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
🚨🚨 New tenure-track job posting! 🚨🚨
The University of Florida is hiring an Assistant Professor in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, with an open research focus.
Job ad here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
Here's some info about why you should apply to this job! 1/
The University of Florida is hiring an Assistant Professor in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, with an open research focus.
Job ad here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
Here's some info about why you should apply to this job! 1/
But wait!! There’s MORE!
Missed our social psych job ad? Never fear, cognitive is hiring!! 🔥 🐊
Missed our social psych job ad? Never fear, cognitive is hiring!! 🔥 🐊
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Two-group pre/post data are deceptively simple, and you could analyze them in many different ways, depending on your goals. Here are three blog posts on the topic:
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2022-06...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2020-12...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2023-06...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2022-06...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2020-12...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2023-06...
November 10, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Two-group pre/post data are deceptively simple, and you could analyze them in many different ways, depending on your goals. Here are three blog posts on the topic:
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2022-06...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2020-12...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2023-06...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2022-06...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2020-12...
solomonkurz.netlify.app/blog/2023-06...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
We are doing a pilot survey about how prospective PhD students in PSYCHOLOGY make decisions about applying to grad programs. If you are thinking of applying to a program in the future, and have 2-5 minutes to spare, could you take this survey? 🫶
northwestern.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
northwestern.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
November 10, 2025 at 3:29 PM
We are doing a pilot survey about how prospective PhD students in PSYCHOLOGY make decisions about applying to grad programs. If you are thinking of applying to a program in the future, and have 2-5 minutes to spare, could you take this survey? 🫶
northwestern.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
northwestern.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Is it just me, or is the grant awards process super shady?
eg., I once spoke with an academic who was really good at getting grants.
Their advice?
"Build a personal relationship with grant officers."
This was not the only time I've heard some version of this.
It seems super shady.
eg., I once spoke with an academic who was really good at getting grants.
Their advice?
"Build a personal relationship with grant officers."
This was not the only time I've heard some version of this.
It seems super shady.
November 10, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Is it just me, or is the grant awards process super shady?
eg., I once spoke with an academic who was really good at getting grants.
Their advice?
"Build a personal relationship with grant officers."
This was not the only time I've heard some version of this.
It seems super shady.
eg., I once spoke with an academic who was really good at getting grants.
Their advice?
"Build a personal relationship with grant officers."
This was not the only time I've heard some version of this.
It seems super shady.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
There is a lot of fuss today over whether chatbots can replace human participants in social sciences research when the solution is obvious: ask chatbots to simulate the views of social scientists and survey them on attitudes towards chatbots as substitutes for human subjects.
November 10, 2025 at 10:45 PM
There is a lot of fuss today over whether chatbots can replace human participants in social sciences research when the solution is obvious: ask chatbots to simulate the views of social scientists and survey them on attitudes towards chatbots as substitutes for human subjects.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
In trouble for the radical belief that if I have to buy something that is essential for my job then my employer should reimburse me for it.
November 10, 2025 at 10:53 AM
In trouble for the radical belief that if I have to buy something that is essential for my job then my employer should reimburse me for it.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
A new discussion paper shows a surprisingly big effect of "Most Supportive Employee" awards.
How to incentivise cooperation when monetary incentives are costly or ineffective? Our experiment shows a public recognition award increases employee willingness to help by 21%, leveraging social image towards peers and management-related reputation.
How Public Recognition Drives Cooperation Among Knowledge Workers
Discussion Paper No. 531
190researchblog.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:12 PM
A new discussion paper shows a surprisingly big effect of "Most Supportive Employee" awards.
Reposted by Erin Westgate
New longitudinal study on the ethnic identity development of minoritized kids!
Children’s positive identity-related feelings remained stable, BUT their negative identity-related feelings decreased over time.
Mothers’ cultural socialization predicted this decrease (1/2)
#devpsy #devsci #socialpsyc
Children’s positive identity-related feelings remained stable, BUT their negative identity-related feelings decreased over time.
Mothers’ cultural socialization predicted this decrease (1/2)
#devpsy #devsci #socialpsyc
November 9, 2025 at 9:17 PM
New longitudinal study on the ethnic identity development of minoritized kids!
Children’s positive identity-related feelings remained stable, BUT their negative identity-related feelings decreased over time.
