Dr Judy Watts
@wattsupdoc.bsky.social
Asst. Professor at University of Kansas, Ph.D. The Ohio State University. Research on narrative persuasion, children and media, media effects, media psychology. Sometimes, I grow sunflowers (see pic) and tomatoes. Aspiring scuba diver.
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Friends— here it is. Updated & expanded thanks to the space afforded to me in the @therumpus.net & the guidance of the brilliant @roxanegay.bsky.social’s edits. The win centers Muslims humanity — but what does that mean in a country that rejects that?
therumpus.net/2025/11/05/z...
therumpus.net/2025/11/05/z...
November 5, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Friends— here it is. Updated & expanded thanks to the space afforded to me in the @therumpus.net & the guidance of the brilliant @roxanegay.bsky.social’s edits. The win centers Muslims humanity — but what does that mean in a country that rejects that?
therumpus.net/2025/11/05/z...
therumpus.net/2025/11/05/z...
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Computationally, whitespace gets little attention—it’s usually standardized or stripped.
But in poetry, whitespace matters!
Yet actually *preserving* that poetic whitespace is v tough. Its slipperiness points to bigger issues w/ text processing & LLMs.
New paper ⬜️ aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
But in poetry, whitespace matters!
Yet actually *preserving* that poetic whitespace is v tough. Its slipperiness points to bigger issues w/ text processing & LLMs.
New paper ⬜️ aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
November 3, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Computationally, whitespace gets little attention—it’s usually standardized or stripped.
But in poetry, whitespace matters!
Yet actually *preserving* that poetic whitespace is v tough. Its slipperiness points to bigger issues w/ text processing & LLMs.
New paper ⬜️ aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
But in poetry, whitespace matters!
Yet actually *preserving* that poetic whitespace is v tough. Its slipperiness points to bigger issues w/ text processing & LLMs.
New paper ⬜️ aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
Everyone of a certain age will say the bees in My Girl
November 2, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Everyone of a certain age will say the bees in My Girl
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Hey folks! The Violence Prevention Center at UNC Charlotte is looking for a postdoc in suicide prevention training! Great opportunity to work with a talented group on important research related to mental health https://jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/64918
Postdoctoral Fellow in Suicide Prevention Training
This position is not remote-eligible. The holder of the postdoctoral fellowship will:Coordinate multi-site team meetings and communication.Oversee feasibility/acceptability data collection efforts in coordination with Ohio State University partners.Prepare datasets for and support the execution of data analysis.Co-author project-related institutional review board (IRB) and other regulatory documents.Co-author project-related scholarly and other outputs.Co-develop training materials and recordings the suicide prevention training program.Participate in weekly supervision and mentoring meetings with the project PI Dr. Cramer.Participate in periodic co-supervision meetings with project Co-Is (Dr. Sam Cacace, Dr. Jessamyn Moxie, Dr. Annelise Mennicke).Conduct an individualized mentoring plan (IMP) to establish their own research agenda within the Violence Prevention Center.Support Violence Prevention Center research and operations.Participate in other interprofessional team science research in areas such as suicide prevention, military health, sexual and gender minority (SGM) health, violence prevention, and/or other areas.Participate in the UNC Charlotte Department of Public Health and Health Administration meetings and professional development opportunities.As an EOE/AA employer and an ADVANCE Institution that strives to create an academic climate in which the dignity of all individuals is respected and maintained, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte encourages applications from all underrepresented groups. Applicants subject to criminal background check.The candidate chosen for this position will be required to provide an official transcript of their highest earned degree.
