E. David Klonsky, PhD
@klonskylab.bsky.social
Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Suicide, emotion, and personality research. Advocate for robust science. Also jiu-jitsu and combat sports 🤟🏼
Harsh but…
Qual researchers: qualitative research isn’t meant to be generalizable, and concepts like reliability and replication are positivist (or something)
Me confidently: you want me to put stock in unreliable measurement of non-generalizable information that will never be replicated?
Qual researchers: qualitative research isn’t meant to be generalizable, and concepts like reliability and replication are positivist (or something)
Me confidently: you want me to put stock in unreliable measurement of non-generalizable information that will never be replicated?
Qualitative researchers' experiences of methodologically incongruent peer review feedback
w/ @ginnybraun.bsky.social @jeffnz.bsky.social @janeemcallaghan.bsky.social @andrealamarre.bsky.social & @joannasemlyen.bsky.social
psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
w/ @ginnybraun.bsky.social @jeffnz.bsky.social @janeemcallaghan.bsky.social @andrealamarre.bsky.social & @joannasemlyen.bsky.social
psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
January 13, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Harsh but…
Qual researchers: qualitative research isn’t meant to be generalizable, and concepts like reliability and replication are positivist (or something)
Me confidently: you want me to put stock in unreliable measurement of non-generalizable information that will never be replicated?
Qual researchers: qualitative research isn’t meant to be generalizable, and concepts like reliability and replication are positivist (or something)
Me confidently: you want me to put stock in unreliable measurement of non-generalizable information that will never be replicated?
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
I often think about the immigrants ICE is rounding up and how 99% of them have worked harder at their jobs than any of these operator cosplayers ever have or ever will.
January 12, 2026 at 3:54 AM
I often think about the immigrants ICE is rounding up and how 99% of them have worked harder at their jobs than any of these operator cosplayers ever have or ever will.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
👏Footage from London shows the moment activists removed the Islamic Republic’s flag from the Iranian embassy balcony and raised the Lion and Sun flag instead.
January 10, 2026 at 9:32 PM
👏Footage from London shows the moment activists removed the Islamic Republic’s flag from the Iranian embassy balcony and raised the Lion and Sun flag instead.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
Ilia Hashemi has shared many disturbing videos about the massacre occurring in Iran on his Twitter account. I am sharing only one of them, reluctantly, here. If you have any audience with the press, please take a look at them.
x.com/iliahashemic...
x.com/iliahashemic...
January 11, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Ilia Hashemi has shared many disturbing videos about the massacre occurring in Iran on his Twitter account. I am sharing only one of them, reluctantly, here. If you have any audience with the press, please take a look at them.
x.com/iliahashemic...
x.com/iliahashemic...
A lot not going well in the world, but should the Iranian people take back control of their country from religious extremists, that would be a good thing.
January 9, 2026 at 2:32 AM
A lot not going well in the world, but should the Iranian people take back control of their country from religious extremists, that would be a good thing.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
I told my daughter to hide her Star of David in public. I hate myself for it. But I did it anyway. A letter to my non-Jewish friends.
open.substack.com/pub/michaeli...
open.substack.com/pub/michaeli...
The Good Jew
My life changed irrevocably two years ago.
open.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I told my daughter to hide her Star of David in public. I hate myself for it. But I did it anyway. A letter to my non-Jewish friends.
open.substack.com/pub/michaeli...
open.substack.com/pub/michaeli...
1000 times yes.
Every time I talked to other people with my complaints about behavioral task measures of impulsivity, I heard "Oh yeah, we tried those in our last data collection and we couldn't find anything."
I heard it so many times. And the bullshitters convince the rest of us we're doing it wrong somehow.
I heard it so many times. And the bullshitters convince the rest of us we're doing it wrong somehow.
Here's a suggestion for a New Year's resolution: If you see influential bad research, say something. One part of the whole replication crisis story is that a lot of psychological researchers privately knew that a lot of stuff was bad, but it wasn't discussed publicly.
January 7, 2026 at 4:25 PM
1000 times yes.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
The world is watching Iran. Dozens killed. Thousands detained. And yet people keep marching — for dignity, for economic survival, for a future they can recognize. Their courage deserves more than silence.
January 7, 2026 at 3:09 PM
The world is watching Iran. Dozens killed. Thousands detained. And yet people keep marching — for dignity, for economic survival, for a future they can recognize. Their courage deserves more than silence.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
Expect to see a lot of this classic Onion headline, from 23 years ago, over the coming weeks.
