Mark Rubin

@markrubin.bsky.social

19K followers 1.9K following 5K posts

social psychology ▪︎ metascience ▪︎ philosophy of science ▪︎ higher education

Professor at Durham University, UK. He/him.

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/markrubinsocialpsychresearch/

Substack: https://markrubin.substack.com/ .. more

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Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · Aug 22

Just published…

I argue that preregistration does not improve the transparent evaluation of the severity of hypothesis tests (a) in Popper’s approach or (b) in Mayo’s error statistical approach when preregistration is treated as “a plan, not a prison.”

Open Access: doi.org/10.1007/s112...

One justification for preregistering research hypotheses, methods, and analyses is that it improves the transparent evaluation of the severity of hypothesis tests. In this article, I consider two cases in which preregistration does not improve this evaluation. First, I argue that, although preregistration may facilitate the transparent evaluation of severity in Mayo’s error statistical philosophy of science, it does not facilitate this evaluation in Popper’s theory-centric approach. To illustrate, I show that associated concerns about Type I error rate inflation are only relevant in the error statistical approach and not in a theory-centric approach. Second, I argue that a test procedure that is preregistered but that also allows deviations in its implementation (i.e., “a plan, not a prison”) does not provide a more transparent evaluation of Mayoian severity than a non-preregistered procedure. In particular, I argue that sample-based validity-enhancing deviations cause an unknown inflation of the test procedure’s Type I error rate and, consequently, an unknown reduction in its capability to license inferences severely. I conclude that preregistration does not improve the transparent evaluation of severity (a) in Popper’s philosophy of science or (b) in Mayo’s approach when deviations are allowed.

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 14h

"Masculinity at the cultural level has consistent negative associations with well-being."

#SocialPsyc #AcademicSky

Jaclyn A. Siegel, PhD @jacasiegel.bsky.social · 15h

Really interesting new study out in SSM: "Precarious Manhood, Precarious Nations: The Contribution of Cultural Beliefs Comprising Masculinity to National Happiness”

More national precarious manhood beliefs = less national happiness, lower national GDP, shorter life expectancy, & less social support

Precarious Manhood, Precarious Nations: The Contribution of Cultural Beliefs Comprising Masculinity to National Happiness - ScienceDirect

www.sciencedirect.com

Reposted by Mark Rubin

Serge GUIMOND @seguimon1.bsky.social · 14h

#PsychSciSky #socialpsych #polisky #sociology #AcademicSky

The Handbook of Social Identity Research is arriving - check it out: www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/han...

Handbook of Social Identity Research

‘Much has been written about social identity as an explanatory theoretical framework. This Handbook is indispensable for those interested in the research methods and empirical results used to examine ...

www.e-elgar.com

Reposted by Mark Rubin

Jaclyn A. Siegel, PhD @jacasiegel.bsky.social · 15h

Precarious Manhood, Precarious Nations: The Contribution of Cultural Beliefs Comprising Masculinity to National Happiness - ScienceDirect

www.sciencedirect.com

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 2d

"Basic scientists consistently enhance scientific output quality, yet research and newly joining researchers have shifted toward applied orientations."

Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2509.01530

#PhilSci #MetaSci #AcademicSky 🧪

Despite broad acclaim for basic research, science is undergoing an applied shift that marginalizes basic scientists. This gap reflects an incomplete understanding of their distinctive roles, which prevents translating philosophical appreciation into effective support. We introduce a scalable metric--the application score--to position research along the basic-applied spectrum and apply it to 62 million publications (1970-2023) to reveal the distinctive contributions of basic scientists. We find a structural asymmetry: involvement of basic scientists substantially increases citation impact, even more so in applied contexts, while applied scientists show no such effect in basic domains. This asymmetric effect arises from their intellectual leadership in conceptualization, writing, and experimental design, amplified in large, multidisciplinary, and intermediate career teams. Yet basic scientists remain concentrated in historically prestigious institutions, while new entrants shift toward applied work, indicating critical undersupply. These findings provide large-scale evidence for the indispensable role of basic scientists, guiding policy and institutional strategy to sustain the foundations of discovery and innovation.

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 2d

And there’s a ton more psychology starter packs here…

#SocialPsyc #PsycSci #Psychology

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · Dec 5

Mega-thread of 68 psychology-related starter packs!

