Ben Alderson-Day
@aldersonday.bsky.social
Psychology prof at Durham + interdisciplinary stuff (usually psychosis, inner speech, a bit of neurodiversity). Author of "Presence: The Strange Science of the Unseen Other" (MUP).
Chair of @theichr.bsky.social
Chair of @theichr.bsky.social
Pinned
Welcome to Whitehaven. Absolutely no avian dancing allowed.
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
1/Paper out today in Phil Trans B @royalsocietypublishing.org alsocietypublishing.org in a Special Issue «Evolutionary functions of consciousness», by @axc.bsky.social, Catherine Tallon-Baudry, @krysdolega.bsky.social and myself.
👉Open-access at this link: doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
⬇️ Summary below:
👉Open-access at this link: doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
⬇️ Summary below:
The value of consciousness: experiences worth having | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
DC. Dennett (2020,personal communication) asked: ‘How do we go from doing things for
reasons to having reasons for doing things?’. This question targets a fundamental
shift in nature: while all organi...
doi.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:25 PM
1/Paper out today in Phil Trans B @royalsocietypublishing.org alsocietypublishing.org in a Special Issue «Evolutionary functions of consciousness», by @axc.bsky.social, Catherine Tallon-Baudry, @krysdolega.bsky.social and myself.
👉Open-access at this link: doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
⬇️ Summary below:
👉Open-access at this link: doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
⬇️ Summary below:
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
Reading 2025 fiction?
Try the short story "The Flaming Embusen" by Tade Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social!
You can read it here!
buff.ly/cWeeU24
Try the short story "The Flaming Embusen" by Tade Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social!
You can read it here!
buff.ly/cWeeU24
November 12, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reading 2025 fiction?
Try the short story "The Flaming Embusen" by Tade Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social!
You can read it here!
buff.ly/cWeeU24
Try the short story "The Flaming Embusen" by Tade Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social!
You can read it here!
buff.ly/cWeeU24
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
"Emotional conversations were also common in the conversations analyzed by The Post... In some chats, the AI tool could be seen adapting to match a user’s viewpoint, creating a kind of personalized echo chamber in which ChatGPT endorsed falsehoods and conspiracy theories."
How people really use ChatGPT, according to 47,000 conversations shared online
What do people ask the popular chatbot? We analyzed thousands of chats to identify common topics discussed by users and patterns in ChatGPT’s responses.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:44 AM
"Emotional conversations were also common in the conversations analyzed by The Post... In some chats, the AI tool could be seen adapting to match a user’s viewpoint, creating a kind of personalized echo chamber in which ChatGPT endorsed falsehoods and conspiracy theories."
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
I'll be giving a public performance lecture at Dance City in Newcastle on Thu 27th November as a follow up to my Artist Residency. Sign up (for free!) for all things #TouretteSyndrome, affect, and pom pom-related!
www.dancecity.co.uk/performance/...
#PerformanceArt #Dance #AcademicSky
www.dancecity.co.uk/performance/...
#PerformanceArt #Dance #AcademicSky
November 12, 2025 at 6:44 PM
I'll be giving a public performance lecture at Dance City in Newcastle on Thu 27th November as a follow up to my Artist Residency. Sign up (for free!) for all things #TouretteSyndrome, affect, and pom pom-related!
www.dancecity.co.uk/performance/...
#PerformanceArt #Dance #AcademicSky
www.dancecity.co.uk/performance/...
#PerformanceArt #Dance #AcademicSky
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
A month ago I looked at what I called Labour's midlife crisis- an obsession with chasing socially conservative Reform-curious voters and ignoring groups of disaffected voters with social attitudes much closer to Labour voters. But some people thought there was method in their madness. Was there? 1/n
November 12, 2025 at 3:01 PM
A month ago I looked at what I called Labour's midlife crisis- an obsession with chasing socially conservative Reform-curious voters and ignoring groups of disaffected voters with social attitudes much closer to Labour voters. But some people thought there was method in their madness. Was there? 1/n
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
Important paper form last year reporting a network analysis of associations between trauma types and psychotic symptoms in participants from East Africa. Exposure to a war zone was directly related to presence of visual halluciations: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Relationships between trauma types and psychotic symptoms: A network analysis of patients with psychotic disorders in a large, multi-country study in East Africa
The link between trauma exposure and psychotic disorders is well-established. Further, specific types of trauma may be associated with specific psycho…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Important paper form last year reporting a network analysis of associations between trauma types and psychotic symptoms in participants from East Africa. Exposure to a war zone was directly related to presence of visual halluciations: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
Thread 🧵 | My Experience with Bullying
#AntiBullyingWeek 1/8 Everyone says school
days are “the best days of your life.” I wish
that were true. Here’s what I went through.
