Rob Booth
@robertbooth.bsky.social
Psychology researcher at Sabanci University. Interested in cognition in anxiety and depression. Also, diving!
Reposted by Rob Booth
Don't forget to register for SAS 2026! While you can still register up til the day of the conference, you get the best rates with the early bird special 🐥🦜🐦⬛ #SAS2026
January 30, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Don't forget to register for SAS 2026! While you can still register up til the day of the conference, you get the best rates with the early bird special 🐥🦜🐦⬛ #SAS2026
I need a postdoc for my project “Panel Studies of Optimism Bias and Positive Mood”.
I need someone with an interest in affective science, very strong English and writing skills, and experience of using SEM with longitudinal data.
Thread continues ...
I need someone with an interest in affective science, very strong English and writing skills, and experience of using SEM with longitudinal data.
Thread continues ...
January 30, 2026 at 12:32 PM
I need a postdoc for my project “Panel Studies of Optimism Bias and Positive Mood”.
I need someone with an interest in affective science, very strong English and writing skills, and experience of using SEM with longitudinal data.
Thread continues ...
I need someone with an interest in affective science, very strong English and writing skills, and experience of using SEM with longitudinal data.
Thread continues ...
Bodmin Moor was looking gorgeous this morning ... misty and mysterious ...
January 22, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Bodmin Moor was looking gorgeous this morning ... misty and mysterious ...
Today, TÜBİTAK have funded my project on optimism bias and positive mood. Thanks, folks! 🤓
This means I will soon need a postdoc. If you are interested in affective science, and have some experience with longitudinal SEM analyses, please get in touch with me!
This means I will soon need a postdoc. If you are interested in affective science, and have some experience with longitudinal SEM analyses, please get in touch with me!
January 19, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Today, TÜBİTAK have funded my project on optimism bias and positive mood. Thanks, folks! 🤓
This means I will soon need a postdoc. If you are interested in affective science, and have some experience with longitudinal SEM analyses, please get in touch with me!
This means I will soon need a postdoc. If you are interested in affective science, and have some experience with longitudinal SEM analyses, please get in touch with me!
Veronika the cow shows evidence of tool use? Wow!
"There is no suggestion that Veronika’s skills are evidence of the evolution of an ominous new species of super-cow." 🤓
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
"There is no suggestion that Veronika’s skills are evidence of the evolution of an ominous new species of super-cow." 🤓
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows
Brown Swiss in Austria has been discovered using tools in different ways – something only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Veronika the cow shows evidence of tool use? Wow!
"There is no suggestion that Veronika’s skills are evidence of the evolution of an ominous new species of super-cow." 🤓
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
"There is no suggestion that Veronika’s skills are evidence of the evolution of an ominous new species of super-cow." 🤓
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Halfway through dinner, my Turkish/English boy spontaneously made himself a meatball-and-yogurt sandwich 🥰 🧿
Happy New Year!
İyi seneler!
Happy New Year!
İyi seneler!
December 31, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Halfway through dinner, my Turkish/English boy spontaneously made himself a meatball-and-yogurt sandwich 🥰 🧿
Happy New Year!
İyi seneler!
Happy New Year!
İyi seneler!
New preprint!
Not a headline-grabber, but an important step for my lab group: Demonstrating the good psychometric properties of my probability bias (expectancy bias) measure.
The preprint, and the measure in both English and Turkish, are freely available here:
doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GXJK8
Not a headline-grabber, but an important step for my lab group: Demonstrating the good psychometric properties of my probability bias (expectancy bias) measure.
The preprint, and the measure in both English and Turkish, are freely available here:
doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GXJK8
October 7, 2025 at 10:37 AM
New preprint!
Not a headline-grabber, but an important step for my lab group: Demonstrating the good psychometric properties of my probability bias (expectancy bias) measure.
The preprint, and the measure in both English and Turkish, are freely available here:
doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GXJK8
Not a headline-grabber, but an important step for my lab group: Demonstrating the good psychometric properties of my probability bias (expectancy bias) measure.
The preprint, and the measure in both English and Turkish, are freely available here:
doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GXJK8
Turns out @mikeflanaganfilm.com , @stephenking.bsky.social and @markhamillofficial.bsky.social were right: I just saw The Life of Chuck, and it really is excellent.
Well done, lads.