Mothers’ cultural socialization predicted this decrease (1/2)
#devpsy #devsci #socialpsyc
Children’s positive identity-related feelings remained stable, BUT their negative identity-related feelings decreased over time.
Mothers’ cultural socialization predicted this decrease (1/2)
#devpsy #devsci #socialpsyc
Reposted by Erin Westgate
*Turns confirmation bias on*
Seems legit!
Seems legit!
Wow this seems like a large effect. Go coffee jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Caffeinated Coffee Consumption or Abstinence to Reduce Atrial Fibrillation
This clinical trial compares the effect of caffeinated coffee consumption vs abstinence from coffee and caffeine on recurrent atrial fibrillation.
jamanetwork.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:30 AM
*Turns confirmation bias on*
Seems legit!
Seems legit!
Reposted by Erin Westgate
I didn't want to get into this discussion, but after seeing strong reactions to Kelly (2025), I think it's worth helping colleagues think more critically about what the paper actually shows—and doesn't show.
Spoiler: not the bombshell some claim.
#SocialPsychology #CognitiveDissonance
Spoiler: not the bombshell some claim.
#SocialPsychology #CognitiveDissonance
Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”
In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased.....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:54 PM
I didn't want to get into this discussion, but after seeing strong reactions to Kelly (2025), I think it's worth helping colleagues think more critically about what the paper actually shows—and doesn't show.
Spoiler: not the bombshell some claim.
#SocialPsychology #CognitiveDissonance
Spoiler: not the bombshell some claim.
#SocialPsychology #CognitiveDissonance
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Finally, our 4-year long project has been published! We have conducted a multi-lab study comparing STM of musicians and nonmusicians, collecting many other cognitive, personality, musical, and demographic variables!
A big thank you to all collaborators!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
A big thank you to all collaborators!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Do Musicians Have Better Short-Term Memory Than Nonmusicians? A Multilab Study - Massimo Grassi, Francesca Talamini, Gianmarco Altoè, Elvira Brattico, Anne Caclin, Barbara Carretti, Véronique Drai-Zer...
Musicians are often regarded as a positive example of brain plasticity and associated cognitive benefits. This emerges when experienced musicians (e.g., musicia...
journals.sagepub.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Finally, our 4-year long project has been published! We have conducted a multi-lab study comparing STM of musicians and nonmusicians, collecting many other cognitive, personality, musical, and demographic variables!
A big thank you to all collaborators!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
A big thank you to all collaborators!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Reposted by Erin Westgate
He claimed he would build a submarine out of a space x rocket tube to rescue some kids trapped in a cave, which would not fit in the cave had he actually built it. When a diving expert said that was a bad idea he called him a pedophile.
it is too bad elon didn’t build the sub and take it for a dive
it is too bad elon didn’t build the sub and take it for a dive
October 22, 2024 at 1:14 AM
He claimed he would build a submarine out of a space x rocket tube to rescue some kids trapped in a cave, which would not fit in the cave had he actually built it. When a diving expert said that was a bad idea he called him a pedophile.
it is too bad elon didn’t build the sub and take it for a dive
it is too bad elon didn’t build the sub and take it for a dive
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Youyou Tu's work on anti-malarial compounds that saved millions of lives (w/Nobel+Lasker recognition) wins the low citation/huge impact cell. The original paper has 87 citations as of today: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11721477/ Hopefully she can get to 100.
What for huge citations and moderate impact?
What for huge citations and moderate impact?
November 8, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Youyou Tu's work on anti-malarial compounds that saved millions of lives (w/Nobel+Lasker recognition) wins the low citation/huge impact cell. The original paper has 87 citations as of today: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11721477/ Hopefully she can get to 100.
What for huge citations and moderate impact?
What for huge citations and moderate impact?
Reposted by Erin Westgate
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Former PADI OWSI here: can confirm.
November 8, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Former PADI OWSI here: can confirm.
