Wilson Merrell
@wnmerrell.bsky.social
Postdoc at the Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination (Aarhus University)
Psychology of resource management, infectious disease, and social hierarchy
Formerly: University of Michigan, Macalester College
Psychology of resource management, infectious disease, and social hierarchy
Formerly: University of Michigan, Macalester College
Pinned
New work on resource possession + hierarchy regulation!
Do the faces on the left and right look different to you?
They were generated using a reverse correlation task by UK ps asked to visualize “poor people”:
🟩 Generated by egalitarians (low SDO)
🟥 Generated by anti-egalitarians (high SDO)
Do the faces on the left and right look different to you?
They were generated using a reverse correlation task by UK ps asked to visualize “poor people”:
🟩 Generated by egalitarians (low SDO)
🟥 Generated by anti-egalitarians (high SDO)
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
Four (!) three-year postdoc positions available at @au.dk: international.au.dk/about/profil...
Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy.
Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs
Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy.
Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs
Four three-year postdoctoral positions in the project Slow-Motion Democracy - Vacancy at Aarhus University
Vacancy at Department of Political Science, Aarhus University
international.au.dk
November 6, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Four (!) three-year postdoc positions available at @au.dk: international.au.dk/about/profil...
Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy.
Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs
Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy.
Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
On election day, I wanna announce that I am recruiting social psych PhD students for my lab at UIC. My lab focuses on racial identities (esp Asian, Latino, MENA Americans) and intra-minority conflict/ coalition. So please tell your students to pick me! All details on my website: www.pbandjlab.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:17 PM
On election day, I wanna announce that I am recruiting social psych PhD students for my lab at UIC. My lab focuses on racial identities (esp Asian, Latino, MENA Americans) and intra-minority conflict/ coalition. So please tell your students to pick me! All details on my website: www.pbandjlab.com
New work on resource possession + hierarchy regulation!
Do the faces on the left and right look different to you?
They were generated using a reverse correlation task by UK ps asked to visualize “poor people”:
🟩 Generated by egalitarians (low SDO)
🟥 Generated by anti-egalitarians (high SDO)
Do the faces on the left and right look different to you?
They were generated using a reverse correlation task by UK ps asked to visualize “poor people”:
🟩 Generated by egalitarians (low SDO)
🟥 Generated by anti-egalitarians (high SDO)
October 31, 2025 at 3:28 PM
New work on resource possession + hierarchy regulation!
Do the faces on the left and right look different to you?
They were generated using a reverse correlation task by UK ps asked to visualize “poor people”:
🟩 Generated by egalitarians (low SDO)
🟥 Generated by anti-egalitarians (high SDO)
Do the faces on the left and right look different to you?
They were generated using a reverse correlation task by UK ps asked to visualize “poor people”:
🟩 Generated by egalitarians (low SDO)
🟥 Generated by anti-egalitarians (high SDO)
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
I’m recruiting #PhD students to join my Lab for Infant Learning and Cognition (LILAC) at @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social! We study how infants learn about the natural world from others 🌱 If you’re interested in #devpsych, #EvPsych, and #infantstudies, please reach out and apply! More info below (1/2)
October 27, 2025 at 4:22 PM
I’m recruiting #PhD students to join my Lab for Infant Learning and Cognition (LILAC) at @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social! We study how infants learn about the natural world from others 🌱 If you’re interested in #devpsych, #EvPsych, and #infantstudies, please reach out and apply! More info below (1/2)
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
I will be reviewing graduate student applications in the Social Psychology Area at Miami University for the 2025–2026 application cycle (Ph.D. start date: Fall 2026).
Learn more about the Affective Science & Psychophysiology Lab and how to apply on the “Join Us” tab at www.darwinguevarra.com
Learn more about the Affective Science & Psychophysiology Lab and how to apply on the “Join Us” tab at www.darwinguevarra.com
Affective Science and Psychophysiology Lab
The Affective Science and Psychophysiology Lab at Miami University aims to understand affective processes, ways to regulate them, and their impact on psychological and physical health.
www.darwinguevarra.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:53 PM
I will be reviewing graduate student applications in the Social Psychology Area at Miami University for the 2025–2026 application cycle (Ph.D. start date: Fall 2026).