Start here and scroll up! ☝️

a man wearing sunglasses stands in front of a wall with the words scroll up above him

ALT: a man wearing sunglasses stands in front of a wall with the words scroll up above him

media.tenor.com

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 2d

Hi Mark! There’s a couple of social psychology starter packs here you might be interested in...

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

New work by Joelle-Cathrin Flöther and @julianedegner.bsky.social suggests we should integrate both positive and negative evaluations into measures of social identification.

#SocialPsyc #AcademicSky

Testing the multicomponent ingroup identification model in diverse stigmatized groups: model fit, group differences, and predictors of social identification

Social identities play a crucial role in shaping how individuals interpret their position in society and navigate social interactions to serve both personal and ingroup interests. Existing social i...

doi.org

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

"While ingroup evaluation may not always be positive, this does not preclude strong ingroup identification."

Open Access: doi.org/10.1080/1529...

Social identities play a crucial role in shaping how individuals interpret their position in society and navigate social interactions to serve both personal and ingroup interests. Existing social identity theorizing and research have offered only limited insights into how social identification operates among stigmatized group members, whose experiences may differ both in content and complexity from non-stigmatized group members. The present research addressed this gap by investigating the multicomponent ingroup identification model across 18 stigmatized groups in the U.S. (N = 3.969). Confirmatory factor analyses showed only an acceptable model fit for the overall sample and substantial variability in model fit and factor structure across subsamples – challenging assumptions of a universal social identification structure. Multilevel analyses revealed that between-group heterogeneity can be explained by group-level factors (socioeconomic status and group entitativity) and individual belief systems (permeability and legitimacy), aligning with core assumptions of Social Identity Theory. Our findings suggest important differences in social identification between stigmatized groups and point to both group- and individual-level determinants of social identification. We discuss the implications for existing measurement models and highlight the need for further theorizing and empirical work on social identification in the context of stigmatized identities.

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 3d

For Italian speakers...

Interview with Stefania Paolini from @durhampsych.bsky.social on the sense of belonging of multilingual communities in Australia.

#SocialPsyc

Io non mi sento australiano (ma per fortuna o purtroppo...)

Quanto ci sentiamo "a casa" in Australia? Uno studio recente ci ha offerto lo spunto per chiedere alla comunità italoaustraliana qual è il nostro senso di appartenenza alla società che ci ha accolti.

www.sbs.com.au

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 4d

Guest Editors on BSky:

@cbadea.bsky.social

@vincentyzerbyt.bsky.social

@beatricesternberg.bsky.social

#SocialPsyc #Sociology

Reposted by John Drury, Gordon Hodson, Mark J. Brandt , and 2 more John Drury, Gordon Hodson, Mark J. Brandt, Sofia Stathi, Constantina Badea

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 4d

-- Call for Papers --

Special issue on "Intersectionality in Social Psychology: Perspectives, Methods, and Applications" in the British Journal of Social Psychology.

Abstract submission deadline: 15 December 2025

<em>British Journal of Social Psychology</em> | Wiley Online Library

<em>British Journal of Social Psychology</em> is an international journal publishing impactful basic and applied social psychological research from all parts of the world.

bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Mark Rubin

xus9.bsky.social @xus9.bsky.social · 5d

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

"...Psychological interventions that decrease psychological distance or challenge system justification increase motivation to exert effort to mitigate climate change..."

Psychological interventions that decrease psychological distance or challenge system justification increase motivation to exert effort to mitigate climate change - Communications Psychology

Pro-environmental actions often require effort. Participants were less motivated to help the climate than a food charity, but two interventions removed this bias. Computational modelling linked climat...

www.nature.com

Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky, Mark Rubin, Calvin K. Lai , and 1 more Stephan Lewandowsky, Mark Rubin, Calvin K. Lai, Melanie C. Green

Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 5d

For each additional moral–emotional word in a social media post, the number of shares increases 13%

Our new meta-analysis finds robust evidence of moral contagion (N=4,821,006)

The moral contagion effect is even stronger in larger, pre-registered studies (17%).
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

Reposted by Mark Rubin

Gordon Hodson @gordonhodsonphd.bsky.social · 5d

#AcademicSky #PsychSciSky #Metascience

Yesterday in class, I talked about HARKING (hypothesizing after results are known).

Next....

I brought a little dollar-store bow and arrow (suction cups), to do a demonstration of this idea 👇