Dorsa Amir
@dorsaamir.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Psychology at Duke University studying kids & culture. Director of the Mind & Culture Lab. Mom x3. Some people just want to watch the world learn.
dorsaamir.com | mindandculturelab.com
dorsaamir.com | mindandculturelab.com
Child’s tunic with hood, Egypt, ca. 600-900 AD. Turns out hoodies have been around for a while!
November 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Child’s tunic with hood, Egypt, ca. 600-900 AD. Turns out hoodies have been around for a while!
A couple more examples from the same era. Quite stunning, no? And remarkably well preserved. I find these rather moving. Like, you’re actually looking at the faces of people from the past, here they are, looking back at you.
September 29, 2025 at 11:29 AM
A couple more examples from the same era. Quite stunning, no? And remarkably well preserved. I find these rather moving. Like, you’re actually looking at the faces of people from the past, here they are, looking back at you.
While this looks like it could have been painted yesterday, it’s actually a 1,700 year old (!) portrait from a Fayum mummy in modern day Egypt. This is one of ~900 of these portraits from the era, which broke from a more stylized tradition, and represented the subject more naturally.
September 29, 2025 at 11:23 AM
While this looks like it could have been painted yesterday, it’s actually a 1,700 year old (!) portrait from a Fayum mummy in modern day Egypt. This is one of ~900 of these portraits from the era, which broke from a more stylized tradition, and represented the subject more naturally.
Been reading recently about attempts to circumnavigate the globe & how 16th century ships pulled it off. Steering a ship was complicated & relied on hundreds of adjustments to complex rope systems. So, it often took a new sailor a long time to..... "learn the ropes"! So that's where that comes from.
August 28, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Been reading recently about attempts to circumnavigate the globe & how 16th century ships pulled it off. Steering a ship was complicated & relied on hundreds of adjustments to complex rope systems. So, it often took a new sailor a long time to..... "learn the ropes"! So that's where that comes from.
Look what you could publish (anonymously) in Nature in 1970.
June 7, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Look what you could publish (anonymously) in Nature in 1970.
Many of us have heard of Hofstede's cultural dimensions (e.g. the individualistic-collectivist (IC) dimension), but few have looked under the hood of how they were constructed. The data, it turns out, come from self-report surveys of IBM employees ca. 1968-72. Here's McSweeney describing the sample:
May 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Many of us have heard of Hofstede's cultural dimensions (e.g. the individualistic-collectivist (IC) dimension), but few have looked under the hood of how they were constructed. The data, it turns out, come from self-report surveys of IBM employees ca. 1968-72. Here's McSweeney describing the sample:
Made a "graphic syllabus" this year to encourage students to actually, you know, read the syllabus and maybe even use the information. Stay tuned for results!
Here's a link to the Keynote file if you wanna try it out 👇🏼
drive.google.com/file/d/1K6W-...
Here's a link to the Keynote file if you wanna try it out 👇🏼
drive.google.com/file/d/1K6W-...
May 16, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Made a "graphic syllabus" this year to encourage students to actually, you know, read the syllabus and maybe even use the information. Stay tuned for results!
Here's a link to the Keynote file if you wanna try it out 👇🏼
drive.google.com/file/d/1K6W-...
Here's a link to the Keynote file if you wanna try it out 👇🏼
drive.google.com/file/d/1K6W-...
Wanted to share a handy little resource with you all (especially those in dev psych) — my lab & I made a "journal submission cheat sheet" that summarizes article types, word limits, & other requirements for the journals we typically submit to. Link below 👇🏼
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
May 7, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Wanted to share a handy little resource with you all (especially those in dev psych) — my lab & I made a "journal submission cheat sheet" that summarizes article types, word limits, & other requirements for the journals we typically submit to. Link below 👇🏼
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Yeah for sure; we delve into it in section 4.2 of our preprint (linked below). Here’s a quick screenshot which breaks it down. Hope it helps!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
January 26, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Yeah for sure; we delve into it in section 4.2 of our preprint (linked below). Here’s a quick screenshot which breaks it down. Hope it helps!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Finally, and mind-blowingly, you don't need visual experience at all: blind children whose vision is later restored immediately perceive the illusion! Not only have these children not seen carpentry — they haven’t seen *anything*. And yet the illusion exists for them. (9/13)
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Finally, and mind-blowingly, you don't need visual experience at all: blind children whose vision is later restored immediately perceive the illusion! Not only have these children not seen carpentry — they haven’t seen *anything*. And yet the illusion exists for them. (9/13)
Moreover, some sophisticated modeling work (e.g. Howe & Purves 2005) shows that you don’t need manmade scenes at all to get the illusion — the regularities associated with it are right there in the natural world already. (8/13)
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Moreover, some sophisticated modeling work (e.g. Howe & Purves 2005) shows that you don’t need manmade scenes at all to get the illusion — the regularities associated with it are right there in the natural world already. (8/13)
Even more powerful, though, are arguments against *any* cultural explanation. For example, the illusion shows up in non-human animals like guppies & lizards. That’s what you’d expect if the illusion arises from deep within us, not from the circumstances of our upbringing. (7/13)
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Even more powerful, though, are arguments against *any* cultural explanation. For example, the illusion shows up in non-human animals like guppies & lizards. That’s what you’d expect if the illusion arises from deep within us, not from the circumstances of our upbringing. (7/13)
Further, the illusion isn’t limited to vision — you can get the same effect in "haptic" versions, where people use their hands to feel physical forms of the illusion (& still report the top line as longer!). Not really what you'd expect if visual exposure were the culprit. (6/13)