Learn more about the Affective Science & Psychophysiology Lab and how to apply on the “Join Us” tab at www.darwinguevarra.com
Learn more about the Affective Science & Psychophysiology Lab and how to apply on the “Join Us” tab at www.darwinguevarra.com
Kicking off #SESP2025 in Lisbon by co-chairing (with Julia Buzan) a symposium bright and early Friday morning!
Come by Roma I at 8:30am to hear about new work on resource ecologies, behavior, and intergroup relations from Julia, @dedreu.bsky.social, Oliver Sng, and me.
Come by Roma I at 8:30am to hear about new work on resource ecologies, behavior, and intergroup relations from Julia, @dedreu.bsky.social, Oliver Sng, and me.
October 16, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Kicking off #SESP2025 in Lisbon by co-chairing (with Julia Buzan) a symposium bright and early Friday morning!
Come by Roma I at 8:30am to hear about new work on resource ecologies, behavior, and intergroup relations from Julia, @dedreu.bsky.social, Oliver Sng, and me.
Come by Roma I at 8:30am to hear about new work on resource ecologies, behavior, and intergroup relations from Julia, @dedreu.bsky.social, Oliver Sng, and me.
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
🚨New paper led by Lei Fan, with Florian van Leeuwen, @hirotakaimada.bsky.social, and @joshtybur.bsky.social, out in Cognition & Emotion:
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0269...
In two preregistered studies from Japan 🇯🇵 , we find that anger relates to confrontation while disgust to gossip and social exclusion.
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0269...
In two preregistered studies from Japan 🇯🇵 , we find that anger relates to confrontation while disgust to gossip and social exclusion.
Linking anger and disgust to motives and anticipations of aggression in the East: testing a socio-functional account of moral emotions in Japan
Anger and disgust often underlie responses to social transgressions, yet their links to aggressive punishments have been primarily studied in Western populations. Across two studies sampling from J...
doi.org
October 15, 2025 at 12:47 PM
🚨New paper led by Lei Fan, with Florian van Leeuwen, @hirotakaimada.bsky.social, and @joshtybur.bsky.social, out in Cognition & Emotion:
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0269...
In two preregistered studies from Japan 🇯🇵 , we find that anger relates to confrontation while disgust to gossip and social exclusion.
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0269...
In two preregistered studies from Japan 🇯🇵 , we find that anger relates to confrontation while disgust to gossip and social exclusion.
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
If you could win a prize by guessing the number on a die 🎲 hidden under a cup, would you want to guess before the die was rolled, or after?
The odds of winning are the same in both, but they can feel different. 🧵
The odds of winning are the same in both, but they can feel different. 🧵
October 6, 2025 at 9:03 PM
If you could win a prize by guessing the number on a die 🎲 hidden under a cup, would you want to guess before the die was rolled, or after?
The odds of winning are the same in both, but they can feel different. 🧵
The odds of winning are the same in both, but they can feel different. 🧵
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
New paper accepted at JEP:G with @sakierahudson.bsky.social, Brandon Kinsler, & former students Ian Davis and Alissa Vandenbark!
Come for the opening Aladdin quote, stay for a developmental perspective on SDO!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Come for the opening Aladdin quote, stay for a developmental perspective on SDO!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
August 15, 2025 at 4:36 PM
New paper accepted at JEP:G with @sakierahudson.bsky.social, Brandon Kinsler, & former students Ian Davis and Alissa Vandenbark!
Come for the opening Aladdin quote, stay for a developmental perspective on SDO!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Come for the opening Aladdin quote, stay for a developmental perspective on SDO!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
New from @ara-eunkyung.bsky.social + me: social psychologists are often interested in space, but have to choose between abstractions at high levels of geography or images taken with limited geographic scope. We identify a tool to sample space at scale: mapping platforms, such as Google Street View.
July 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
New from @ara-eunkyung.bsky.social + me: social psychologists are often interested in space, but have to choose between abstractions at high levels of geography or images taken with limited geographic scope. We identify a tool to sample space at scale: mapping platforms, such as Google Street View.
