy theories?

Conspiracies DO happen...

www.royalsociety.org.nz

Reposted by Matt N Williams

mat marques, ph.d. @mdmarques.com · Nov 26

our dear leader @matthewmatix.bsky.social has posted on what the Antipodean Misinformation and Conspiracies Club has been up to over the past few years

www.royalsociety.org.nz/research/new...

Reposted by Matt N Williams

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