Cillian McHugh
@cillianmchugh.bsky.social
End Genocide now🍉
Associate Professor in Psychology at @unioflimerick.bsky.social #MoralPsychology #OpenScience
Interests: music, reading, chess, TV, walking
www.cillianmchugh.com
Associate Professor in Psychology at @unioflimerick.bsky.social #MoralPsychology #OpenScience
Interests: music, reading, chess, TV, walking
www.cillianmchugh.com
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
Even when we try to think harder, we still excuse ourselves. 🧠
A new study by Katarzyna Miazek & Konrad Bocian finds that the self-interest bias—judging bad acts as less wrong when they benefit us—persists even under time pressure or mental load. Fixing it may require awareness, not just willpower.
A new study by Katarzyna Miazek & Konrad Bocian finds that the self-interest bias—judging bad acts as less wrong when they benefit us—persists even under time pressure or mental load. Fixing it may require awareness, not just willpower.
a woman in a purple shirt is standing in front of a wall and looking at it .
ALT: a woman in a purple shirt is standing in front of a wall and looking at it .
media.tenor.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Even when we try to think harder, we still excuse ourselves. 🧠
A new study by Katarzyna Miazek & Konrad Bocian finds that the self-interest bias—judging bad acts as less wrong when they benefit us—persists even under time pressure or mental load. Fixing it may require awareness, not just willpower.
A new study by Katarzyna Miazek & Konrad Bocian finds that the self-interest bias—judging bad acts as less wrong when they benefit us—persists even under time pressure or mental load. Fixing it may require awareness, not just willpower.
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
The attack marks the latest of nearly 400 Israeli violations of a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Deadly Israeli attack on Gaza brings death toll since ceasefire to 280
The attack marks the latest of nearly 400 Israeli violations of a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
bit.ly
November 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM
The attack marks the latest of nearly 400 Israeli violations of a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli attacks also wounded 77 people, fuelling panic across the war-ravaged enclave.
Israel kills at least 28 Palestinians in wave of Gaza ‘ceasefire’ attacks
Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli attacks also wounded 77 people, fuelling panic across the war-ravaged enclave.
bit.ly
November 20, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli attacks also wounded 77 people, fuelling panic across the war-ravaged enclave.
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
Brazilian president pushes for a 'roadmap' away from fossil fuel use, but countries remain divided on key issues.
Brazil’s Lula faces obstacles in push for agreement at climate summit
Brazilian president pushes for a 'roadmap' away from fossil fuel use, but countries remain divided on key issues.
bit.ly
November 20, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Brazilian president pushes for a 'roadmap' away from fossil fuel use, but countries remain divided on key issues.
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
The air attack in the Bani Suheila area, east of Khan Younis, comes a day after Israel killed 30 people across Gaza.
At least 3 people killed in Israeli air attack on house in southern Gaza
The air attack in the Bani Suheila area, east of Khan Younis, comes a day after Israel killed 30 people across Gaza.
bit.ly
November 20, 2025 at 7:00 AM
The air attack in the Bani Suheila area, east of Khan Younis, comes a day after Israel killed 30 people across Gaza.
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
The co-action effect is a thing. But what's the mechanism for this fascinating form of social influence?
We replicated one of the oldest experiments in Psychology (Triplett, 1898) as a registered report. Children completed a task faster in pairs than when they were alone.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 19, 2025 at 11:05 AM
The co-action effect is a thing. But what's the mechanism for this fascinating form of social influence?
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
FAO anyone teaching an introductory social psychology module.
We replicated one of the oldest experiments in Psychology (Triplett, 1898) as a registered report. Children completed a task faster in pairs than when they were alone.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 19, 2025 at 11:53 AM
FAO anyone teaching an introductory social psychology module.