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
Just found out I can put this gif on my lab website so this is gonna be a game changer 😂 Anyway I will be reviewing PhD applications for UIC social-personality psych area to start in Fall 2026, so please let your students know. More info on my website: www.pbandjlab.com/team
a cartoon of homer simpson and bart simpson sitting on a couch with the words join us above them .
Alt: a cartoon of homer simpson and bart simpson sitting on a couch with the words join us above them .
media.tenor.com
July 3, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Just found out I can put this gif on my lab website so this is gonna be a game changer 😂 Anyway I will be reviewing PhD applications for UIC social-personality psych area to start in Fall 2026, so please let your students know. More info on my website: www.pbandjlab.com/team
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS:
CEPDISC’25 Conference on Discrimination
September 24-26, 2025
Horsens, Denmark
The conference brings together researchers working on discrimination from both theoretical and empirical perspectives.
Deadline for abstract submission is 15 May.
See the website for more info:
CEPDISC’25 Conference on Discrimination
September 24-26, 2025
Horsens, Denmark
The conference brings together researchers working on discrimination from both theoretical and empirical perspectives.
Deadline for abstract submission is 15 May.
See the website for more info:
CEPDISC'25 Conference on Discrimination
13th Annual Conference of the Comparative Agendas Project (CAP) at Aarhus University.
ps.au.dk
March 19, 2025 at 1:42 PM
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS:
CEPDISC’25 Conference on Discrimination
September 24-26, 2025
Horsens, Denmark
The conference brings together researchers working on discrimination from both theoretical and empirical perspectives.
Deadline for abstract submission is 15 May.
See the website for more info:
CEPDISC’25 Conference on Discrimination
September 24-26, 2025
Horsens, Denmark
The conference brings together researchers working on discrimination from both theoretical and empirical perspectives.
Deadline for abstract submission is 15 May.
See the website for more info:
From fancy cars 🚗 to luxury vacations 🏖️, people often show off how they spend their money.
In new work with @joshackman.bsky.social, we find that how this flashy behavior is perceived depends on WHAT purchases are being shown off.
🧵on conspicuous consumption, experiences, and status signals (1/7)
In new work with @joshackman.bsky.social, we find that how this flashy behavior is perceived depends on WHAT purchases are being shown off.
🧵on conspicuous consumption, experiences, and status signals (1/7)
April 30, 2025 at 12:16 PM
From fancy cars 🚗 to luxury vacations 🏖️, people often show off how they spend their money.
In new work with @joshackman.bsky.social, we find that how this flashy behavior is perceived depends on WHAT purchases are being shown off.
🧵on conspicuous consumption, experiences, and status signals (1/7)
In new work with @joshackman.bsky.social, we find that how this flashy behavior is perceived depends on WHAT purchases are being shown off.
🧵on conspicuous consumption, experiences, and status signals (1/7)
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
🚨New article🚨
Why does the ethnic majority expect that ethnic minorities "free ride" and contribute less to the collective?
In a new article in @bjpols.bsky.social, I show that negative expectations are driven by the correlates of ethnicity rather than ethnicity itself 🧵👇
OA-link: cup.org/4lOX7jN
Why does the ethnic majority expect that ethnic minorities "free ride" and contribute less to the collective?
In a new article in @bjpols.bsky.social, I show that negative expectations are driven by the correlates of ethnicity rather than ethnicity itself 🧵👇
OA-link: cup.org/4lOX7jN
April 28, 2025 at 1:09 PM
🚨New article🚨
Why does the ethnic majority expect that ethnic minorities "free ride" and contribute less to the collective?
In a new article in @bjpols.bsky.social, I show that negative expectations are driven by the correlates of ethnicity rather than ethnicity itself 🧵👇
OA-link: cup.org/4lOX7jN
Why does the ethnic majority expect that ethnic minorities "free ride" and contribute less to the collective?
