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 🤟🏼
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.
Not sure where this is from, but assuming it’s right, there are clear implications for countering the replication crisis and “false positive” psychology: Insufficient sample sizes are a primary culprit, and should be a primary target of reforms.
lol; as statistical power goes up, effect sizes go down
November 4, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Not sure where this is from, but assuming it’s right, there are clear implications for countering the replication crisis and “false positive” psychology: Insufficient sample sizes are a primary culprit, and should be a primary target of reforms.
I really didn’t like the decision to sacrifice bunt Guerrero to 3rd. And it’s still bothering me. When you’re 3 outs from losing the Series, I don’t think you can give an out away.
November 2, 2025 at 4:37 AM
I really didn’t like the decision to sacrifice bunt Guerrero to 3rd. And it’s still bothering me. When you’re 3 outs from losing the Series, I don’t think you can give an out away.
1/2 Really appreciate this issue being centered. I prefer a reframe. NOT: Initial studies need replication. RATHER: Confidence in a conclusion increases to the extent it is supported by converging findings from multiple studies by multiple investigators across multiple samples and measures/methods.
I love asking the question: how much should be spent on scientific replication? When asked, I have suggested that 1-2% of a funding budget felt right. "Felt right" meaning no evidence basis other than intuition.
@jdworkin.bsky.social offers a much more thoughtful approach.
@jdworkin.bsky.social offers a much more thoughtful approach.
How Much Should We Spend on Scientific Replication? | IFP
A data-driven framework for targeting replication funding where it matters most
ifp.org
October 31, 2025 at 8:18 PM
1/2 Really appreciate this issue being centered. I prefer a reframe. NOT: Initial studies need replication. RATHER: Confidence in a conclusion increases to the extent it is supported by converging findings from multiple studies by multiple investigators across multiple samples and measures/methods.
Apropos of nothing, here's a brief paper of mine about how to make Psychological Science a robust and cumulative science. How to: 1) Produce findings likely to be robust, 2) Distinguish robust vs fragile findings, and 3) Motivate the field to use this knowledge.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
How to Produce, Identify, and Motivate Robust Psychological Science: A Roadmap and a Response to Vize et al
Some wish to mandate preregistration as a response to the replication crisis, while I and others caution that such mandates inadvertently cause harm and distract from more critical reforms. In this article, after briefly critiquing a recently ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
October 29, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Apropos of nothing, here's a brief paper of mine about how to make Psychological Science a robust and cumulative science. How to: 1) Produce findings likely to be robust, 2) Distinguish robust vs fragile findings, and 3) Motivate the field to use this knowledge.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Reposted by E. David Klonsky, PhD
From this new post by OpenAI: 0.15% of users (something like 9M people given public numbers) show signs of suicidal intent in their ChatGPT chats each week
But there seems to be progress in making ChatGPT respond appropriately to mental health issues. openai.com/index/streng...
But there seems to be progress in making ChatGPT respond appropriately to mental health issues. openai.com/index/streng...
October 28, 2025 at 4:40 AM
From this new post by OpenAI: 0.15% of users (something like 9M people given public numbers) show signs of suicidal intent in their ChatGPT chats each week
But there seems to be progress in making ChatGPT respond appropriately to mental health issues. openai.com/index/streng...
But there seems to be progress in making ChatGPT respond appropriately to mental health issues. openai.com/index/streng...
Very cool issue on intensive longitudinal data, including a piece by @aidangcw.bsky.social and others on minimum sample size for estimating various parameters. Sometimes when we move beyond traditional self-report we neglect psychometrics and publish lots of noise. This work can help prevent that.
Interesting new special issue in Psychological Assessment.
Edited by Kristin Naragon-Gainey and @kstanton.bsky.social
Here's their overview paper: psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...
And here's our contribution, which will win us no friends:
psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...
Edited by Kristin Naragon-Gainey and @kstanton.bsky.social
Here's their overview paper: psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...
And here's our contribution, which will win us no friends:
psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...
October 25, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Very cool issue on intensive longitudinal data, including a piece by @aidangcw.bsky.social and others on minimum sample size for estimating various parameters. Sometimes when we move beyond traditional self-report we neglect psychometrics and publish lots of noise. This work can help prevent that.
I think robustness checks should be a standard part of every Results section. I also agree they should be 'thoughtful', not 'brute force' multiverse. But it shouldn't only be authors who choose the robustness checks -- also the reviewers pre-publication, and the field post-publication.
October 23, 2025 at 8:36 PM
I think robustness checks should be a standard part of every Results section. I also agree they should be 'thoughtful', not 'brute force' multiverse. But it shouldn't only be authors who choose the robustness checks -- also the reviewers pre-publication, and the field post-publication.
Things are scary.
October 23, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Things are scary.
I think it’s underappreciated in psychology that we establish generalizability of an effect not through some near-perfect ‘representative’ sample — but to the extent it consistently occurs across many different unrepresentative samples that vary demographically/culturally/etc.
"Representative sample" is a flawed, ambiguous concept and it does not have a precise definition in the technical literature of survey sampling, so you should avoid using it at all costs.
/TheEnd
/TheEnd
October 22, 2025 at 3:06 PM
I think it’s underappreciated in psychology that we establish generalizability of an effect not through some near-perfect ‘representative’ sample — but to the extent it consistently occurs across many different unrepresentative samples that vary demographically/culturally/etc.