jobs.charlotte.edu
November 2, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Hey folks! The Violence Prevention Center at UNC Charlotte is looking for a postdoc in suicide prevention training! Great opportunity to work with a talented group on important research related to mental health https://jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/64918
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Men tend to stick to music they love in their teens, whilst women constantly adapt tastes, suggests a new study🎵
Findings show the deepest musical attachments hit men aged 16, but women 19; and this is why older songs sink their claws in deep for men🎸
spr.ly/601471cRw
Findings show the deepest musical attachments hit men aged 16, but women 19; and this is why older songs sink their claws in deep for men🎸
spr.ly/601471cRw
October 30, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Men tend to stick to music they love in their teens, whilst women constantly adapt tastes, suggests a new study🎵
Findings show the deepest musical attachments hit men aged 16, but women 19; and this is why older songs sink their claws in deep for men🎸
spr.ly/601471cRw
Findings show the deepest musical attachments hit men aged 16, but women 19; and this is why older songs sink their claws in deep for men🎸
spr.ly/601471cRw
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
@adrianmeier.bsky.social turned me on to "jingle" and "jangle" fallacies while at #MediaPsych, giving me some verbiage for things we talk about more frequently. There's a fuller look at these phenomena here:
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
Frontiers | Detecting jingle and jangle fallacies by identifying consistencies and variabilities in study specifications – a call for research
Over the past few years, more attention has been paid to jingle and jangle fallacies in psychological science. Jingle fallacies arise when two or more distin...
www.frontiersin.org
October 29, 2025 at 3:14 PM
@adrianmeier.bsky.social turned me on to "jingle" and "jangle" fallacies while at #MediaPsych, giving me some verbiage for things we talk about more frequently. There's a fuller look at these phenomena here:
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
We say we want uplifting media, but our revealed preferences tell another story. We often pick darker, more intense content. This @npr.org piece covers our lab’s research on why, and includes great advice from @aeden.bsky.social on building intentional media habits.
Social media can push us to the dark side, with negative content. A new study finds watching inspiring videos for just 3 minutes a day is on par with meditation for boosting mood and reducing stress. n.pr/4quxZB8
Got 3 minutes? This habit may help boost hope and reduce stress
Social media can push us to the dark side, with negative content. A new study finds watching inspiring videos for just 3 minutes a day is on par with meditation for boosting mood and reducing stress.
n.pr
October 27, 2025 at 8:45 PM
We say we want uplifting media, but our revealed preferences tell another story. We often pick darker, more intense content. This @npr.org piece covers our lab’s research on why, and includes great advice from @aeden.bsky.social on building intentional media habits.
For once not feeling FOMO
“Prompt parties,” gatherings of women over cheese and wine to chat about how ChatGPT can help them, are emerging as the next-generation of Tupperware party in San Francisco.
Wine, Cheese and ChatGPT: Ladies’ Night in San Francisco
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:30 PM
For once not feeling FOMO
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Interested in…
a) taking theories out of the lab (and try to specify them to work irl)
b) computational methods (data donations, LLM content analysis)
c) media coping
d) all of the above?
Then our new HCR-paper is *just* for you! doi.org/10.1093/hcr/...
a) taking theories out of the lab (and try to specify them to work irl)
b) computational methods (data donations, LLM content analysis)
c) media coping
d) all of the above?
Then our new HCR-paper is *just* for you! doi.org/10.1093/hcr/...
October 9, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Interested in…
a) taking theories out of the lab (and try to specify them to work irl)
b) computational methods (data donations, LLM content analysis)
c) media coping
d) all of the above?
Then our new HCR-paper is *just* for you! doi.org/10.1093/hcr/...
a) taking theories out of the lab (and try to specify them to work irl)
b) computational methods (data donations, LLM content analysis)
c) media coping
d) all of the above?
Then our new HCR-paper is *just* for you! doi.org/10.1093/hcr/...
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
October 8, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
An important reminder that technology doesn’t exist outside of culture. When AI misses social context, it risks misunderstanding, harm, and reinforcing bias — showing why cultural nuance must be part of responsible design.
New research shows how AI models default to Western-style directness, missing the cultural cues that govern everyday interactions for millions of Persian speakers worldwide — with the potential to derail negotiations, damage relationships, and reinforce stereotypes. arstechnica.com/ai/2025/09/w...
