Erin Westgate
@erinwestgate.bsky.social
Social psychologist, studying boredom, interest, and thinking (...and why it's so hard for so many of us!). Assistant Professor @ University of Florida 🐊
🌐 erinwestgate.com
📸 https://instagram.com/erin.corwin.westgate
🌐 erinwestgate.com
📸 https://instagram.com/erin.corwin.westgate
Pinned
Erin Westgate
@erinwestgate.bsky.social
· Dec 24
Are you living a good life? Take this quiz to find out.
Now is a good time to reflect on the life you’re leading — and what you want out of it.
www.washingtonpost.com
Are you leading a (mostly) happy life, a meaningful life, or a psychologically rich life? Take this fun quiz at the Washington Post and find out!
www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/int...?
www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/int...?
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Some people will be tempted to think that having the state dictate faculty teaching loads we can repair trust in institutions and avoid authoritarianism when in actuality having the state dictate faculty teaching is part of an authoritarian program.
February 5, 2026 at 12:34 AM
Some people will be tempted to think that having the state dictate faculty teaching loads we can repair trust in institutions and avoid authoritarianism when in actuality having the state dictate faculty teaching is part of an authoritarian program.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
McGill is hiring a faculty lecturer in social psychology, in a (non-adjunct) permanent teaching position.
Please consider being my colleague, Montreal is really great: mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...
Please consider being my colleague, Montreal is really great: mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...
Faculty Lecturer - Department of Psychology
Please refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply. If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at ...
mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:36 PM
McGill is hiring a faculty lecturer in social psychology, in a (non-adjunct) permanent teaching position.
Please consider being my colleague, Montreal is really great: mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...
Please consider being my colleague, Montreal is really great: mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Professors Are Being Watched: ‘We’ve Never Seen This Much Surveillance’ www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...
Professors Are Being Watched: ‘We’ve Never Seen This Much Surveillance’
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Professors Are Being Watched: ‘We’ve Never Seen This Much Surveillance’ www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...
My grad advisor was (and still is) great about this. He routinely turns down interviews on my work and points them towards me instead. It is gracious and deeply appreciated - an example to model for sure
A grad student I know recently had his work covered in a high profile outlet...but his name wasn't mentioned at all despite his advisor explicitly saying he did all of the work.
Since I've straddled the line between academic and journalist, I see both sides. Here are a couple ways to avoid this:
Since I've straddled the line between academic and journalist, I see both sides. Here are a couple ways to avoid this:
February 4, 2026 at 2:19 AM
My grad advisor was (and still is) great about this. He routinely turns down interviews on my work and points them towards me instead. It is gracious and deeply appreciated - an example to model for sure
Reposted by Erin Westgate
💥New paper alert! Dyadic Decisions About Effort: How Caregivers Shape Young Children’s Persistence (with @reutshachnai.bsky.social)
One of my favorites! If you’re curious about what we’ve been up to in @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social, take a look!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
One of my favorites! If you’re curious about what we’ve been up to in @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social, take a look!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
February 3, 2026 at 1:49 PM
💥New paper alert! Dyadic Decisions About Effort: How Caregivers Shape Young Children’s Persistence (with @reutshachnai.bsky.social)
One of my favorites! If you’re curious about what we’ve been up to in @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social, take a look!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
One of my favorites! If you’re curious about what we’ve been up to in @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social, take a look!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
New sci-hub just dropped.
February 2, 2026 at 2:47 PM
New sci-hub just dropped.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
🚨New WP "@Grok is this true?"
We analyze 1.6M factcheck requests on X (grok & Perplexity)
📌Usage is polarized, Grok users more likely to be Reps
📌BUT Rep posts rated as false more often—even by Grok
📌Bot agreement with factchecks is OK but not great; APIs match fact-checkers
osf.io/preprints/ps...
We analyze 1.6M factcheck requests on X (grok & Perplexity)
📌Usage is polarized, Grok users more likely to be Reps
📌BUT Rep posts rated as false more often—even by Grok
📌Bot agreement with factchecks is OK but not great; APIs match fact-checkers
osf.io/preprints/ps...
February 3, 2026 at 9:55 PM
🚨New WP "@Grok is this true?"
We analyze 1.6M factcheck requests on X (grok & Perplexity)
📌Usage is polarized, Grok users more likely to be Reps
📌BUT Rep posts rated as false more often—even by Grok
📌Bot agreement with factchecks is OK but not great; APIs match fact-checkers
osf.io/preprints/ps...
We analyze 1.6M factcheck requests on X (grok & Perplexity)
📌Usage is polarized, Grok users more likely to be Reps
📌BUT Rep posts rated as false more often—even by Grok
📌Bot agreement with factchecks is OK but not great; APIs match fact-checkers
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Tally one for personality on the "person situation debate scoreboard" that the psychologists in the Epstein files are pretty uniformly high on dominance, narcissism, need for admiration. Haven't come across a single "Oh, HIM? Never would have guessed!"