#AntiBullyingWeek 1/8 Everyone says school
days are “the best days of your life.” I wish
that were true. Here’s what I went through.
November 10, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Thread 🧵 | My Experience with Bullying
#AntiBullyingWeek 1/8 Everyone says school
days are “the best days of your life.” I wish
that were true. Here’s what I went through.
#AntiBullyingWeek 1/8 Everyone says school
days are “the best days of your life.” I wish
that were true. Here’s what I went through.
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
Our latest preprint - Reading ability in both deaf and hearing adults is linked to neural representations of abstract phonology derived from visual speech:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reading ability in both deaf and hearing adults is linked to neural representations of abstract phonology derived from visual speech
Learning to read provides access to life-long educational and vocational opportunities. Some, but not all, deaf children find learning to read challenging, due to reduced access to language, whether s...
www.biorxiv.org
November 10, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Our latest preprint - Reading ability in both deaf and hearing adults is linked to neural representations of abstract phonology derived from visual speech:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
🏆 Huge congratulations to Dr @jopavlopoulou.bsky.social and the RE-STAR team at @uclpals.bsky.social for winning the 2025 Lionel Hersov Memorial Award from @acamh.bsky.social!
www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...
www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...
November 10, 2025 at 3:43 PM
🏆 Huge congratulations to Dr @jopavlopoulou.bsky.social and the RE-STAR team at @uclpals.bsky.social for winning the 2025 Lionel Hersov Memorial Award from @acamh.bsky.social!
www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...
www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
Wow. This is such important research, especially given current the moral panic around attendance. Looking forward to reading the papers. #nothingaboutuswithoutus
Deep dive today into the personal accounts of #ADHD and #autistic young people who are not attending school. This work is part of the @grrand-team.bsky.social generously funded by Barts Charity, alongside our brilliant RESTAR youth co-researchers co-delivering creative personalised interviews.
November 1, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Wow. This is such important research, especially given current the moral panic around attendance. Looking forward to reading the papers. #nothingaboutuswithoutus
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
A shout out to my Durham University colleagues Lynda @drboothroyd.bsky.social and Linda Lidborg, authors of the study you refer to that pours evidential cold water over the ‘feminine body traits signal reproductive potential’ claim. Nice work!
Evolutionary psychology makes a big to-do about their finding that sexual selection favors a "feminine body type" that "signals fertility/reproductive potential", including some rather... silly research. Turns out, those traits don't seem to signal reproductive success. Oops! doi.org/10.1017/ehs....
November 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
A shout out to my Durham University colleagues Lynda @drboothroyd.bsky.social and Linda Lidborg, authors of the study you refer to that pours evidential cold water over the ‘feminine body traits signal reproductive potential’ claim. Nice work!
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
SAVE THE DATE 📅 Wed 10 December 1-2
IMH Lunchtime seminar:
Delusion as embodied, affective and relational experience
Online and in person
bham-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
IMH Lunchtime seminar:
Delusion as embodied, affective and relational experience
Online and in person
bham-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
November 7, 2025 at 7:38 PM
SAVE THE DATE 📅 Wed 10 December 1-2
IMH Lunchtime seminar:
Delusion as embodied, affective and relational experience
Online and in person
bham-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
IMH Lunchtime seminar:
Delusion as embodied, affective and relational experience
Online and in person
bham-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Really enjoying @msmirandasawyer.bsky.social 's Talk 90s to Me podcast - especially the detail on this episode that Massive Attack had to inadvertently sell their car to pay for the orchestra on Unfinished Sympathy...
open.spotify.com/episode/2Lh6...
open.spotify.com/episode/2Lh6...
Patreon mini-pod! UNFINISHED SYMPATHY – How MASSIVE ATTACK kickstarted trip-hop
Spotify video
open.spotify.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Really enjoying @msmirandasawyer.bsky.social 's Talk 90s to Me podcast - especially the detail on this episode that Massive Attack had to inadvertently sell their car to pay for the orchestra on Unfinished Sympathy...
open.spotify.com/episode/2Lh6...
open.spotify.com/episode/2Lh6...
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
🚨New Paper!🚨
Do you love authenticity? @ledaberio.bsky.social and I argue that maybe you shouldn't!