January 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Expect to see a lot of this classic Onion headline, from 23 years ago, over the coming weeks.
Hello friends! I am partnering with the Zur Institute to offer a 3-hour training on January 16 (CE credits available) titled: "Understanding Suicide to Prevent Suicide: A Deeper Dive". Please consider joining or spreading the word. Would love to see you there!
www.zurinstitute.com/webinars/und...
www.zurinstitute.com/webinars/und...
December 29, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Hello friends! I am partnering with the Zur Institute to offer a 3-hour training on January 16 (CE credits available) titled: "Understanding Suicide to Prevent Suicide: A Deeper Dive". Please consider joining or spreading the word. Would love to see you there!
www.zurinstitute.com/webinars/und...
www.zurinstitute.com/webinars/und...
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
Dean Martin, born Dino Paul Crocetti, son of Italian immigrant Gaetano Crocetti
Frank Sinatra, son of Italian immigrants Antonino Sinatra and Natalina Garavanta
Merry Christmas to everyone except Stephen Miller and his enablers and handlers
Frank Sinatra, son of Italian immigrants Antonino Sinatra and Natalina Garavanta
Merry Christmas to everyone except Stephen Miller and his enablers and handlers
December 26, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Dean Martin, born Dino Paul Crocetti, son of Italian immigrant Gaetano Crocetti
Frank Sinatra, son of Italian immigrants Antonino Sinatra and Natalina Garavanta
Merry Christmas to everyone except Stephen Miller and his enablers and handlers
Frank Sinatra, son of Italian immigrants Antonino Sinatra and Natalina Garavanta
Merry Christmas to everyone except Stephen Miller and his enablers and handlers
Hard agree. In both academics and politics it often feels like folks disagree with their projection of what you’re saying. Often the disagreement with their projection is vehement.
It's important to understand what we're (dis)agreeing with when we (dis)agree. This is a real skill. I worry it's atrophying.
I also shared a bit with @willgervais.com when he asked me about it for his students. I think it's especially important to teach junior people how to engage with ideas.
I also shared a bit with @willgervais.com when he asked me about it for his students. I think it's especially important to teach junior people how to engage with ideas.
Critical Thinking is deep engagement with the relationships
between statements about the world.
See section 3 here: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
4/
between statements about the world.
See section 3 here: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
4/
December 22, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Hard agree. In both academics and politics it often feels like folks disagree with their projection of what you’re saying. Often the disagreement with their projection is vehement.
So much of complicated statistics (latent class/profile stuff, SEM, network analysis) seems optimized for publishing in ‘top’ journals without meaningfully improving knowledge.
Some days ago a student struggling with her master’s thesis e-mailed me, asking me about partial least squares structural equation modeling. I told her I can only tell her not to do that, and then she sent more details.>
December 20, 2025 at 7:36 PM
So much of complicated statistics (latent class/profile stuff, SEM, network analysis) seems optimized for publishing in ‘top’ journals without meaningfully improving knowledge.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
Sometimes, it is very hard to find the words—but Jewish tradition already has. We sing Maoz Tzur when we light the menorah, but if you listen to the lyrics, it is not a celebratory song, but rather one about pain and perseverance. This is my version, which attempts to bring out those resonances.
Maoz Tzur - Yair Rosenberg (Official Lyric Clip) | מעוז צור - יאיר רוזנברג
YouTube video by Yair Rosenberg Music יאיר רוזנברג
www.youtube.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Sometimes, it is very hard to find the words—but Jewish tradition already has. We sing Maoz Tzur when we light the menorah, but if you listen to the lyrics, it is not a celebratory song, but rather one about pain and perseverance. This is my version, which attempts to bring out those resonances.
Oh Philip Rivers. He’s awesome, and I’m rooting for him, but that looked like an old man who fell and needed a moment or two to get back up.
December 14, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Oh Philip Rivers. He’s awesome, and I’m rooting for him, but that looked like an old man who fell and needed a moment or two to get back up.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
“She has marks on her neck and wrist from where agents restrained her. Agents cut off her wedding ring and held her in leg shackles at Whipple Federal Building for about five hours.”
Her crime: witnessing ICE, from a distance.
Her crime: witnessing ICE, from a distance.