February 3, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Tally one for personality on the "person situation debate scoreboard" that the psychologists in the Epstein files are pretty uniformly high on dominance, narcissism, need for admiration. Haven't come across a single "Oh, HIM? Never would have guessed!"
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Here’s What the Latest Epstein Files Say About His Ties to Higher Ed: Collectively, the files underscore how deeply Epstein remained embedded in academic and intellectual circles even after his criminal history became public. www.chronicle.com/article/here...
Here’s What the Latest Epstein Files Say About His Ties to Higher Ed
New documents released by the Department of Justice on Friday reinforce that long after his criminal convictions, many prominent professors continued to communicate with him.
www.chronicle.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Here’s What the Latest Epstein Files Say About His Ties to Higher Ed: Collectively, the files underscore how deeply Epstein remained embedded in academic and intellectual circles even after his criminal history became public. www.chronicle.com/article/here...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
'to treat peer review as a throughput problem is to misunderstand what is at stake. Review is not simply a production stage in the research pipeline; it is one of the few remaining spaces where the scientific community talks to itself.' 1/3
AI is not a peer, so it can’t do peer review
If we still believe that science is a vocation grounded in argument, curiosity and care, we can’t delegate judgement to machines, says Akhil Bhardwaj
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:17 AM
'to treat peer review as a throughput problem is to misunderstand what is at stake. Review is not simply a production stage in the research pipeline; it is one of the few remaining spaces where the scientific community talks to itself.' 1/3
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Fuck your favourite song. Tell me your least favourite song. The one that makes you die inside the moment you hear the first 3 seconds.
February 4, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Why is it that small animals like insects have a landspace body plan when viewed head-on, but larger animals like elephants are taller than wide?
With @m-v.bsky.social, we find out in our new preprint titled 'Size and shape of terrestrial animals' - arxiv.org/html/2602.00...
With @m-v.bsky.social, we find out in our new preprint titled 'Size and shape of terrestrial animals' - arxiv.org/html/2602.00...
February 3, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Why is it that small animals like insects have a landspace body plan when viewed head-on, but larger animals like elephants are taller than wide?
With @m-v.bsky.social, we find out in our new preprint titled 'Size and shape of terrestrial animals' - arxiv.org/html/2602.00...
With @m-v.bsky.social, we find out in our new preprint titled 'Size and shape of terrestrial animals' - arxiv.org/html/2602.00...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Lots of overlap with this list I created recently for some Chi-town visitors...
I also heartily endorse everything on Jin and Lydia's list that isn't on mine!
(Caveat: no cheap eats on this list, due to who I created it for)
I also heartily endorse everything on Jin and Lydia's list that isn't on mine!
(Caveat: no cheap eats on this list, due to who I created it for)
Current Chicago Restaurant Faves
Current Chicago Restaurant Faves Coffee Sawada, West Loop Favourite coffee shop for hanging: Avondale Coffee Club There are no great coffee shops in the Loop (that I know of), but the best place to ...
docs.google.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Lots of overlap with this list I created recently for some Chi-town visitors...
I also heartily endorse everything on Jin and Lydia's list that isn't on mine!
(Caveat: no cheap eats on this list, due to who I created it for)
I also heartily endorse everything on Jin and Lydia's list that isn't on mine!
(Caveat: no cheap eats on this list, due to who I created it for)
Reposted by Erin Westgate
SPSP is just around the corner and in our backyard of Chicago! @lydiaemery.bsky.social and I love the Chicago food scene, and we've put together a list of places we like. We hope this will help you enjoy and explore Chicago!! See y'all soon!!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Chicago Restaurant Recs
Chicago Restaurant Recommendations from Jin Goh and Lydia Emery Chicago has an amazing food scene. You can get a great meal in pretty much any neighborhood, all of which have unique culture, food, an...
docs.google.com
February 1, 2026 at 5:39 PM
SPSP is just around the corner and in our backyard of Chicago! @lydiaemery.bsky.social and I love the Chicago food scene, and we've put together a list of places we like. We hope this will help you enjoy and explore Chicago!! See y'all soon!!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
February 3, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Sifting through Animal Behavior Society newsletters and came across a castigation of the field made by Dutch ethologist Adriaan Kortlandt in 1990. He states, "Ethology is supposed to be the study of behaviour, but the behaviour has become invisible." He also used to fight goats during lectures.
February 4, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Sifting through Animal Behavior Society newsletters and came across a castigation of the field made by Dutch ethologist Adriaan Kortlandt in 1990. He states, "Ethology is supposed to be the study of behaviour, but the behaviour has become invisible." He also used to fight goats during lectures.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Here’s what they found:
Women are interrupted more often than men—by about 10–20% in economics seminars.
Those interruptions are more likely to:
- Cut women off mid-sentence
- Come from men
- Be adversarial rather than clarifying in nature
Women are interrupted more often than men—by about 10–20% in economics seminars.
