Nicole McNeil
@nicolemmcneil.bsky.social
Cognitive scientist, Carnegie Mellon alum. Mathematical cognition, symbolic reasoning, and reading research. Advocate for high impact tutoring and #opensci. On, Wisconsin! 🏟 Go Irish! ☘️
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
"The high-income admissions advantage at Ivy-Plus colleges is driven by three factors: (1) preferences for children of alumni, (2) weight placed on non-academic credentials, and (3) athletic recruitment...The three factors...are uncorrelated or negatively correlated with post-college outcomes..."
Recently accepted by #QJE, “Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges,” by Chetty (@Oppinsights), Deming, and Friedman: doi.org/10.1093/qje/...
Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges*
Abstract. We use anonymized admissions data from several colleges linked to income tax records and SAT and ACT test scores to study the determinants and ca
doi.org
November 23, 2025 at 10:51 PM
"The high-income admissions advantage at Ivy-Plus colleges is driven by three factors: (1) preferences for children of alumni, (2) weight placed on non-academic credentials, and (3) athletic recruitment...The three factors...are uncorrelated or negatively correlated with post-college outcomes..."
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Happy to share this new entry on numerical cognition for the OECS. Thanks to @hbaum.bsky.social and @mcxfrank.bsky.social for making this happen! Apologies if your work isn’t cited! Had to limit cites!!! oecs.mit.edu/pub/rek9756r...
Numerical Cognition
oecs.mit.edu
November 20, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Happy to share this new entry on numerical cognition for the OECS. Thanks to @hbaum.bsky.social and @mcxfrank.bsky.social for making this happen! Apologies if your work isn’t cited! Had to limit cites!!! oecs.mit.edu/pub/rek9756r...
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Arising out of discussions in @csi-research.bsky.social we conducted a Registered Report replicating Triplett’s (1898) experiment with over 400 children, showing children completed the task faster when paired with a coactor, compared to competing the task alone rdcu.be/eQwAE 1/3
A replication of Triplett’s ‘social facilitation experiment’
Scientific Reports - A replication of Triplett’s ‘social facilitation experiment’
rdcu.be
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Arising out of discussions in @csi-research.bsky.social we conducted a Registered Report replicating Triplett’s (1898) experiment with over 400 children, showing children completed the task faster when paired with a coactor, compared to competing the task alone rdcu.be/eQwAE 1/3
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
10th-Grade Prodigy Studying Mathematics At 10th-Grade Level https://theonion.com/10th-grade-prodigy-studying-mathematics-at-10th-grade-l-1819577209/
November 13, 2025 at 5:00 PM
10th-Grade Prodigy Studying Mathematics At 10th-Grade Level https://theonion.com/10th-grade-prodigy-studying-mathematics-at-10th-grade-l-1819577209/
Fantastic opportunity to work w/ some of THE BEST sociologists of education in the world. We have vibrant interdisciplinary educational research community at Notre Dame. Spread the word. 📣
2-yr postdoc opportunity in @ndsociology.bsky.social at the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity (CREO). iei.nd.edu/initiatives/...
CREO Postdoc Promotion | Institute for Educational Initiatives
iei.nd.edu
November 14, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Fantastic opportunity to work w/ some of THE BEST sociologists of education in the world. We have vibrant interdisciplinary educational research community at Notre Dame. Spread the word. 📣
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Forthcoming in AEJ: Economic Policy: "A Matter of Time? Measuring Effects of Public Schooling Expansions on Families" by Chloe R. Gibbs, Jocelyn Wikle, and Riley Wilson. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
A Matter of Time? Measuring Effects of Public Schooling Expansions on Families
(Forthcoming Article) - We leverage pronounced changes in the availability of public schooling for young children—
through duration expansions to the kindergarten day—to better understand how an impli...
www.aeaweb.org
October 3, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Forthcoming in AEJ: Economic Policy: "A Matter of Time? Measuring Effects of Public Schooling Expansions on Families" by Chloe R. Gibbs, Jocelyn Wikle, and Riley Wilson. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Ever wonder how habituation works? Here's our attempt to understand:
A stimulus-computable rational model of visual habituation in infants and adults doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
This is the thesis of two wonderful students: @anjiecao.bsky.social @galraz.bsky.social, w/ @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social
A stimulus-computable rational model of visual habituation in infants and adults doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
This is the thesis of two wonderful students: @anjiecao.bsky.social @galraz.bsky.social, w/ @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social
September 29, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Ever wonder how habituation works? Here's our attempt to understand:
A stimulus-computable rational model of visual habituation in infants and adults doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
This is the thesis of two wonderful students: @anjiecao.bsky.social @galraz.bsky.social, w/ @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social
A stimulus-computable rational model of visual habituation in infants and adults doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
This is the thesis of two wonderful students: @anjiecao.bsky.social @galraz.bsky.social, w/ @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Me: How much rice to fill 16 peppers for dolma?