We think that everything would be better if we all just got over the idea of true selves and were cooler with the fact that we all contain multitudes.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Do you love authenticity? @ledaberio.bsky.social and I argue that maybe you shouldn't!
We think that everything would be better if we all just got over the idea of true selves and were cooler with the fact that we all contain multitudes.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Challenges to Narrating a Multitudinous Self: Towards a Better Ethics of Code-switching - Topoi
We motivate and lay out the broad contours of a research program, namely that of developing a systematic ethics of code-switching. Such an ethics will articulate the values and norms that should gover...
link.springer.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:55 PM
🚨New Paper!🚨
Do you love authenticity? @ledaberio.bsky.social and I argue that maybe you shouldn't!
We think that everything would be better if we all just got over the idea of true selves and were cooler with the fact that we all contain multitudes.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Do you love authenticity? @ledaberio.bsky.social and I argue that maybe you shouldn't!
We think that everything would be better if we all just got over the idea of true selves and were cooler with the fact that we all contain multitudes.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
My last London events of the year are not far off. First up: it's a lovely joint affair with Michael Pedersen at the St Andrew's Book Festival on Sat 29th Nov! Then, later that same day, I'll be talking Libraries with Amina Shah.
www.ticketsource.co.uk/standrewsboo...
See you there?
www.ticketsource.co.uk/standrewsboo...
See you there?
www.ticketsource.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 6:08 PM
My last London events of the year are not far off. First up: it's a lovely joint affair with Michael Pedersen at the St Andrew's Book Festival on Sat 29th Nov! Then, later that same day, I'll be talking Libraries with Amina Shah.
www.ticketsource.co.uk/standrewsboo...
See you there?
www.ticketsource.co.uk/standrewsboo...
See you there?
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
The ICHR Special Supplement 2025 is out!
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
International Consortium on Hallucination Research
Visit the post for more.
hallucinationconsortium.org
November 6, 2025 at 8:55 AM
The ICHR Special Supplement 2025 is out!
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
Last blog post by me on Open Research. This time on the value of not-for-profit/diamond open access publishers: echr.group/2025/11/05/w...
Why should I support not-for-profit publishers/diamond open access journals?
Traditional scientific publishing is a very lucrative business. For example, it has been reported that for-profit publishers (such as Elsevier, Springer-Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis) have pr…
echr.group
November 7, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Last blog post by me on Open Research. This time on the value of not-for-profit/diamond open access publishers: echr.group/2025/11/05/w...
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
Join us this week for our first international dissociation research conference! Free, online and featuring some fantastic keynote speakers with talks taking place across 3 time-zones! Register here: disconnected-network.com/2025-online-...
November 3, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Join us this week for our first international dissociation research conference! Free, online and featuring some fantastic keynote speakers with talks taking place across 3 time-zones! Register here: disconnected-network.com/2025-online-...
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
Great to see this video about the iMAPS-2 trial results of imagery therapy for psychosis below 👇
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
@penninecarenhs.bsky.social
@nihr.bsky.social
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
@penninecarenhs.bsky.social
@nihr.bsky.social
Distressing mental images affect around 3 in 4 people with psychosis.
They can feel vivid, emotional, and overwhelming, yet are rarely addressed in therapy.
The iMAPS-2 trial tested a therapy focused on these images and their link to negative beliefs.
🧵 THREAD #iMAPS2 #Psychosis #ElfHelp
They can feel vivid, emotional, and overwhelming, yet are rarely addressed in therapy.
The iMAPS-2 trial tested a therapy focused on these images and their link to negative beliefs.
🧵 THREAD #iMAPS2 #Psychosis #ElfHelp
November 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Great to see this video about the iMAPS-2 trial results of imagery therapy for psychosis below 👇
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
@penninecarenhs.bsky.social
@nihr.bsky.social
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
@penninecarenhs.bsky.social
@nihr.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
Distressing mental images affect around 3 in 4 people with psychosis.
They can feel vivid, emotional, and overwhelming, yet are rarely addressed in therapy.
The iMAPS-2 trial tested a therapy focused on these images and their link to negative beliefs.
🧵 THREAD #iMAPS2 #Psychosis #ElfHelp
They can feel vivid, emotional, and overwhelming, yet are rarely addressed in therapy.
The iMAPS-2 trial tested a therapy focused on these images and their link to negative beliefs.
🧵 THREAD #iMAPS2 #Psychosis #ElfHelp
November 6, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Distressing mental images affect around 3 in 4 people with psychosis.
They can feel vivid, emotional, and overwhelming, yet are rarely addressed in therapy.