Well done, lads.
August 3, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Turns out @mikeflanaganfilm.com , @stephenking.bsky.social and @markhamillofficial.bsky.social were right: I just saw The Life of Chuck, and it really is excellent.
Well done, lads.
Well done, lads.
New preprint!
"Increasing Depressive Symptoms of Students in Turkey (Türkiye), 1990-2023: Effects of Gender, Socioeconomic Status, Anxiety, and the COVID-19 Pandemic"
This is under review: the final published version may end up looking very different to this ;)
doi.org/10.17605/OSF...
"Increasing Depressive Symptoms of Students in Turkey (Türkiye), 1990-2023: Effects of Gender, Socioeconomic Status, Anxiety, and the COVID-19 Pandemic"
This is under review: the final published version may end up looking very different to this ;)
doi.org/10.17605/OSF...
Increasing Depressive Symptoms of Students in Turkey (Türkiye), 1990-2023: Effects of Gender, Socioeconomic Status, Anxiety, and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Manuscript under review.
This project includes the dataset, and the preprint.
Hosted on the Open Science Framework
doi.org
July 28, 2025 at 6:12 AM
New preprint!
"Increasing Depressive Symptoms of Students in Turkey (Türkiye), 1990-2023: Effects of Gender, Socioeconomic Status, Anxiety, and the COVID-19 Pandemic"
This is under review: the final published version may end up looking very different to this ;)
doi.org/10.17605/OSF...
"Increasing Depressive Symptoms of Students in Turkey (Türkiye), 1990-2023: Effects of Gender, Socioeconomic Status, Anxiety, and the COVID-19 Pandemic"
This is under review: the final published version may end up looking very different to this ;)
doi.org/10.17605/OSF...
Trying to submit my paper from the cafe at Dolmabahçe Palace today ... Keep getting distracted by dolphins 😍
July 15, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Trying to submit my paper from the cafe at Dolmabahçe Palace today ... Keep getting distracted by dolphins 😍
Really enjoyed @helenlewis.bsky.social 's new book, The Genius Myth. Interesting historical perspective, and I love the idea of 'scenius'
Pairs nicely with The Intelligence Trap ( @davidarobson.bsky.social )
Pairs nicely with The Intelligence Trap ( @davidarobson.bsky.social )
July 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Really enjoyed @helenlewis.bsky.social 's new book, The Genius Myth. Interesting historical perspective, and I love the idea of 'scenius'
Pairs nicely with The Intelligence Trap ( @davidarobson.bsky.social )
Pairs nicely with The Intelligence Trap ( @davidarobson.bsky.social )
Had a nice little rec dive in Cyprus last week. Thanks to Ray at Dive Point Cyprus!
youtu.be/7RxSp_naDiU?...
youtu.be/7RxSp_naDiU?...
Diving at Cynthiana Beach, Paphos, July 2025
YouTube video by GUE TR
youtu.be
July 11, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Had a nice little rec dive in Cyprus last week. Thanks to Ray at Dive Point Cyprus!
youtu.be/7RxSp_naDiU?...
youtu.be/7RxSp_naDiU?...
I'm very late mentioning this, but I had a good time at the European Congress of Psychology in Cyprus last week!
Spoke about my recent paper on the Best Possible Self intervention, and met some nice people :)
Spoke about my recent paper on the Best Possible Self intervention, and met some nice people :)
July 10, 2025 at 5:45 PM
I'm very late mentioning this, but I had a good time at the European Congress of Psychology in Cyprus last week!
Spoke about my recent paper on the Best Possible Self intervention, and met some nice people :)
Spoke about my recent paper on the Best Possible Self intervention, and met some nice people :)
Just bagged tickets to see @danielsloss.bsky.social in Istanbul... Again!
Said to my wife: "Daniel Sloss is coming back"
She said: "Why..?"
Said to my wife: "Daniel Sloss is coming back"
She said: "Why..?"
July 10, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Just bagged tickets to see @danielsloss.bsky.social in Istanbul... Again!
Said to my wife: "Daniel Sloss is coming back"
She said: "Why..?"
Said to my wife: "Daniel Sloss is coming back"
She said: "Why..?"
Reposted by Rob Booth
“I asked chatGPT-“ ok, and I asked Tinsel, and she said you’re an uninspired, vapid dork who needs a computer to think for them.