Google AI: 12 peppers usually take 1 cup of rice. So for 16 peppers, you would need about 3-3.5 cups.
AI bros: AI will wipe out jobs!
Go eat at AI-run restaurants, you MFers!
Google AI: 12 peppers usually take 1 cup of rice. So for 16 peppers, you would need about 3-3.5 cups.
AI bros: AI will wipe out jobs!
Go eat at AI-run restaurants, you MFers!
September 27, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Me: How much rice to fill 16 peppers for dolma?
Google AI: 12 peppers usually take 1 cup of rice. So for 16 peppers, you would need about 3-3.5 cups.
AI bros: AI will wipe out jobs!
Go eat at AI-run restaurants, you MFers!
Google AI: 12 peppers usually take 1 cup of rice. So for 16 peppers, you would need about 3-3.5 cups.
AI bros: AI will wipe out jobs!
Go eat at AI-run restaurants, you MFers!
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Therapist: So, what are you doing with your one wild and precious life?
Me: Apparently, email. Also meetings
Therapist: That's not really...
Me: Tidying as well
Therapist:
Therapist: um
Me: Doomscrolling? What answer are you looking for
Me: Apparently, email. Also meetings
Therapist: That's not really...
Me: Tidying as well
Therapist:
Therapist: um
Me: Doomscrolling? What answer are you looking for
September 9, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Therapist: So, what are you doing with your one wild and precious life?
Me: Apparently, email. Also meetings
Therapist: That's not really...
Me: Tidying as well
Therapist:
Therapist: um
Me: Doomscrolling? What answer are you looking for
Me: Apparently, email. Also meetings
Therapist: That's not really...
Me: Tidying as well
Therapist:
Therapist: um
Me: Doomscrolling? What answer are you looking for
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
The Dept. of Psychology at the U. Wisconsin–Madison has an opening for an Assistant Professor in the area of Computational Neuroscience and/or Cognitive Science, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI).
Domain of behavior or cognition is open. Details at jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...
Domain of behavior or cognition is open. Details at jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...
Assistant Professor of Psychology - Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:FacultyEmployment Type:Regula...
jobs.wisc.edu
September 9, 2025 at 9:08 PM
The Dept. of Psychology at the U. Wisconsin–Madison has an opening for an Assistant Professor in the area of Computational Neuroscience and/or Cognitive Science, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI).
Domain of behavior or cognition is open. Details at jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...
Domain of behavior or cognition is open. Details at jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
🌟 Excited to share that I'm recruiting PhD students in Psychology for my new lab at Rice University this cycle (Signal boost appreciated!)
To learn more, check out the Learning & Behavior Change Lab website:
www.sinclairlab-rice.com
Applications are due Dec 1st: psychology.rice.edu/graduate/pro...
To learn more, check out the Learning & Behavior Change Lab website:
www.sinclairlab-rice.com
Applications are due Dec 1st: psychology.rice.edu/graduate/pro...
Sinclair Lab
The Learning & Behavior Change Lab at Rice University, directed by Dr. Sinclair
www.sinclairlab-rice.com
September 8, 2025 at 3:45 PM
🌟 Excited to share that I'm recruiting PhD students in Psychology for my new lab at Rice University this cycle (Signal boost appreciated!)
To learn more, check out the Learning & Behavior Change Lab website:
www.sinclairlab-rice.com
Applications are due Dec 1st: psychology.rice.edu/graduate/pro...
To learn more, check out the Learning & Behavior Change Lab website:
www.sinclairlab-rice.com
Applications are due Dec 1st: psychology.rice.edu/graduate/pro...
"[Many psychologists] only care about what’s published in psychology journals. This might not be a bad career move... but... it's intellectually... disappointing."
September 10, 2025 at 1:29 AM
"[Many psychologists] only care about what’s published in psychology journals. This might not be a bad career move... but... it's intellectually... disappointing."
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
ANSWER: 0 (yes, ZERO!)
This is a result of an analysis done by a student in my grad seminar, using a large dataset (N=307,313).
What this result might mean: Nobody's personality is truly "average," and people's personality profiles (at least Big 5) might be more "jagged" than we think.
(🧵 1/5)
This is a result of an analysis done by a student in my grad seminar, using a large dataset (N=307,313).
What this result might mean: Nobody's personality is truly "average," and people's personality profiles (at least Big 5) might be more "jagged" than we think.