Those interruptions are more likely to:
- Cut women off mid-sentence
- Come from men
- Be adversarial rather than clarifying in nature
February 3, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Here’s what they found:
Women are interrupted more often than men—by about 10–20% in economics seminars.
Those interruptions are more likely to:
- Cut women off mid-sentence
- Come from men
- Be adversarial rather than clarifying in nature
Women are interrupted more often than men—by about 10–20% in economics seminars.
Those interruptions are more likely to:
- Cut women off mid-sentence
- Come from men
- Be adversarial rather than clarifying in nature
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Are female economists treated differently than males in academic seminars?
These authors wanted to know whether gender shapes how scholars are treated when presenting research.
So they built a massive dataset of 2,000+ economics seminars, job talks, and conference presentations from 2019–2023...
These authors wanted to know whether gender shapes how scholars are treated when presenting research.
So they built a massive dataset of 2,000+ economics seminars, job talks, and conference presentations from 2019–2023...
February 3, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Are female economists treated differently than males in academic seminars?
These authors wanted to know whether gender shapes how scholars are treated when presenting research.
So they built a massive dataset of 2,000+ economics seminars, job talks, and conference presentations from 2019–2023...
These authors wanted to know whether gender shapes how scholars are treated when presenting research.
So they built a massive dataset of 2,000+ economics seminars, job talks, and conference presentations from 2019–2023...
Okay but when you get cold, do you get manatees?! Do you??
I thought not.
A very cold morning (20s) in Florida at Three Sisters Spring, Crystal River.
I thought not.
A very cold morning (20s) in Florida at Three Sisters Spring, Crystal River.
February 3, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Okay but when you get cold, do you get manatees?! Do you??
I thought not.
A very cold morning (20s) in Florida at Three Sisters Spring, Crystal River.
I thought not.
A very cold morning (20s) in Florida at Three Sisters Spring, Crystal River.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
If you have about 20 minutes, I would be grateful if you could help my undergraduate student explore whether common empathy questionnaires are actually interchangable in the ways they are used in the social science literature.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲:
Level 1 Psychology students at University of Glasgow (to earn 2 Credits on SONA):
glasgow.sona-systems.com/default.aspx...
Everyone else:
uofg.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺: Sara Eftekhari (dissertation student), and @debruine.bsky.social (supervisor).
Level 1 Psychology students at University of Glasgow (to earn 2 Credits on SONA):
glasgow.sona-systems.com/default.aspx...
Everyone else:
uofg.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺: Sara Eftekhari (dissertation student), and @debruine.bsky.social (supervisor).
Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.
uofg.qualtrics.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:12 AM
If you have about 20 minutes, I would be grateful if you could help my undergraduate student explore whether common empathy questionnaires are actually interchangable in the ways they are used in the social science literature.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Excited that our paper is headed for publication at Animal Behaviour! - "Experimental study of social signaling through delayed plumage maturation in a colony-nesting seabird."
Our experiments show how the unusual, brown plumages of young seabirds can help reduce aggression at the breeding colony.
Our experiments show how the unusual, brown plumages of young seabirds can help reduce aggression at the breeding colony.
February 2, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Excited that our paper is headed for publication at Animal Behaviour! - "Experimental study of social signaling through delayed plumage maturation in a colony-nesting seabird."
Our experiments show how the unusual, brown plumages of young seabirds can help reduce aggression at the breeding colony.
Our experiments show how the unusual, brown plumages of young seabirds can help reduce aggression at the breeding colony.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
The absolute state of academic spam
February 3, 2026 at 6:48 AM
The absolute state of academic spam
Reposted by Erin Westgate
New signature added: "All emails 100% human-written."
February 2, 2026 at 8:43 PM
New signature added: "All emails 100% human-written."
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Remember the medieval remedy we reconstructed years ago? We've now dissected the various ways it attacks and kills bacteria! Preprinted & submitted, led by @tosinorababa.bsky.social & Jess Furner-Pardoe w/ many collaborators #MicroSky #Ancientbiotics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
February 3, 2026 at 9:58 AM
Remember the medieval remedy we reconstructed years ago? We've now dissected the various ways it attacks and kills bacteria! Preprinted & submitted, led by @tosinorababa.bsky.social & Jess Furner-Pardoe w/ many collaborators #MicroSky #Ancientbiotics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Just a Monday morning reminder that we are searching for a tenure track faculty position in cognitive psychology.
Assistant Professor in Cognitive Psychology, Tenure-Track Position at Western Washington University.
This is an assistant professor position in applied cognitive psychology.
Short 🧵 about this position. 1/?
Here is the link with details and for applying: hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
This is an assistant professor position in applied cognitive psychology.
Short 🧵 about this position. 1/?
Here is the link with details and for applying: hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
February 2, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Just a Monday morning reminder that we are searching for a tenure track faculty position in cognitive psychology.