When “no” means “yes”: Why AI chatbots can’t process Persian social etiquette
New study examines how a helpful AI response could become a cultural disaster in Iran.
arstechnica.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:53 PM
An important reminder that technology doesn’t exist outside of culture. When AI misses social context, it risks misunderstanding, harm, and reinforcing bias — showing why cultural nuance must be part of responsible design.
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Thrilled to see this paper out! It's the culmination of a project begun in the depths of the pandemic with Sabrina Karjack and @zoengo.bsky.social . We continue our exploration of how children generalize when their episodic memory is not yet mature.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The dependence of children’s generalization on episodic memory varies with age and level of abstraction - Nature Communications
Children’s ability to generalize from episodic memories varies by both age and the level of abstraction. Here, the authors show that lower level generalization increasingly depends on episodic memory with age, whereas higher level generalization shows no such relationship.
www.nature.com
October 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Thrilled to see this paper out! It's the culmination of a project begun in the depths of the pandemic with Sabrina Karjack and @zoengo.bsky.social . We continue our exploration of how children generalize when their episodic memory is not yet mature.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
New paper out with @dasalgon.bsky.social: “Far-Right Agenda Setting: How the Far Right influences the Political Mainstream” doi.org/10.1017/S1475676525100066 #openaccess in @ejprjournal.bsky.social🧵
October 7, 2025 at 7:14 AM
New paper out with @dasalgon.bsky.social: “Far-Right Agenda Setting: How the Far Right influences the Political Mainstream” doi.org/10.1017/S1475676525100066 #openaccess in @ejprjournal.bsky.social🧵
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Hey there!
Interested in the connection between HCI & Interactive Narrative Design?
Join our CHI PLAY 2025 hybrid workshop (Oct 13) --> Remote & in-person!
Register by Oct 3 → waterloo-touchlab.github.io/hcni/call-fo...
#CHIPLAY2025 #HCI #NarrativeDesign
Interested in the connection between HCI & Interactive Narrative Design?
Join our CHI PLAY 2025 hybrid workshop (Oct 13) --> Remote & in-person!
Register by Oct 3 → waterloo-touchlab.github.io/hcni/call-fo...
#CHIPLAY2025 #HCI #NarrativeDesign
Call for Participation
Welcome to the First Interdisciplinary Workshop on Human-Computer Narrative Interactions (HCNI) at CHI PLAY 2025! We’ll engage in hands-on exploration of player-game interactivity for impactful digita...
waterloo-touchlab.github.io
September 27, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Hey there!
Interested in the connection between HCI & Interactive Narrative Design?
Join our CHI PLAY 2025 hybrid workshop (Oct 13) --> Remote & in-person!
Register by Oct 3 → waterloo-touchlab.github.io/hcni/call-fo...
#CHIPLAY2025 #HCI #NarrativeDesign
Interested in the connection between HCI & Interactive Narrative Design?
Join our CHI PLAY 2025 hybrid workshop (Oct 13) --> Remote & in-person!
Register by Oct 3 → waterloo-touchlab.github.io/hcni/call-fo...