(🧵 1/5)
Imagine you have Big 5 personality scores from over 300,000 people. You designate the scores in the "mean +/- 0.25 SDs" range for each trait (~20%) as the average range.
QUESTION: How many people in this >300K sample do you think fall in the average range for ALL 5 TRAITS?
What's your answer?
QUESTION: How many people in this >300K sample do you think fall in the average range for ALL 5 TRAITS?
What's your answer?
September 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
ANSWER: 0 (yes, ZERO!)
This is a result of an analysis done by a student in my grad seminar, using a large dataset (N=307,313).
What this result might mean: Nobody's personality is truly "average," and people's personality profiles (at least Big 5) might be more "jagged" than we think.
(🧵 1/5)
This is a result of an analysis done by a student in my grad seminar, using a large dataset (N=307,313).
What this result might mean: Nobody's personality is truly "average," and people's personality profiles (at least Big 5) might be more "jagged" than we think.
(🧵 1/5)
There's a teacher shortage in US classrooms. Andrew Kwok will be at Notre Dame to share how to strengthen the educator pipeline. He'll discuss how early teaching exposure can attract diverse, high-achieving prospective educators.
Join us, September 12, 1pm, Remick Commons. Open to the public.
Join us, September 12, 1pm, Remick Commons. Open to the public.
September 3, 2025 at 3:36 AM
There's a teacher shortage in US classrooms. Andrew Kwok will be at Notre Dame to share how to strengthen the educator pipeline. He'll discuss how early teaching exposure can attract diverse, high-achieving prospective educators.
Join us, September 12, 1pm, Remick Commons. Open to the public.
Join us, September 12, 1pm, Remick Commons. Open to the public.
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Ever stared at a table of regression coefficients & wondered what you're doing with your life?
Very excited to share this gentle introduction to another way of making sense of statistical models (w @vincentab.bsky.social)
Preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Website: j-rohrer.github.io/marginal-psy...
Very excited to share this gentle introduction to another way of making sense of statistical models (w @vincentab.bsky.social)
Preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Website: j-rohrer.github.io/marginal-psy...
August 25, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Ever stared at a table of regression coefficients & wondered what you're doing with your life?
Very excited to share this gentle introduction to another way of making sense of statistical models (w @vincentab.bsky.social)
Preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Website: j-rohrer.github.io/marginal-psy...
Very excited to share this gentle introduction to another way of making sense of statistical models (w @vincentab.bsky.social)
Preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Website: j-rohrer.github.io/marginal-psy...
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Learn more about how keywords are not helpful for solving math word problems! ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
August 20, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Learn more about how keywords are not helpful for solving math word problems! ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Kids These Days...behavior problems aren't changing.
In over 418,000 children from nationally-representative samples, child behavior problems are pretty similar as in the 1980s, with most changes being improvements, not declines.
Our work led by Zsofia Takacs
#psych #phdsky
osf.io/63egm_v1/dow...
In over 418,000 children from nationally-representative samples, child behavior problems are pretty similar as in the 1980s, with most changes being improvements, not declines.
Our work led by Zsofia Takacs
#psych #phdsky
osf.io/63egm_v1/dow...
August 14, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Kids These Days...behavior problems aren't changing.
In over 418,000 children from nationally-representative samples, child behavior problems are pretty similar as in the 1980s, with most changes being improvements, not declines.
Our work led by Zsofia Takacs
#psych #phdsky
osf.io/63egm_v1/dow...
In over 418,000 children from nationally-representative samples, child behavior problems are pretty similar as in the 1980s, with most changes being improvements, not declines.
Our work led by Zsofia Takacs
#psych #phdsky
osf.io/63egm_v1/dow...
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
“Public support for science, and for public television, makes it possible… This isn’t a partisan issue. Because science doesn’t just live in D.C. or Silicon Valley. It lives here too, in small-town Southwestern Pennsylvania, in our families and our futures.”
Science belongs to all of us! Check out this piece Clarissa Thompson and I wrote for a small town paper in southwestern PA as part of the brilliant Science Homecoming @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social series by @cantlonlab.bsky.social and @spiantado.bsky.social. www.dailycourier.com/opinion/why-...
Why science belongs to all of us
Growing up in our small towns outside Pittsburgh in the 1980s, we never knew science and math weren’t “for us.” We counted from 1-12 with Sesame Street’s jazzy “Pinball Number
www.dailycourier.com
August 19, 2025 at 10:36 AM
“Public support for science, and for public television, makes it possible… This isn’t a partisan issue. Because science doesn’t just live in D.C. or Silicon Valley. It lives here too, in small-town Southwestern Pennsylvania, in our families and our futures.”