If you’ve never done something before, how do you know whether other people are any good? One way is to use yourself as a basis for comparison. Novice scuba divers appear to anchor their estimates of OTHER beginner divers in their appraisals of their OWN scuba diving ability. #SSSP2025
November 8, 2025 at 2:53 PM
If you’ve never done something before, how do you know whether other people are any good? One way is to use yourself as a basis for comparison. Novice scuba divers appear to anchor their estimates of OTHER beginner divers in their appraisals of their OWN scuba diving ability. #SSSP2025
Do really bad scuba divers think they’re better than they really are? Yes, they do! Dunning Kruger effect replicates in 40 novice scuba divers diving for the first time as part of a PADI DSD class
#SSSP2025
#SSSP2025
November 8, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Do really bad scuba divers think they’re better than they really are? Yes, they do! Dunning Kruger effect replicates in 40 novice scuba divers diving for the first time as part of a PADI DSD class
#SSSP2025
#SSSP2025
Reposted by Erin Westgate
I’ll be talking about the asymmetric relationships between psychopathy and positive/negative empathy (though the analyses diverge from this abstract)! :-)
November 8, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I’ll be talking about the asymmetric relationships between psychopathy and positive/negative empathy (though the analyses diverge from this abstract)! :-)
Reposted by Erin Westgate
New survey study of Austrian youth aged 15–25 finds that:
• 75.4% follow influencers
• 77.6% trust influencers they follow for health information
• 30% have already bought a health product on the recommendation of an influencer
www.jahonline.org/article/S105...
• 75.4% follow influencers
• 77.6% trust influencers they follow for health information
• 30% have already bought a health product on the recommendation of an influencer
www.jahonline.org/article/S105...
Engagement With Influencers as Sources of Health Information and Product Promotions: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Austrian Youth Aged 15–25 Years
Social media influencers have become a key source of health information for young
people, despite often lacking medical expertise and being driven by commercial interests.
This study examines influenc...
www.jahonline.org
November 5, 2025 at 1:49 PM
New survey study of Austrian youth aged 15–25 finds that:
• 75.4% follow influencers
• 77.6% trust influencers they follow for health information
• 30% have already bought a health product on the recommendation of an influencer
www.jahonline.org/article/S105...
• 75.4% follow influencers
• 77.6% trust influencers they follow for health information
• 30% have already bought a health product on the recommendation of an influencer
www.jahonline.org/article/S105...
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Come work with us @msupsychology.bsky.social!
I promise, we don’t match *all* the time @tedmond.bsky.social
I promise, we don’t match *all* the time @tedmond.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Come work with us @msupsychology.bsky.social!
I promise, we don’t match *all* the time @tedmond.bsky.social
I promise, we don’t match *all* the time @tedmond.bsky.social
Reposted by Erin Westgate
📣Hi #EconSky! I am on the job market! 📣
My JMP builds a 20-year panel showing an after-school care reform increased university grad. rates. 🎓
The key: moving children from home 🏠 to care centers 🧑🧒🧒, where peer interactions shaped preferences and beliefs — not skills🧮.
For more: sevinkaytan.com
My JMP builds a 20-year panel showing an after-school care reform increased university grad. rates. 🎓
The key: moving children from home 🏠 to care centers 🧑🧒🧒, where peer interactions shaped preferences and beliefs — not skills🧮.
For more: sevinkaytan.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:34 AM
📣Hi #EconSky! I am on the job market! 📣
My JMP builds a 20-year panel showing an after-school care reform increased university grad. rates. 🎓
The key: moving children from home 🏠 to care centers 🧑🧒🧒, where peer interactions shaped preferences and beliefs — not skills🧮.
For more: sevinkaytan.com
My JMP builds a 20-year panel showing an after-school care reform increased university grad. rates. 🎓
The key: moving children from home 🏠 to care centers 🧑🧒🧒, where peer interactions shaped preferences and beliefs — not skills🧮.
For more: sevinkaytan.com
Reposted by Erin Westgate
Lego soft power at work.
Would read that paper.
Would read that paper.
Anyway, we need some joy, so here's the Egyptian foreign minister being given a Lego Pyramid by the Danish foreign minister.
November 4, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Lego soft power at work.
Would read that paper.
Would read that paper.
Happy Halloween!!
November 1, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Happy Halloween!!
Reposted by Erin Westgate
I can answer this. I interviewed Peterson's tailor a few years ago, although the interview was never published because I fell behind on work. Here is the story of this suit. 🧵
October 31, 2025 at 2:43 AM
I can answer this. I interviewed Peterson's tailor a few years ago, although the interview was never published because I fell behind on work. Here is the story of this suit. 🧵