#CHIPLAY2025 #HCI #NarrativeDesign
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Why Misinformation Must Not Be Ignored
Quite proud of this paper, which just received the journal's APA Editor's Choice award 😊
Big thanks to my coauthors Li Qian Tay, Jon Roozenbeek,
@profsanderlinden.bsky.social, John Cook, @naomioreskes.bsky.social, and @lewan.bsky.social
Quite proud of this paper, which just received the journal's APA Editor's Choice award 😊
Big thanks to my coauthors Li Qian Tay, Jon Roozenbeek,
@profsanderlinden.bsky.social, John Cook, @naomioreskes.bsky.social, and @lewan.bsky.social
Why #misinformation must not be ignored - A new, open access article by @ulliecker.bsky.social and colleagues, published in American Psychologist bit.ly/4pJ20fY
September 27, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Why Misinformation Must Not Be Ignored
Quite proud of this paper, which just received the journal's APA Editor's Choice award 😊
Big thanks to my coauthors Li Qian Tay, Jon Roozenbeek,
@profsanderlinden.bsky.social, John Cook, @naomioreskes.bsky.social, and @lewan.bsky.social
Quite proud of this paper, which just received the journal's APA Editor's Choice award 😊
Big thanks to my coauthors Li Qian Tay, Jon Roozenbeek,
@profsanderlinden.bsky.social, John Cook, @naomioreskes.bsky.social, and @lewan.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
First up in the @icamobile.bsky.social student and early career scholar event calendar is How to Submit to the Mobile Communication Division, featuring International Liaison @luytioco.bsky.social and former chair Keri Stephens. Details here:
September 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
First up in the @icamobile.bsky.social student and early career scholar event calendar is How to Submit to the Mobile Communication Division, featuring International Liaison @luytioco.bsky.social and former chair Keri Stephens. Details here:
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
With true crime media like the Dahmer series rising in popularity, creators and consumers must ask themselves..,when does storytelling become exploitation?
September 15, 2025 at 8:27 PM
With true crime media like the Dahmer series rising in popularity, creators and consumers must ask themselves..,when does storytelling become exploitation?
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
I am recruiting graduate students for Fall 2026 through both the cognitive and developmental areas at Ohio State. If you are interested in spatial cognition, visual perception, and/or mental representation -- please reach out! I'd love to hear from you.
www.cogdevlab.org
www.cogdevlab.org
PCDL @ OSU
www.cogdevlab.org
September 15, 2025 at 5:56 PM
I am recruiting graduate students for Fall 2026 through both the cognitive and developmental areas at Ohio State. If you are interested in spatial cognition, visual perception, and/or mental representation -- please reach out! I'd love to hear from you.
www.cogdevlab.org
www.cogdevlab.org
Top tier job posting 12/10
🚨 TT job alert! 🚨 The University of Florida is hiring an Assistant Professor in Social Psychology; open to ALL AREAS within social psych.
Review begins 10/10.
Job ad here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
I'm co-chair of the search committee and happy to answer questions! 🧵
Review begins 10/10.
Job ad here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
I'm co-chair of the search committee and happy to answer questions! 🧵
September 12, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Top tier job posting 12/10
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
After more than 50 years of rapid growth, the nation’s immigrant population is now in decline.
August 25, 2025 at 6:00 PM
After more than 50 years of rapid growth, the nation’s immigrant population is now in decline.
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
Class begins Sept 9, 2025, online, with emphasis on the use of the PROCESS macro for SPSS, SAS, and R. Registration includes access to the content until March 9, 2026. There are no set times in which you must be online to take the course. More info at haskayne.ucalgary.ca/CCRAM/mediat...
August 25, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Class begins Sept 9, 2025, online, with emphasis on the use of the PROCESS macro for SPSS, SAS, and R. Registration includes access to the content until March 9, 2026. There are no set times in which you must be online to take the course. More info at haskayne.ucalgary.ca/CCRAM/mediat...
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
this summer has both disappeared and also lasted one hundred thousand years
August 18, 2025 at 3:18 PM
this summer has both disappeared and also lasted one hundred thousand years
RIP running man
August 14, 2025 at 1:05 AM
RIP running man
Reposted by Dr Judy Watts
We know that a consensus of opinions is persuasive, but how reliable is this effect across people and types of consensus, and are there any kinds of claims where people care less about what other people think? This is what we tested in our new(ish) paper in @psychscience.bsky.social
August 10, 2025 at 11:12 PM
We know that a consensus of opinions is persuasive, but how reliable is this effect across people and types of consensus, and are there any kinds of claims where people care less about what other people think? This is what we tested in our new(ish) paper in @psychscience.bsky.social