May 10, 2025 at 2:17 AM
“I asked chatGPT-“ ok, and I asked Tinsel, and she said you’re an uninspired, vapid dork who needs a computer to think for them.
Reposted by Rob Booth
The wildest thing about being a professor is that it's somehow acceptable to email the smartest experts in the world to help you with your homework, and they just...write you back with help.
Sometimes they compliment your question, or even thank you for asking.
It's bonkers.
Sometimes they compliment your question, or even thank you for asking.
It's bonkers.
May 8, 2025 at 9:05 PM
The wildest thing about being a professor is that it's somehow acceptable to email the smartest experts in the world to help you with your homework, and they just...write you back with help.
Sometimes they compliment your question, or even thank you for asking.
It's bonkers.
Sometimes they compliment your question, or even thank you for asking.
It's bonkers.
I'm gonna give my barista the benefit of the doubt, and assume this was meant to be a heart
May 6, 2025 at 7:28 AM
I'm gonna give my barista the benefit of the doubt, and assume this was meant to be a heart
Sabanci University, Istanbul, is accepting applications for master's and PhD programs in Psychology!
There will be events on 8th May (Tuzla campus; 14:30, FASS 1089) and 13th May (Minerva Han, Karaköy; 16:00-19:00) where you can meet some of us, and learn about the programs and scholarships.
There will be events on 8th May (Tuzla campus; 14:30, FASS 1089) and 13th May (Minerva Han, Karaköy; 16:00-19:00) where you can meet some of us, and learn about the programs and scholarships.
May 5, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Sabanci University, Istanbul, is accepting applications for master's and PhD programs in Psychology!
There will be events on 8th May (Tuzla campus; 14:30, FASS 1089) and 13th May (Minerva Han, Karaköy; 16:00-19:00) where you can meet some of us, and learn about the programs and scholarships.
There will be events on 8th May (Tuzla campus; 14:30, FASS 1089) and 13th May (Minerva Han, Karaköy; 16:00-19:00) where you can meet some of us, and learn about the programs and scholarships.
Reposted by Rob Booth
‘Dangerous nonsense’: AI-authored books about ADHD for sale on Amazon
‘Dangerous nonsense’: AI-authored books about ADHD for sale on Amazon
Experts say online retailer has ethical responsibility to guard against chatbot-generated work on sensitive topics
Amazon is selling books marketed at people seeking techniques to manage their ADHD that claim to offer expert advice yet appear to be authored by a chatbot such as ChatGPT.
Amazon’s marketplace has been deluged with AI-produced works that are easy and cheap to publish, but which include unhelpful or dangerous misinformation, such as shoddy travel guidebooks and mushroom foraging books that encourage risky tasting. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
May 4, 2025 at 3:22 PM
‘Dangerous nonsense’: AI-authored books about ADHD for sale on Amazon
New preprint!
Probability Bias Predicts Depressive Symptom Severity, Independently of Optimism/Pessimism and Intolerance of Uncertainty
By Robert W. Booth (me!) and Dinkar Sharma. Freely available from the link below.
NOT YET PEER REVIEWED, will probably change!
doi.org/10.17605/OSF...
Probability Bias Predicts Depressive Symptom Severity, Independently of Optimism/Pessimism and Intolerance of Uncertainty
By Robert W. Booth (me!) and Dinkar Sharma. Freely available from the link below.
NOT YET PEER REVIEWED, will probably change!
doi.org/10.17605/OSF...
Fork of Probability bias, optimism/pessimism, intolerance of uncertainty
Manuscript submitted for publication.
Hosted on the Open Science Framework
doi.org
April 28, 2025 at 6:56 PM
New preprint!
Probability Bias Predicts Depressive Symptom Severity, Independently of Optimism/Pessimism and Intolerance of Uncertainty
By Robert W. Booth (me!) and Dinkar Sharma. Freely available from the link below.
NOT YET PEER REVIEWED, will probably change!
doi.org/10.17605/OSF...
Probability Bias Predicts Depressive Symptom Severity, Independently of Optimism/Pessimism and Intolerance of Uncertainty
By Robert W. Booth (me!) and Dinkar Sharma. Freely available from the link below.
NOT YET PEER REVIEWED, will probably change!
doi.org/10.17605/OSF...
PC did a weird update today, and threw me a spectacular error message.
