Dan Willingham
@dtwuva.bsky.social
Professor @UVa who's puttin' the funk back in functional brain imaging and the psycho in psychometrics. One study is just one study, folks.
New meta-analysis concludes that prequestions confer an advantage to content relevant to the prequestions, but the advantage does not bleed over to other content. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
December 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
New meta-analysis concludes that prequestions confer an advantage to content relevant to the prequestions, but the advantage does not bleed over to other content. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
In the face of chatbot cheating, more professors turning to oral exams. Not really an option in my class of 350... www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
To AI-proof exams, professors turn to the oldest technique of all
A small but growing number of educators are experimenting with oral exams to circumvent the temptations presented by powerful AI platforms.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 12, 2025 at 12:50 PM
In the face of chatbot cheating, more professors turning to oral exams. Not really an option in my class of 350... www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
New American Educator article with Eric Turkheimer @ent3c.bsky.social on what IQ scores mean. www.aft.org/ae/winter202...
December 12, 2025 at 10:37 AM
New American Educator article with Eric Turkheimer @ent3c.bsky.social on what IQ scores mean. www.aft.org/ae/winter202...
New article with Eric Turkheimer: "What Do IQ Scores Mean?" www.aft.org/ae/winter202...
Ask the Cognitive Scientist: What Do IQ Scores Mean?
www.aft.org
December 10, 2025 at 3:01 PM
New article with Eric Turkheimer: "What Do IQ Scores Mean?" www.aft.org/ae/winter202...
B. F. Skinner: *shrugs*
www.pianistmagazine.com/blogs/i-taug...
www.pianistmagazine.com/blogs/i-taug...
'I taught an octopus piano' - the video the internet can't get enough of!
In one of the most bizarre, brilliant, and unexpectedly wholesome musical experiments of the year, Swedish musician and YouTuber Mattias Krantz has done the unthinkable: he spent six months teaching a...
www.pianistmagazine.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:10 PM
B. F. Skinner: *shrugs*
www.pianistmagazine.com/blogs/i-taug...
www.pianistmagazine.com/blogs/i-taug...
Math anxiety: meta analysis of longitudinal studies suggests a bi-directional relationship. Being bad at math makes you anxious when doing it AND being anxious about it impairs performance. psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...
December 2, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Math anxiety: meta analysis of longitudinal studies suggests a bi-directional relationship. Being bad at math makes you anxious when doing it AND being anxious about it impairs performance. psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...
Retractions in medical journals disproportionately less likely to include women authors. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
November 27, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Retractions in medical journals disproportionately less likely to include women authors. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Using PISA data from 73 countries, researchers estimated the extent to which growth mindset mediates the association of SES on achievement, and find results consistent w/ the picture of the last 10 years. It's a real effect. It's small. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 26, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Using PISA data from 73 countries, researchers estimated the extent to which growth mindset mediates the association of SES on achievement, and find results consistent w/ the picture of the last 10 years. It's a real effect. It's small. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Exercise improves academic performance in Norwegian college students (open) www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1...
November 24, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Exercise improves academic performance in Norwegian college students (open) www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1...
Every psychologist knows this feeling: you’re not mad that these two sections are adjacent. You’re grateful that they’re separate sections.
November 23, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Every psychologist knows this feeling: you’re not mad that these two sections are adjacent. You’re grateful that they’re separate sections.
Data from Peru: telling women they've met the exam cut-off to pursue a STEM major increases the probability they'll take it. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 19, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Data from Peru: telling women they've met the exam cut-off to pursue a STEM major increases the probability they'll take it. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Although it's commonly believed that left-handedness is associated with creativity...it's not. link.springer.com/article/10.3...
November 19, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Although it's commonly believed that left-handedness is associated with creativity...it's not. link.springer.com/article/10.3...