In a new article in @bjpols.bsky.social, I show that negative expectations are driven by the correlates of ethnicity rather than ethnicity itself 🧵👇
OA-link: cup.org/4lOX7jN
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
NEW -
The Correlates of Ethnicity: Why the Ethnic Majority Expects That Ethnic Minorities Contribute Less to the Collective - cup.org/4lOX7jN
- @matkruse.bsky.social
#OpenAccess
The Correlates of Ethnicity: Why the Ethnic Majority Expects That Ethnic Minorities Contribute Less to the Collective - cup.org/4lOX7jN
- @matkruse.bsky.social
#OpenAccess
April 28, 2025 at 7:20 AM
NEW -
The Correlates of Ethnicity: Why the Ethnic Majority Expects That Ethnic Minorities Contribute Less to the Collective - cup.org/4lOX7jN
- @matkruse.bsky.social
#OpenAccess
The Correlates of Ethnicity: Why the Ethnic Majority Expects That Ethnic Minorities Contribute Less to the Collective - cup.org/4lOX7jN
- @matkruse.bsky.social
#OpenAccess
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
🙌 Hot off the presses @natcomms.nature.com! We created a custom #Minecraft environment to study a long-standing puzzle in cognitive science:
How do humans flexibly adapt their individual and social learning strategies in dynamic, realistic situations? Check it out 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇
How do humans flexibly adapt their individual and social learning strategies in dynamic, realistic situations? Check it out 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇
April 25, 2025 at 10:57 AM
🙌 Hot off the presses @natcomms.nature.com! We created a custom #Minecraft environment to study a long-standing puzzle in cognitive science:
How do humans flexibly adapt their individual and social learning strategies in dynamic, realistic situations? Check it out 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇
How do humans flexibly adapt their individual and social learning strategies in dynamic, realistic situations? Check it out 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
💥Postdoc call 💥
Join my @erc.europa.eu project #YOPOW at Aarhus University
🎇 3-y position (possibility of 1-y extension)
❓How societal norms give rise to biased beliefs about political power in youth
🤖 Computational social science (large-scale text & image data)
Deadline May 15: bit.ly/4hIpSeD
Join my @erc.europa.eu project #YOPOW at Aarhus University
🎇 3-y position (possibility of 1-y extension)
❓How societal norms give rise to biased beliefs about political power in youth
🤖 Computational social science (large-scale text & image data)
Deadline May 15: bit.ly/4hIpSeD
March 25, 2025 at 8:12 AM
💥Postdoc call 💥
Join my @erc.europa.eu project #YOPOW at Aarhus University
🎇 3-y position (possibility of 1-y extension)
❓How societal norms give rise to biased beliefs about political power in youth
🤖 Computational social science (large-scale text & image data)
Deadline May 15: bit.ly/4hIpSeD
Join my @erc.europa.eu project #YOPOW at Aarhus University
🎇 3-y position (possibility of 1-y extension)
❓How societal norms give rise to biased beliefs about political power in youth
🤖 Computational social science (large-scale text & image data)
Deadline May 15: bit.ly/4hIpSeD
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
Here's a new preprint from my lab. My student and I ran the first study in our last year at Colby, and I finally got around to running follow-up studies. Trying to write about race and racism in the midst of everything is definitely something... Hopefully this will fare well in the review process...
Perceived Zero-Sum Competition between Asian Americans and Black Americans: https://osf.io/a7nvp
March 18, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Here's a new preprint from my lab. My student and I ran the first study in our last year at Colby, and I finally got around to running follow-up studies. Trying to write about race and racism in the midst of everything is definitely something... Hopefully this will fare well in the review process...
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
🚨New paper! I tackle a confound in mate preference research: Are preferences & standards driven by one's own sex or target sex? Two studies show preferences are (mostly) driven by own sex, but overall standards are driven by target sex. Full paper: doi.org/10.1177/0956... #MatePreferences #Research
Deconfounding Sex and Sex of Partner in Mate-Preference Research - Ashley J. Coventry, Selina Mixner, Benjamin Gelbart, Kathryn V. Walter, Daniel Conroy-Beam, Tamsin C. German, 2025
Much of the previous research examining sex differences in human mate preferences has relied exclusively on heterosexual participants. Consequently, prior work ...
doi.org
March 12, 2025 at 7:29 PM
🚨New paper! I tackle a confound in mate preference research: Are preferences & standards driven by one's own sex or target sex? Two studies show preferences are (mostly) driven by own sex, but overall standards are driven by target sex. Full paper: doi.org/10.1177/0956... #MatePreferences #Research
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
🧵1/4
Excited to celebrate Anna Huang‘s first first-authored paper just published in EJSP. 🥳
In this theoretical article, Anna explores how Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Self-Categorization Theory (SCT) apply to individuals with Mixed racial-ethnic identities.