I guess it HAS been a while since I worked on that document!
I guess it HAS been a while since I worked on that document!
April 28, 2025 at 5:33 PM
PC did a weird update today, and threw me a spectacular error message.
I guess it HAS been a while since I worked on that document!
I guess it HAS been a while since I worked on that document!
Interesting time at the International Conference on Positive Psychology at Üsküdar U. last weekend. Thanks to Ebru Morgül for chairing the session!
Presented my recent work, showing that optimism bias (optimistic expectancies) predict positive mood up to 4 weeks later. Preprint coming soon ...
Presented my recent work, showing that optimism bias (optimistic expectancies) predict positive mood up to 4 weeks later. Preprint coming soon ...
April 22, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Interesting time at the International Conference on Positive Psychology at Üsküdar U. last weekend. Thanks to Ebru Morgül for chairing the session!
Presented my recent work, showing that optimism bias (optimistic expectancies) predict positive mood up to 4 weeks later. Preprint coming soon ...
Presented my recent work, showing that optimism bias (optimistic expectancies) predict positive mood up to 4 weeks later. Preprint coming soon ...
Reposted by Rob Booth
We are so excited to announce our Free Summer Prize Draw!
Spotted any ghost gear whilst diving?
You can win a GFUK prize bundle worth up to £100!
It includes a hoody, tee and a bracelet.
Competition information and full T&Cs here
www.ghostfishing.co.uk/competition/
Spotted any ghost gear whilst diving?
You can win a GFUK prize bundle worth up to £100!
It includes a hoody, tee and a bracelet.
Competition information and full T&Cs here
www.ghostfishing.co.uk/competition/
April 18, 2025 at 11:10 AM
We are so excited to announce our Free Summer Prize Draw!
Spotted any ghost gear whilst diving?
You can win a GFUK prize bundle worth up to £100!
It includes a hoody, tee and a bracelet.
Competition information and full T&Cs here
www.ghostfishing.co.uk/competition/
Spotted any ghost gear whilst diving?
You can win a GFUK prize bundle worth up to £100!
It includes a hoody, tee and a bracelet.
Competition information and full T&Cs here
www.ghostfishing.co.uk/competition/
Just sharing this interesting new paper from Duffy et al. In two studies, the Best Possible Self intervention reduced anxiety scores, by about half a standard deviation.
This is consistent with my recent RCT. Can the BPS be useful for anxious people? Worth following up!
doi.org/10.1080/1743...
This is consistent with my recent RCT. Can the BPS be useful for anxious people? Worth following up!
doi.org/10.1080/1743...
Efficacy of the Best Possible Self intervention for generalised anxiety: exploration of mediators and moderators
Generalised anxiety is increasingly prevalent, yet access to therapeutic interventions remains limited. We present two randomised control trials aimed to investigate the efficacy of the Best Possib...
doi.org
April 9, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Just sharing this interesting new paper from Duffy et al. In two studies, the Best Possible Self intervention reduced anxiety scores, by about half a standard deviation.
This is consistent with my recent RCT. Can the BPS be useful for anxious people? Worth following up!
doi.org/10.1080/1743...
This is consistent with my recent RCT. Can the BPS be useful for anxious people? Worth following up!
doi.org/10.1080/1743...
Reposted by Rob Booth
Happy to share this new article published open access in BRAT🎉📢:
In a relatively large experimental study funded by @dfg.de, we examined cognitive immunisation as a mechanism of biased belief updating in depression. Results suggest a nuanced picture. See more 👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
In a relatively large experimental study funded by @dfg.de, we examined cognitive immunisation as a mechanism of biased belief updating in depression. Results suggest a nuanced picture. See more 👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
How people with major depression adjust their expectations of future life events in response to other patients’ reports of the positive effects of psychotherapy
Research proposed the devaluation of positive information, referred to as cognitive immunisation, as a mechanism underlying the persistence of negativ…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 6, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Happy to share this new article published open access in BRAT🎉📢:
In a relatively large experimental study funded by @dfg.de, we examined cognitive immunisation as a mechanism of biased belief updating in depression. Results suggest a nuanced picture. See more 👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
In a relatively large experimental study funded by @dfg.de, we examined cognitive immunisation as a mechanism of biased belief updating in depression. Results suggest a nuanced picture. See more 👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...