Clintin Davis-Stober
@clintin.bsky.social
Professor, quantitative psychology, decision theory, data science, mathematics, statistics, open science, modeling, weight lifting, photography, enjoyer of poetry
www.davis-stober.com
www.davis-stober.com
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
Simonsohn has now posted a blog response to our recent paper about the poor statistical properties of the P curve. @clintin.bsky.social and I are finishing up a less-technical paper that will serve as a response. But I wanted to address a meta-issue *around* this that may clarify some things. 1/x
Would p-curve work if you dropped a piano on it?
datacolada.org/129
datacolada.org/129
September 25, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Simonsohn has now posted a blog response to our recent paper about the poor statistical properties of the P curve. @clintin.bsky.social and I are finishing up a less-technical paper that will serve as a response. But I wanted to address a meta-issue *around* this that may clarify some things. 1/x
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
I love this post about science and metascience. A lot of quotables but I’ll lead with this:
“Those seeking a scientific method – one that can be written down and followed mechanically […] – betray a kind of childish impatience with a process they clearly don’t understand.”
“Those seeking a scientific method – one that can be written down and followed mechanically […] – betray a kind of childish impatience with a process they clearly don’t understand.”
This is sort of part two to the far more enjoyable (to write and, hopefully, to read) essay "how to science a science with science". You might want to read that first.
diagrammonkey.wordpress.com/2025/07/03/h...
diagrammonkey.wordpress.com/2025/07/03/h...
How to science a science with science
The purest description of the scientific method I ever saw was in a novel by Kurt Vonnegut. A workman discovers that if he puts a bucket full of nuts and bolts on one of the many supporting struts …
diagrammonkey.wordpress.com
August 14, 2025 at 3:16 AM
I love this post about science and metascience. A lot of quotables but I’ll lead with this:
“Those seeking a scientific method – one that can be written down and followed mechanically […] – betray a kind of childish impatience with a process they clearly don’t understand.”
“Those seeking a scientific method – one that can be written down and followed mechanically […] – betray a kind of childish impatience with a process they clearly don’t understand.”
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
AI slop and the destruction of knowledge irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2025/08/12/a...
AI slop and the destruction of knowledge
This week I was looking for info on what cognitive scientists mean when they speak of ‘domain-general’ cognition. I was curious, because the nuances are relevant for something I am researching at t…
irisvanrooijcogsci.com
August 12, 2025 at 10:12 PM
AI slop and the destruction of knowledge irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2025/08/12/a...
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said."
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
RFK Jr. in interview with Scripps News: ‘Trusting the experts is not science’
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. sat down with Scripps News for a wide-ranging interview, discussing mRNA vaccine funding policy changes and a recent shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
www.scrippsnews.com
August 12, 2025 at 4:48 AM
1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said."
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
We proved they could not scale link.springer.com/article/10.1...
August 11, 2025 at 6:28 PM
We proved they could not scale link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
here was our call for methodological standards in metaresearch four years ago. instead of getting fixated on a particular inference we'd like to make, we need to maintain scientific standards, do the hard work, respect the evidence. we can't keep jumping at self-serving solutions without question.
The case for formal methodology in scientific reform | Royal Society Open Science
Current attempts at methodological reform in sciences come in response to an overall
lack of rigor in methodological and scientific practices in experimental sciences.
However, most methodological ref...
share.google
August 10, 2025 at 3:40 PM
here was our call for methodological standards in metaresearch four years ago. instead of getting fixated on a particular inference we'd like to make, we need to maintain scientific standards, do the hard work, respect the evidence. we can't keep jumping at self-serving solutions without question.
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
some of the discussion around the p-curve paper is depressing. i still see many missing the point clearly stated in the conclusion, and instead of demanding strong standards or questioning whether they're even asking good questions, they've immediately started asking for replacement methods.
August 10, 2025 at 3:36 PM
some of the discussion around the p-curve paper is depressing. i still see many missing the point clearly stated in the conclusion, and instead of demanding strong standards or questioning whether they're even asking good questions, they've immediately started asking for replacement methods.
New paper with @richarddmorey.bsky.social now out in JASA, where we critically examine p-curve. Below is Richard’s excellent summary of the many poor statistical properties of p-curve (with link to paper). I wanted to add some conceptual issues that we also tackle in the paper.