We replicated one of the oldest experiments in Psychology (Triplett, 1898) as a registered report. Children completed a task faster in pairs than when they were alone.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 19, 2025 at 10:41 AM
We replicated one of the oldest experiments in Psychology (Triplett, 1898) as a registered report. Children completed a task faster in pairs than when they were alone.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
We also found carryover effects, as well as gender and age effects - highlighting the importance of considering these factors in designing future studies examining social facilitation and/or competitive coaction. Thanks to @erc.europa.eu and @ehsfacultyatul.bsky.social for funding 2/3
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
We also found carryover effects, as well as gender and age effects - highlighting the importance of considering these factors in designing future studies examining social facilitation and/or competitive coaction. Thanks to @erc.europa.eu and @ehsfacultyatul.bsky.social for funding 2/3
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
Arising out of discussions in @csi-research.bsky.social we conducted a Registered Report replicating Triplett’s (1898) experiment with over 400 children, showing children completed the task faster when paired with a coactor, compared to competing the task alone rdcu.be/eQwAE 1/3
A replication of Triplett’s ‘social facilitation experiment’
Scientific Reports - A replication of Triplett’s ‘social facilitation experiment’
rdcu.be
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Arising out of discussions in @csi-research.bsky.social we conducted a Registered Report replicating Triplett’s (1898) experiment with over 400 children, showing children completed the task faster when paired with a coactor, compared to competing the task alone rdcu.be/eQwAE 1/3
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
Read the actual science here by Yidan Yin, @gilappel.bsky.social and Cheryl Jan Wakslak @pennstateuniv.bsky.social @usc.edu
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Nice to meet you.(!) Gendered norms in punctuation usage
People face a myriad of daily decisions about how to communicate, especially in today's digital world. We consider the decision to use exclamation poi…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Read the actual science here by Yidan Yin, @gilappel.bsky.social and Cheryl Jan Wakslak @pennstateuniv.bsky.social @usc.edu
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
Some @theguardian.com coverage! Women use exclamation marks 3x more than men—not from extra joy, but to avoid sounding unfriendly 😬 Online, neutrality reads as hostility, so warmth is outsourced to punctuation!! BUT it boosts likability and can hurt credibility
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Exclamation marks! Why do women use them three times as much as men?
It’s the punctuation that can make you seem warmer and more agreeable – but also much more compliant and lacking in analytical thinking
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Some @theguardian.com coverage! Women use exclamation marks 3x more than men—not from extra joy, but to avoid sounding unfriendly 😬 Online, neutrality reads as hostility, so warmth is outsourced to punctuation!! BUT it boosts likability and can hurt credibility
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
I've finally resubmitted this! Exactly on the deadline and a year since receiving the decision! A very different paper, hopefully the editor and reviewers like it now!
October 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I've finally resubmitted this! Exactly on the deadline and a year since receiving the decision! A very different paper, hopefully the editor and reviewers like it now!
Today I finally finished a full draft of the revised manuscript (incl response to reviewer comments) and circulated it to coauthors! Hopefully it won't be too tough to polish and we'll get it submitted by the end of the month
This is going slowly. About a third of the way through the suggested reading list (although there's other extra reading needed that was not specifcally named). Feels like progress is being made... slowly...
October 15, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Today I finally finished a full draft of the revised manuscript (incl response to reviewer comments) and circulated it to coauthors! Hopefully it won't be too tough to polish and we'll get it submitted by the end of the month
Some day I'll write a paper on dual-processes in cognition that draws on Hemispheres by Rush for inspiration and illustration
I mean the first verse ends with:
"The gods of Love and Reason sought alone to rule the fate of Man"
youtu.be/J0zN0VjA3As?...
I mean the first verse ends with:
"The gods of Love and Reason sought alone to rule the fate of Man"
youtu.be/J0zN0VjA3As?...
Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres
YouTube video by Rush - Topic
youtu.be
October 14, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Some day I'll write a paper on dual-processes in cognition that draws on Hemispheres by Rush for inspiration and illustration
I mean the first verse ends with:
"The gods of Love and Reason sought alone to rule the fate of Man"
youtu.be/J0zN0VjA3As?...
I mean the first verse ends with:
"The gods of Love and Reason sought alone to rule the fate of Man"
youtu.be/J0zN0VjA3As?...
Serious moon tonight
September 7, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Serious moon tonight
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
@paulbloomatyale.bsky.social @jowylie.bsky.social, and I are starting to study everyday revenge. Have you ever successfully got back at someone after being wronged? We would love to hear about it:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#PsychSciSky #socialpsyc #cognition
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#PsychSciSky #socialpsyc #cognition
Everyday Revenge
We are interested in stories of everyday revenge—cases where you successfully got back at someone after being wronged. Please think up an experience of when you took revenge and tell us about it.
Pl...
docs.google.com
August 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM
@paulbloomatyale.bsky.social @jowylie.bsky.social, and I are starting to study everyday revenge. Have you ever successfully got back at someone after being wronged? We would love to hear about it:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#PsychSciSky #socialpsyc #cognition
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#PsychSciSky #socialpsyc #cognition
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
Adding irrelevant information to descriptions dilutes moral judgements of them.