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Science is absolutely for everyone! And it's important to expose all kids to science at a young age. Thanks so much to the authors for this article. @scienceiselemental.bsky.social
Science belongs to all of us! Check out this piece Clarissa Thompson and I wrote for a small town paper in southwestern PA as part of the brilliant Science Homecoming @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social series by @cantlonlab.bsky.social and @spiantado.bsky.social. www.dailycourier.com/opinion/why-...
Why science belongs to all of us
Growing up in our small towns outside Pittsburgh in the 1980s, we never knew science and math weren’t “for us.” We counted from 1-12 with Sesame Street’s jazzy “Pinball Number
www.dailycourier.com
August 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Science is absolutely for everyone! And it's important to expose all kids to science at a young age. Thanks so much to the authors for this article. @scienceiselemental.bsky.social
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
A clear message about the value of science for Pennsylvania 🧪🏠
Science belongs to all of us! Check out this piece Clarissa Thompson and I wrote for a small town paper in southwestern PA as part of the brilliant Science Homecoming @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social series by @cantlonlab.bsky.social and @spiantado.bsky.social. www.dailycourier.com/opinion/why-...
Why science belongs to all of us
Growing up in our small towns outside Pittsburgh in the 1980s, we never knew science and math weren’t “for us.” We counted from 1-12 with Sesame Street’s jazzy “Pinball Number
www.dailycourier.com
August 18, 2025 at 8:46 PM
A clear message about the value of science for Pennsylvania 🧪🏠
Science belongs to all of us! Check out this piece Clarissa Thompson and I wrote for a small town paper in southwestern PA as part of the brilliant Science Homecoming @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social series by @cantlonlab.bsky.social and @spiantado.bsky.social. www.dailycourier.com/opinion/why-...
Why science belongs to all of us
Growing up in our small towns outside Pittsburgh in the 1980s, we never knew science and math weren’t “for us.” We counted from 1-12 with Sesame Street’s jazzy “Pinball Number
www.dailycourier.com
August 18, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Science belongs to all of us! Check out this piece Clarissa Thompson and I wrote for a small town paper in southwestern PA as part of the brilliant Science Homecoming @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social series by @cantlonlab.bsky.social and @spiantado.bsky.social. www.dailycourier.com/opinion/why-...
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
AI slop and the destruction of knowledge irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2025/08/12/a...
AI slop and the destruction of knowledge
This week I was looking for info on what cognitive scientists mean when they speak of ‘domain-general’ cognition. I was curious, because the nuances are relevant for something I am researching at t…
irisvanrooijcogsci.com
August 12, 2025 at 10:12 PM
AI slop and the destruction of knowledge irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2025/08/12/a...
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Learn about the Department of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame @notredame.bsky.social & other sociology depts in the 2025 ASA Guide to Graduate Departments of Sociology. Now completely online and free for ASA members. Also available for a fee to nonmembers. https://bit.ly/ASAGradGuide
August 7, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Learn about the Department of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame @notredame.bsky.social & other sociology depts in the 2025 ASA Guide to Graduate Departments of Sociology. Now completely online and free for ASA members. Also available for a fee to nonmembers. https://bit.ly/ASAGradGuide
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
music lessons don't make kids smarter, but many people have assumed that music lessons would have near-transfer effects, e.g. improving aspects of auditory perception
big new study led by Andrew Oxenham says "nope".
music lessons make kids better at music & that's good enough reason to do 'em !
big new study led by Andrew Oxenham says "nope".
music lessons make kids better at music & that's good enough reason to do 'em !
Large-scale multi-site study shows no association between musical training and early auditory neural sound encoding - Nature Communications
Widely cited studies have claimed that musical training is associated with enhanced neural encoding for sound at early stages of the auditory system. Results from this large-scale multisite study do n...
www.nature.com
August 9, 2025 at 1:01 AM
music lessons don't make kids smarter, but many people have assumed that music lessons would have near-transfer effects, e.g. improving aspects of auditory perception
big new study led by Andrew Oxenham says "nope".
music lessons make kids better at music & that's good enough reason to do 'em !
big new study led by Andrew Oxenham says "nope".
music lessons make kids better at music & that's good enough reason to do 'em !
Reposted by Nicole McNeil
Was looking into what Cognitive Scientists mean by ‘domain-general’ cognition, and then hit upon this. This is definitely NOT how we use that term.
Tip: read the last sentence to understand what went wrong here.
Sigh.
Tip: read the last sentence to understand what went wrong here.
Sigh.
August 4, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Was looking into what Cognitive Scientists mean by ‘domain-general’ cognition, and then hit upon this. This is definitely NOT how we use that term.
Tip: read the last sentence to understand what went wrong here.
Sigh.
Tip: read the last sentence to understand what went wrong here.
Sigh.