The iMAPS-2 trial tested a therapy focused on these images and their link to negative beliefs.
🧵 THREAD #iMAPS2 #Psychosis #ElfHelp
They can feel vivid, emotional, and overwhelming, yet are rarely addressed in therapy.
The iMAPS-2 trial tested a therapy focused on these images and their link to negative beliefs.
🧵 THREAD #iMAPS2 #Psychosis #ElfHelp
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
@sirsofficial.bsky.social
Eds. Humpston & Alderson-Day
- bodily self (Giersch)
- cog. development (Fernyhough)
-voice-hearing in Thailand (Cassaniti)
- inner speech & absorption (Schille-Hudson)
- psychedelics (Heller & Leptourgos)
- imagery-focused therapy (Taylor)
- sleep (Sheaves & Brederoo)
Eds. Humpston & Alderson-Day
- bodily self (Giersch)
- cog. development (Fernyhough)
-voice-hearing in Thailand (Cassaniti)
- inner speech & absorption (Schille-Hudson)
- psychedelics (Heller & Leptourgos)
- imagery-focused therapy (Taylor)
- sleep (Sheaves & Brederoo)
The ICHR Special Supplement 2025 is out!
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
International Consortium on Hallucination Research
Visit the post for more.
hallucinationconsortium.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:54 PM
@sirsofficial.bsky.social
Eds. Humpston & Alderson-Day
- bodily self (Giersch)
- cog. development (Fernyhough)
-voice-hearing in Thailand (Cassaniti)
- inner speech & absorption (Schille-Hudson)
- psychedelics (Heller & Leptourgos)
- imagery-focused therapy (Taylor)
- sleep (Sheaves & Brederoo)
Eds. Humpston & Alderson-Day
- bodily self (Giersch)
- cog. development (Fernyhough)
-voice-hearing in Thailand (Cassaniti)
- inner speech & absorption (Schille-Hudson)
- psychedelics (Heller & Leptourgos)
- imagery-focused therapy (Taylor)
- sleep (Sheaves & Brederoo)
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
The Hitchhiker’s guide to hallucination research www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Wonderfully titled and useful paper from Inés Abalo-Rodríguez and Ana Pinheiro
Wonderfully titled and useful paper from Inés Abalo-Rodríguez and Ana Pinheiro
The Hitchhiker’s guide to hallucination research
Hallucination research is a fast‑growing, inherently interdisciplinary field bridging psychology, neuroscience, psychiatry, and philosophy. This artic…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:29 PM
The Hitchhiker’s guide to hallucination research www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Wonderfully titled and useful paper from Inés Abalo-Rodríguez and Ana Pinheiro
Wonderfully titled and useful paper from Inés Abalo-Rodríguez and Ana Pinheiro
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
New from us, led by the fantastic @elisavetpappa.bsky.social:
Who Are People with Psychosis Delusional about? A Study of Social Agents in the Phenomenology of Delusions karger.com/psp/article/...
Who Are People with Psychosis Delusional about? A Study of Social Agents in the Phenomenology of Delusions karger.com/psp/article/...
Who Are People with Psychosis Delusional about? A Study of Social Agents in the Phenomenology of Delusions
Abstract. Introduction: Delusions frequently involve strong beliefs about, or interactions with, illusory social agents. Although such agents have been systematically described in hallucinations, few ...
karger.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:56 AM
New from us, led by the fantastic @elisavetpappa.bsky.social:
Who Are People with Psychosis Delusional about? A Study of Social Agents in the Phenomenology of Delusions karger.com/psp/article/...
Who Are People with Psychosis Delusional about? A Study of Social Agents in the Phenomenology of Delusions karger.com/psp/article/...
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
📢 @durham.ac.uk has announced the competition for eight PhD Studentships in Transformative Humanities, supported by our AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award and the Faculties of Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences, for candidates starting October 2026.
Find out more 👇
www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
Find out more 👇
www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
Transformative Humanities PhD Scheme - Durham University
www.durham.ac.uk
November 5, 2025 at 9:05 AM
📢 @durham.ac.uk has announced the competition for eight PhD Studentships in Transformative Humanities, supported by our AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award and the Faculties of Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences, for candidates starting October 2026.
Find out more 👇
www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
Find out more 👇
www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
Reposted by Ben Alderson-Day
I found this article super-interesting: Why more social interactions lead to more polarization in societies | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org
November 4, 2025 at 7:35 PM
I found this article super-interesting: Why more social interactions lead to more polarization in societies | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...