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Further, the illusion isn’t limited to vision — you can get the same effect in "haptic" versions, where people use their hands to feel physical forms of the illusion (& still report the top line as longer!). Not really what you'd expect if visual exposure were the culprit. (6/13)
For starters, there seem to be pretty compelling arguments against the carpentry idea, in particular. For example, the illusion doesn't require the straight lines so characteristic of carpentry. You can get the same effect with curved lines, dots, or even faces. (5/13)
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
For starters, there seem to be pretty compelling arguments against the carpentry idea, in particular. For example, the illusion doesn't require the straight lines so characteristic of carpentry. You can get the same effect with curved lines, dots, or even faces. (5/13)
In our paper, Chaz & I zoomed out & evaluated the hypothesis pretty broadly, bringing together diverse lines of evidence from the cognitive sciences. So.. does culture create the Müller-Lyer illusion? We think: "Probably not". Here's a visual summary of our argument. (4/13)
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
In our paper, Chaz & I zoomed out & evaluated the hypothesis pretty broadly, bringing together diverse lines of evidence from the cognitive sciences. So.. does culture create the Müller-Lyer illusion? We think: "Probably not". Here's a visual summary of our argument. (4/13)
More specifically, folks like Segall, Campbell, & Herskovits used data from 15 societies to argue that susceptibility to the ML illusion was caused by exposure to *carpentered corners*, like those found in buildings & rectangular artifacts. Could this be true? (3/13)
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
More specifically, folks like Segall, Campbell, & Herskovits used data from 15 societies to argue that susceptibility to the ML illusion was caused by exposure to *carpentered corners*, like those found in buildings & rectangular artifacts. Could this be true? (3/13)
The ML illusion has puzzled scientists since the 1800s. The lines are equal, but the top one just SEEMS longer, no? Not long after its discovery, though, some argued that maybe the illusion wasn't obvious to everyone. Maybe it had to do with the culture you were raised in. (2/13)
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
The ML illusion has puzzled scientists since the 1800s. The lines are equal, but the top one just SEEMS longer, no? Not long after its discovery, though, some argued that maybe the illusion wasn't obvious to everyone. Maybe it had to do with the culture you were raised in. (2/13)
Does the culture you grow up in shape the way you see the world? In a new Psych Review paper, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & I tackle this centuries-old question using the Müller-Lyer illusion as a case study. Come think through one of history's mysteries with us🧵(1/13):
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Does the culture you grow up in shape the way you see the world? In a new Psych Review paper, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & I tackle this centuries-old question using the Müller-Lyer illusion as a case study. Come think through one of history's mysteries with us🧵(1/13):
Came across a fun bit of marginalia from Darwin’s personal library:
In a copy of “Principles of Geology”, Lyell argues that animal varieties can change over time, but never deviate enough to form new species.
“If this were true,” Darwin scrawls in the margin, “adios theory”.
In a copy of “Principles of Geology”, Lyell argues that animal varieties can change over time, but never deviate enough to form new species.
“If this were true,” Darwin scrawls in the margin, “adios theory”.
January 18, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Came across a fun bit of marginalia from Darwin’s personal library:
In a copy of “Principles of Geology”, Lyell argues that animal varieties can change over time, but never deviate enough to form new species.
“If this were true,” Darwin scrawls in the margin, “adios theory”.
In a copy of “Principles of Geology”, Lyell argues that animal varieties can change over time, but never deviate enough to form new species.
“If this were true,” Darwin scrawls in the margin, “adios theory”.
Excited to share that our BBS target article — "Children as agents of cultural adaptation" — is online & open for commentary! In it, @sheinalew.bsky.social & I argue that children's peer cultures might play an important & understudied role in cultural adaptation.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
January 2, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Excited to share that our BBS target article — "Children as agents of cultural adaptation" — is online & open for commentary! In it, @sheinalew.bsky.social & I argue that children's peer cultures might play an important & understudied role in cultural adaptation.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Want to do a PhD with me at Duke University? I'm considering applications this fall for a new graduate student! ⭐️ For more info, check out this FAQ for prospective students to learn what the lab is focusing on & what I'm looking for in a graduate student. mindandculturelab.com/faq
October 17, 2024 at 1:30 PM
Want to do a PhD with me at Duke University? I'm considering applications this fall for a new graduate student! ⭐️ For more info, check out this FAQ for prospective students to learn what the lab is focusing on & what I'm looking for in a graduate student. mindandculturelab.com/faq
when an article is stuck behind a paywall
September 10, 2024 at 11:09 AM
when an article is stuck behind a paywall
I was reading about Cleopatra recently & looked up her family tree because it was getting confusing & uh... this is insane?
The more you look at it, the worse it gets.
She had *one* set of great^3-grandparents. A person with no incest in their family would have sixteen.
The more you look at it, the worse it gets.
She had *one* set of great^3-grandparents. A person with no incest in their family would have sixteen.
August 31, 2024 at 10:51 AM
I was reading about Cleopatra recently & looked up her family tree because it was getting confusing & uh... this is insane?
The more you look at it, the worse it gets.
She had *one* set of great^3-grandparents. A person with no incest in their family would have sixteen.
The more you look at it, the worse it gets.
She had *one* set of great^3-grandparents. A person with no incest in their family would have sixteen.
📣 Now hiring for two positions at the (newly minted) Mind & Culture Lab at Duke University! I'm seeking a full-time lab manager & a full-time postdoctoral associate to join the team, ideally this August (flexible). See below for more information and QR codes to access the application portals.
April 2, 2024 at 2:40 PM
📣 Now hiring for two positions at the (newly minted) Mind & Culture Lab at Duke University! I'm seeking a full-time lab manager & a full-time postdoctoral associate to join the team, ideally this August (flexible). See below for more information and QR codes to access the application portals.