Really inspiring review of five decades of cardiac medicine that almost certainly kept Dick Cheney alive, his first heart attack was at age 37...and the importance of the US scientific infrastructure--currently under existential threat--to those miracles. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | The science that extended Dick Cheney’s life was a choice
The biomedical research engine will create more breakthroughs — if we keep it up and running.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Really inspiring review of five decades of cardiac medicine that almost certainly kept Dick Cheney alive, his first heart attack was at age 37...and the importance of the US scientific infrastructure--currently under existential threat--to those miracles. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Reposted by Dan Willingham
The circle of hell Dante forgot - Who Raised You - is teeming w people who put their bags on Amtrak seats. Their curse is to eternally battle NJ Transiters watching videos at full blast & those who trample tiny kids to deplane 30 sec sooner. Feels like a promising reality tv concept.
October 27, 2025 at 11:32 AM
The circle of hell Dante forgot - Who Raised You - is teeming w people who put their bags on Amtrak seats. Their curse is to eternally battle NJ Transiters watching videos at full blast & those who trample tiny kids to deplane 30 sec sooner. Feels like a promising reality tv concept.
BREAKING: Survey by @nature.com reveals that "supervisors who make a conscious effort to support and mentor their PhD candidates have more-satisfied students."
Science marches on!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Science marches on!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision
Supervisors who invest in positive mentoring relationships with their PhD candidates also reap the benefits for their own research.
www.nature.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:27 PM
BREAKING: Survey by @nature.com reveals that "supervisors who make a conscious effort to support and mentor their PhD candidates have more-satisfied students."
Science marches on!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Science marches on!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
RCT of Montessori preschool: at end of K, significantly higher reading, short-term memory, theory of mind, and executive function scores. Intention-to-treat effect sizes > .20. www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....
October 22, 2025 at 11:06 AM
RCT of Montessori preschool: at end of K, significantly higher reading, short-term memory, theory of mind, and executive function scores. Intention-to-treat effect sizes > .20. www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....
Not so fast…UVa rejects compact but is reportedly near a deal w the feds www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
White House Moves Toward Settlement With First Public University
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Not so fast…UVa rejects compact but is reportedly near a deal w the feds www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
uva rejects the compact
October 17, 2025 at 8:42 PM
uva rejects the compact
I review Google's new AI tool. Not ready, not really close to ready, but shows promise.
dtwuva.substack.com/p/will-googl...
dtwuva.substack.com/p/will-googl...
Will Google's New AI Tool Help Teachers?
"Learn Your Way" Shows Promise but Has a Way to Go
dtwuva.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 11:23 AM
I review Google's new AI tool. Not ready, not really close to ready, but shows promise.
dtwuva.substack.com/p/will-googl...
dtwuva.substack.com/p/will-googl...
Why do people share fake news? "While perceived message truth was the main driver of persuasion, message transmission was primarily driven by positive emotion and social engagement, indicating that social connection is prioritized during information sharing." psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
September 30, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Why do people share fake news? "While perceived message truth was the main driver of persuasion, message transmission was primarily driven by positive emotion and social engagement, indicating that social connection is prioritized during information sharing." psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
I've just learned of Art Reber's death. Art was a leader in an area of research that was my main focus early in my career. He was a great psychologist and unfailingly kind. www.molesfarewelltributes.com/obituaries/a...
Arthur Samuel Reber - Moles Farewell Tributes
Arthur Samuel Reber March 11, 1940, to September 2, 2025 Born in Philadelphia, PA, to parents Jacob Reber and Yetta Gluchowsky, Arthur studied psychology at the University of Pennsylvania – interrupte...
www.molesfarewelltributes.com
September 24, 2025 at 11:17 PM
I've just learned of Art Reber's death. Art was a leader in an area of research that was my main focus early in my career. He was a great psychologist and unfailingly kind. www.molesfarewelltributes.com/obituaries/a...
Are the Purported Causes of NAEP Score Decline Actually Symptoms? open.substack.com/pub/dtwuva/p...
September 23, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Are the Purported Causes of NAEP Score Decline Actually Symptoms? open.substack.com/pub/dtwuva/p...