Paper drop, for anyone interested in #metascience, #statistics, or #metaanalysis! @clintin.bsky.social and I show in a new paper in JASA that the P-curve, a popular forensic meta-analysis method, has deeply undesirable statistical properties. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 1/?
August 9, 2025 at 9:18 PM
New paper with @richarddmorey.bsky.social now out in JASA, where we critically examine p-curve. Below is Richard’s excellent summary of the many poor statistical properties of p-curve (with link to paper). I wanted to add some conceptual issues that we also tackle in the paper.
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
New paper by my PhD student @semihaktepe.bsky.social now published 🚀
"Revisiting the effect of discrepant perceptual fluency on truth judgments" tinyurl.com/2eepue5y
--> Two experiments & a meta-analysis indicate that high visual contrast does not lead to higher truth judgments.
"Revisiting the effect of discrepant perceptual fluency on truth judgments" tinyurl.com/2eepue5y
--> Two experiments & a meta-analysis indicate that high visual contrast does not lead to higher truth judgments.
June 12, 2025 at 10:38 PM
New paper by my PhD student @semihaktepe.bsky.social now published 🚀
"Revisiting the effect of discrepant perceptual fluency on truth judgments" tinyurl.com/2eepue5y
--> Two experiments & a meta-analysis indicate that high visual contrast does not lead to higher truth judgments.
"Revisiting the effect of discrepant perceptual fluency on truth judgments" tinyurl.com/2eepue5y
--> Two experiments & a meta-analysis indicate that high visual contrast does not lead to higher truth judgments.
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
wherein I'm quoted with "Science is essentially effective to the extent that it can remain independent, decentralized, and democratic." (gift link, email required)
Why Trump’s push for ‘gold-standard science’ has researchers alarmed
Many scientists fear the Trump administration’s new standard means putting political appointees in charge, which could undercut independent research.
wapo.st
May 31, 2025 at 1:10 PM
wherein I'm quoted with "Science is essentially effective to the extent that it can remain independent, decentralized, and democratic." (gift link, email required)
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
🚀Postdoc position @unimarburg.bsky.social in the project:
"Bridging the Gap Between Verbal Psychological Theories & Formal Statistical Modeling with Large Language Models"
(funded by @volkswagenstiftung.de)
📅Start: 01.10.2025 | ⏳4 years
🔗 Apply now: uni-marburg.de/jhbCen
🔄 Thanks for sharing!
"Bridging the Gap Between Verbal Psychological Theories & Formal Statistical Modeling with Large Language Models"
(funded by @volkswagenstiftung.de)
📅Start: 01.10.2025 | ⏳4 years
🔗 Apply now: uni-marburg.de/jhbCen
🔄 Thanks for sharing!
Postdoc
uni-marburg.de
May 28, 2025 at 11:52 AM
🚀Postdoc position @unimarburg.bsky.social in the project:
"Bridging the Gap Between Verbal Psychological Theories & Formal Statistical Modeling with Large Language Models"
(funded by @volkswagenstiftung.de)
📅Start: 01.10.2025 | ⏳4 years
🔗 Apply now: uni-marburg.de/jhbCen
🔄 Thanks for sharing!
"Bridging the Gap Between Verbal Psychological Theories & Formal Statistical Modeling with Large Language Models"
(funded by @volkswagenstiftung.de)
📅Start: 01.10.2025 | ⏳4 years
🔗 Apply now: uni-marburg.de/jhbCen
🔄 Thanks for sharing!
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
NEW paper! 💭🖥️
“Combining Psychology with Artificial Intelligence: What could possibly go wrong?”
— Brief review paper by @olivia.science & myself, highlighting traps to avoid when combining Psych with AI, and why this is so important. Check out our proposed way forward! 🌟💡
osf.io/preprints/ps...
“Combining Psychology with Artificial Intelligence: What could possibly go wrong?”
— Brief review paper by @olivia.science & myself, highlighting traps to avoid when combining Psych with AI, and why this is so important. Check out our proposed way forward! 🌟💡
osf.io/preprints/ps...
May 14, 2025 at 9:23 PM
NEW paper! 💭🖥️
“Combining Psychology with Artificial Intelligence: What could possibly go wrong?”