Excited to celebrate Anna Huang‘s first first-authored paper just published in EJSP. 🥳
In this theoretical article, Anna explores how Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Self-Categorization Theory (SCT) apply to individuals with Mixed racial-ethnic identities.
March 3, 2025 at 9:46 AM
🧵1/4
Excited to celebrate Anna Huang‘s first first-authored paper just published in EJSP. 🥳
In this theoretical article, Anna explores how Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Self-Categorization Theory (SCT) apply to individuals with Mixed racial-ethnic identities.
Excited to celebrate Anna Huang‘s first first-authored paper just published in EJSP. 🥳
In this theoretical article, Anna explores how Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Self-Categorization Theory (SCT) apply to individuals with Mixed racial-ethnic identities.
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
Next up, @joshackman.bsky.social reminded us that disease remains a potent threat post-pandemic, and has been throughout human history - to the point that we’ve got psychological mechanisms dedicated to preventing and coping with it. (1/5) #EPatSPSP2025 #SPSP2025
February 21, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Next up, @joshackman.bsky.social reminded us that disease remains a potent threat post-pandemic, and has been throughout human history - to the point that we’ve got psychological mechanisms dedicated to preventing and coping with it. (1/5) #EPatSPSP2025 #SPSP2025
Whether we're foraging for food or hunting for houses, humans expect resources to be clumped. What are the implications of this'patchiness psychology' for intergroup relations? Excited to share new geospatial approaches tackling this❓at #SPSP2025 this week--stop by and say hi if you're in town!
February 19, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Whether we're foraging for food or hunting for houses, humans expect resources to be clumped. What are the implications of this'patchiness psychology' for intergroup relations? Excited to share new geospatial approaches tackling this❓at #SPSP2025 this week--stop by and say hi if you're in town!
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
Fun fact I just learned: 30+ countries invest *more than $500M* to fight loneliness and social isolation—but what do we actually know about their global health risks? Not much.
Join us at SPSP next Saturday, where we tackle this question with data from 350,000 people across 58 nations:
Join us at SPSP next Saturday, where we tackle this question with data from 350,000 people across 58 nations:
February 14, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Fun fact I just learned: 30+ countries invest *more than $500M* to fight loneliness and social isolation—but what do we actually know about their global health risks? Not much.
Join us at SPSP next Saturday, where we tackle this question with data from 350,000 people across 58 nations:
Join us at SPSP next Saturday, where we tackle this question with data from 350,000 people across 58 nations:
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
I wrote a little reflection on objectivity and diversity in science. Could be useful if you are teaching research methods, as is the companion paper on objectivity interrogation.
communities.springernature.com/posts/in-sci...
communities.springernature.com/posts/in-sci...
In science and in backlash, identities matter
In this political moment, anti-science and anti-diversity social forces are resurgent, and they threaten diversity within our disciplines. In this reflection, I discuss why diversity matters by summa...
communities.springernature.com
December 17, 2024 at 10:32 PM
I wrote a little reflection on objectivity and diversity in science. Could be useful if you are teaching research methods, as is the companion paper on objectivity interrogation.
communities.springernature.com/posts/in-sci...
communities.springernature.com/posts/in-sci...
Reposted by Wilson Merrell
If you'd like living in the Middle East and looking at the world from a different angle, check out and share these ads for Postdoctoral Fellow (2-yr renewable: apply.interfolio.com/160826) and Lab Manager (1-yr renewable: apply.interfolio.com/160827) and help me build up the Societal Psychology Lab!
December 17, 2024 at 7:12 AM
If you'd like living in the Middle East and looking at the world from a different angle, check out and share these ads for Postdoctoral Fellow (2-yr renewable: apply.interfolio.com/160826) and Lab Manager (1-yr renewable: apply.interfolio.com/160827) and help me build up the Societal Psychology Lab!