Looks like neutral, but irrelevant valence info is incorporated into the judgement!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Looks like neutral, but irrelevant valence info is incorporated into the judgement!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
The Moral Dilution Effect: Irrelevant Information Influences Judgments of Moral Character
It is reasonable to expect that when making a judgment, we only consider the relevant (or diagnostic) information and that nonrelevant (nondiagnostic) information should not, and thus does not, influ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 4, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Adding irrelevant information to descriptions dilutes moral judgements of them.
Looks like neutral, but irrelevant valence info is incorporated into the judgement!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Looks like neutral, but irrelevant valence info is incorporated into the judgement!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
And Published!!!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
The Moral Dilution effect. Including non-diagnostic (irrelevant) information leads to less extreme evaluations of moral character.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
The Moral Dilution effect. Including non-diagnostic (irrelevant) information leads to less extreme evaluations of moral character.
August 5, 2025 at 10:35 AM
And Published!!!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
The Moral Dilution effect. Including non-diagnostic (irrelevant) information leads to less extreme evaluations of moral character.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
The Moral Dilution effect. Including non-diagnostic (irrelevant) information leads to less extreme evaluations of moral character.
This is going slowly. About a third of the way through the suggested reading list (although there's other extra reading needed that was not specifcally named). Feels like progress is being made... slowly...
July 29, 2025 at 3:41 PM
This is going slowly. About a third of the way through the suggested reading list (although there's other extra reading needed that was not specifcally named). Feels like progress is being made... slowly...
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.
July 21, 2025 at 5:20 PM
When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.
Reposted by Cillian McHugh
"I may not be a contrarian, but I am a hater."
Such a good line in @edzitron.com's latest, laying out his arguments for why AI industry exists today in a "bubble"
www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-g...
Such a good line in @edzitron.com's latest, laying out his arguments for why AI industry exists today in a "bubble"
www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-g...
The Hater's Guide To The AI Bubble
Hey! Before we go any further — if you want to support my work, please sign up for the premium version of Where’s Your Ed At, it’s a $7-a-month (or $70-a-year) paid product where every week you get a ...
www.wheresyoured.at
July 21, 2025 at 5:52 PM
"I may not be a contrarian, but I am a hater."
Such a good line in @edzitron.com's latest, laying out his arguments for why AI industry exists today in a "bubble"
www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-g...
Such a good line in @edzitron.com's latest, laying out his arguments for why AI industry exists today in a "bubble"
www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-g...
And Accepted:
The Moral Dilution Effect: Irrelevant Information Influences Judgments of Moral Character
Started writing this one at a writer's retreat in 2022, very happy to get it over the line!
Pre-print available: osf.io/preprints/ps...
The Moral Dilution Effect: Irrelevant Information Influences Judgments of Moral Character
Started writing this one at a writer's retreat in 2022, very happy to get it over the line!
Pre-print available: osf.io/preprints/ps...
July 21, 2025 at 11:54 AM
And Accepted:
The Moral Dilution Effect: Irrelevant Information Influences Judgments of Moral Character
Started writing this one at a writer's retreat in 2022, very happy to get it over the line!
Pre-print available: osf.io/preprints/ps...
The Moral Dilution Effect: Irrelevant Information Influences Judgments of Moral Character
Started writing this one at a writer's retreat in 2022, very happy to get it over the line!
Pre-print available: osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reviewers and editor were happy. One or two very minor comments to address but they recommend publication! 🎉🎉🎉🥳🥳🥳🪅🪅🪅🎊🎊🎊
And submitted!!!! Fingers crossed the Reviewers and Editor are happy with the revised manuscript!
Been working hard on these revisions over the past few weeks. All R1, and all stats comments addressed. Some theory, and some methods justification still to be done, but the end will be in sight soon (hopefully)
July 7, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Reviewers and editor were happy. One or two very minor comments to address but they recommend publication! 🎉🎉🎉🥳🥳🥳🪅🪅🪅🎊🎊🎊
Got an R&R on this registered report last October. It's been a very busy few months, only starting on the revisions now. Some fairly substantial comments, this could take a while, but we have until this October...
Here goes...
Here goes...
Made it past the desk and it looks like it is being sent for review!
Still a long way to go, but we'll take this mini win!
Still a long way to go, but we'll take this mini win!
Manuscript Submitted!
Stage 1 Registered Report. Hopefully it is well recieved, and that if any issues are raised they can be addressed in a revision! 🤞🤞🤞
Stage 1 Registered Report. Hopefully it is well recieved, and that if any issues are raised they can be addressed in a revision! 🤞🤞🤞
July 2, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Got an R&R on this registered report last October. It's been a very busy few months, only starting on the revisions now. Some fairly substantial comments, this could take a while, but we have until this October...
Here goes...
Here goes...