— Brief review paper by @olivia.science & myself, highlighting traps to avoid when combining Psych with AI, and why this is so important. Check out our proposed way forward! 🌟💡
osf.io/preprints/ps...
“Combining Psychology with Artificial Intelligence: What could possibly go wrong?”
— Brief review paper by @olivia.science & myself, highlighting traps to avoid when combining Psych with AI, and why this is so important. Check out our proposed way forward! 🌟💡
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
If you'll be at APS2025 in DC next week, I'll be talking about the terrible statistical properties of the p curve procedure in the "Current Issues in Meta-Science" session Saturday, May 24th at 3pm. This will likely be my last US conference in a very long time. A brief summary follows. 1/
May 15, 2025 at 7:25 AM
If you'll be at APS2025 in DC next week, I'll be talking about the terrible statistical properties of the p curve procedure in the "Current Issues in Meta-Science" session Saturday, May 24th at 3pm. This will likely be my last US conference in a very long time. A brief summary follows. 1/
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
I am looking forward to expanding the scope of my professorship by combining cognitive and statistical modeling with LLMs😊
There will be two job openings for postdoc positions soon - one starting in September 2025 and another one a year later.
There will be two job openings for postdoc positions soon - one starting in September 2025 and another one a year later.
🚀 930.000 Euro für #Psychologie -Forschung: Prof. Daniel Heck nutzt #KI, um psychologische Theorien präziser zu machen. Mithilfe von #LLMs sollen unscharfe Begriffe in messbare Modelle übersetzt werden – ein Schritt zu besseren Experimenten & klareren Erkenntnissen #Forschung uni-marburg.de/gDNQIi
April 23, 2025 at 10:26 AM
I am looking forward to expanding the scope of my professorship by combining cognitive and statistical modeling with LLMs😊
There will be two job openings for postdoc positions soon - one starting in September 2025 and another one a year later.
There will be two job openings for postdoc positions soon - one starting in September 2025 and another one a year later.
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
Another reminder that this online event will take place this Friday. I might be alone representing the West Coast (it's at 7am PT) but hope colleagues from other time zones consider stopping by and joining the discussion. My talk will be not-so-subtly titled "Replication Is (Not)".
OK I had announced this before but forgot to say that Andrew Gelman would be joining Nancy Cartwright and myself as well. Short idea talks, lots of panel discussion and Q&A.
Join us on April 25th to discuss RCTs, replications, and scientific inference.
sites.google.com/view/cepbi/t...
Join us on April 25th to discuss RCTs, replications, and scientific inference.
sites.google.com/view/cepbi/t...
April 21, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Another reminder that this online event will take place this Friday. I might be alone representing the West Coast (it's at 7am PT) but hope colleagues from other time zones consider stopping by and joining the discussion. My talk will be not-so-subtly titled "Replication Is (Not)".
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
Special Issue Spotlight: Decision research meets #AI. Read a short summary of the special issue from guest editors Ido Erev, Sudeep Bhatia, and @clintin.bsky.social bit.ly/3FkGX0N
March 27, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Special Issue Spotlight: Decision research meets #AI. Read a short summary of the special issue from guest editors Ido Erev, Sudeep Bhatia, and @clintin.bsky.social bit.ly/3FkGX0N
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
Not being anti-fascist at this moment in history is anti-science. Probably always was. But cannot be clearer than these last few weeks.
February 23, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Not being anti-fascist at this moment in history is anti-science. Probably always was. But cannot be clearer than these last few weeks.
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
A visualization I created to share with family and friends about how the NIH indirect rate costs will hurt science AND our economy.
February 15, 2025 at 4:23 PM
A visualization I created to share with family and friends about how the NIH indirect rate costs will hurt science AND our economy.
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
Since everyone is talking about research funding, this perspective by the vice-president of the European Research Council might be of interest.
Blue states: Consider joining a multinational research council.
Blue states: Consider joining a multinational research council.
Alternative models of funding curiosity-driven research | PNAS
Funding of curiosity-driven science is the lifeblood of scientific and technological
innovation. Various models of funding allocation became instit...
www.pnas.org
February 6, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Since everyone is talking about research funding, this perspective by the vice-president of the European Research Council might be of interest.