Federal agents arrest citizen observer watching ICE detain neighbors on her north Minneapolis block
Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old American citizen, appears to be the first observer arrested by federal immigration enforcement officers since the agency launched an immigration surge in the Twin Cities l...
www.mprnews.org
December 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM
“She has marks on her neck and wrist from where agents restrained her. Agents cut off her wedding ring and held her in leg shackles at Whipple Federal Building for about five hours.”
Her crime: witnessing ICE, from a distance.
Her crime: witnessing ICE, from a distance.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
Read this NYT piece by Sam Kriss about AI's distinctive writing style - especially "It's not X - it's Y" - and then look at this horror of an AI-generated article, which uses all the tropes he identifies, over and over again.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/m...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/m...
December 6, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Read this NYT piece by Sam Kriss about AI's distinctive writing style - especially "It's not X - it's Y" - and then look at this horror of an AI-generated article, which uses all the tropes he identifies, over and over again.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/m...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/m...
Two key trends in this small & exciting study: 1) Replicability may be improving, 2) Replicability of a study was unrelated to use of transparency indicators. This pattern echoes Klonsky (2025), which suggests the most critical reform is knowing “if we publish fragile findings, we will be found out”
December 6, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Two key trends in this small & exciting study: 1) Replicability may be improving, 2) Replicability of a study was unrelated to use of transparency indicators. This pattern echoes Klonsky (2025), which suggests the most critical reform is knowing “if we publish fragile findings, we will be found out”
I named my fists Social and Psychology because they’ll give you a beating that won’t ever be replicated. (Too soon?)
I named my fists Greenwald and Banaji because you won't even be aware of what hit you.
I named my fists Kahneman and Tversky because I’m gonna make your losses loom larger than your gains
December 1, 2025 at 5:24 PM
I named my fists Social and Psychology because they’ll give you a beating that won’t ever be replicated. (Too soon?)
Congratulations Dr. Mikayla Pachkowski!! 🎉 🎈
November 28, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Congratulations Dr. Mikayla Pachkowski!! 🎉 🎈
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
A gunman tried to silence my wife in an extreme act of political violence.
Now, Trump has called for my execution because he didn’t like what I had to say.
Gabby and I know, when others try to silence you, you must keep speaking out — and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Now, Trump has called for my execution because he didn’t like what I had to say.
Gabby and I know, when others try to silence you, you must keep speaking out — and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
November 21, 2025 at 8:43 PM
A gunman tried to silence my wife in an extreme act of political violence.
Now, Trump has called for my execution because he didn’t like what I had to say.
Gabby and I know, when others try to silence you, you must keep speaking out — and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Now, Trump has called for my execution because he didn’t like what I had to say.
Gabby and I know, when others try to silence you, you must keep speaking out — and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
I've had a missile blow up next to my airplane, been shot at dozens of times by anti-aircraft fire, and launched into orbit — all for my country. I never thought I'd see a President call for my execution.
Trump doesn’t understand the Constitution, and we're all less safe for it.
Trump doesn’t understand the Constitution, and we're all less safe for it.
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I've had a missile blow up next to my airplane, been shot at dozens of times by anti-aircraft fire, and launched into orbit — all for my country. I never thought I'd see a President call for my execution.
Trump doesn’t understand the Constitution, and we're all less safe for it.
Trump doesn’t understand the Constitution, and we're all less safe for it.
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
Yeah...what René said!
Why aren't some of the strongest personality neuroscience papers getting widely cited?
November 5, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Yeah...what René said!
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
Once more, with feeling:
Jew hatred antedates modern constructions of wh*teness by literally thousands of years. It's cannot be understood or effectively countered solely in terms of contemporary racial politics.
Jew hatred antedates modern constructions of wh*teness by literally thousands of years. It's cannot be understood or effectively countered solely in terms of contemporary racial politics.
It seems like it may have been a mistake to conceptualize antisemitism as a subset of white supremacy, when there is consensus among many people who are *and aren't* white supremacists that Jews are the cause of all problems.
November 3, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Once more, with feeling:
Jew hatred antedates modern constructions of wh*teness by literally thousands of years. It's cannot be understood or effectively countered solely in terms of contemporary racial politics.
Jew hatred antedates modern constructions of wh*teness by literally thousands of years. It's cannot be understood or effectively countered solely in terms of contemporary racial politics.