Blue states: Consider joining a multinational research council.
Blue states: Consider joining a multinational research council.
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
My latest column just appeared in Science, entitled "Free speech, fact-checking, and the right to accurate information”. (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) I use one of President Trump’s first executive orders to unpack the terrain between misinformation and claims to free speech 1/n
Free speech, fact checking, and the right to accurate information
True to his campaign promises, on 20 January 2025, US President Donald Trump signed a broad range of Executive Orders, the scope of which ranged from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” t...
www.science.org
February 6, 2025 at 7:31 PM
My latest column just appeared in Science, entitled "Free speech, fact-checking, and the right to accurate information”. (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) I use one of President Trump’s first executive orders to unpack the terrain between misinformation and claims to free speech 1/n
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
🚨 New Paper Alert! 🚨
How should scientists decide what to replicate & how? Our latest article explores:
🔍 Book of Truths vs. Book of Conversations – What's the purpose of replication?
📊 Balancing epistemic values, public trust & transparency.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @clintin.bsky.social
How should scientists decide what to replicate & how? Our latest article explores:
🔍 Book of Truths vs. Book of Conversations – What's the purpose of replication?
📊 Balancing epistemic values, public trust & transparency.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @clintin.bsky.social
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
February 3, 2025 at 8:38 PM
🚨 New Paper Alert! 🚨
How should scientists decide what to replicate & how? Our latest article explores:
🔍 Book of Truths vs. Book of Conversations – What's the purpose of replication?
📊 Balancing epistemic values, public trust & transparency.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @clintin.bsky.social
How should scientists decide what to replicate & how? Our latest article explores:
🔍 Book of Truths vs. Book of Conversations – What's the purpose of replication?
📊 Balancing epistemic values, public trust & transparency.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @clintin.bsky.social
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
The present and future of peer review: Ideas, interventions, and evidence
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
January 28, 2025 at 7:07 AM
The present and future of peer review: Ideas, interventions, and evidence
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
Dialogues about the practice of science
"In this Feature: Should scientists reform the way they carry out research; if so, how? Should we reform the institutions that currently serve as scientific gatekeepers? How do recent technological & cultural revolutions affect the practice of science?"
"In this Feature: Should scientists reform the way they carry out research; if so, how? Should we reform the institutions that currently serve as scientific gatekeepers? How do recent technological & cultural revolutions affect the practice of science?"
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
January 30, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Dialogues about the practice of science
"In this Feature: Should scientists reform the way they carry out research; if so, how? Should we reform the institutions that currently serve as scientific gatekeepers? How do recent technological & cultural revolutions affect the practice of science?"
"In this Feature: Should scientists reform the way they carry out research; if so, how? Should we reform the institutions that currently serve as scientific gatekeepers? How do recent technological & cultural revolutions affect the practice of science?"
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
Now out in PNAS, we provide a conceptual framework for assessing replication decisions and replication reform.
Do you view the scientific literature as a "book of truths" or a "book of conversations"?
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
#philsci #science #SciSci #Metascience
Do you view the scientific literature as a "book of truths" or a "book of conversations"?
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
#philsci #science #SciSci #Metascience
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
January 28, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Now out in PNAS, we provide a conceptual framework for assessing replication decisions and replication reform.
Do you view the scientific literature as a "book of truths" or a "book of conversations"?
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
#philsci #science #SciSci #Metascience
Do you view the scientific literature as a "book of truths" or a "book of conversations"?
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
#philsci #science #SciSci #Metascience
Reposted by Clintin Davis-Stober
Which scientific results should be replicated? Our new PNAS suggests the decision depends on whether you subscribe to “the book of truth” or “book of conversation” @pnas.org @clintin.bsky.social
Now out in PNAS, we provide a conceptual framework for assessing replication decisions and replication reform.
Do you view the scientific literature as a "book of truths" or a "book of conversations"?
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
#philsci #science #SciSci #Metascience
Do you view the scientific literature as a "book of truths" or a "book of conversations"?
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
#philsci #science #SciSci #Metascience
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
January 28, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Which scientific results should be replicated? Our new PNAS suggests the decision depends on whether you subscribe to “the book of truth” or “book of conversation” @pnas.org @clintin.bsky.social