Kirstan Brodie
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kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
Kirstan Brodie
@kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
2K followers 790 following 77 posts
PhD student at Cornell studying intergroup cognition | NSF GRFP fellow | baking enthusiast | she/her

kirstanbrodie.github.io
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kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
This week in baking! Pumpkin pie and sourdough. If you want to make the *best* pumpkin pie you've ever had this year, try this one: www.randomhousebooks.com/campaign/car...
Unbaked pie crust in a glass pie plate, with a rope-style crimp around the edge Par-baked pie crust that's bubbly and golden, next to a bowl of pumpkin pie filling waiting to be poured into the crust. A cookbook open to a pumpkin pie recipe is perched in the background A finished, baked pumpkin pie! The surface is shiny and a rich brown color. A loaf of fresh homemade sourdough bread, golden brown and dusted with flour, sitting on a cast iron baking pan.
November 22, 2025 at 4:11 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
A last-of-the-season plum torte for your troubles
A plum torte in a blue baking dish ready to go in the oven A plum torte fresh out of the oven
October 2, 2025 at 11:54 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
Bonus: here is the winning argument in our contest, submitted by Peter Singer and @mattlindauer.bsky.social. (If you are persuaded by their argument and would like to donate to help treat trachoma, you can do so here: helenkellerintl.org). (10/10)
Many people in poor countries suffer from a condition called trachoma. Trachoma is the major cause of preventable blindness in the world. Trachoma starts with bacteria that get in the eyes of children, especially children living in hot and dusty conditions where hygiene is poor. If not treated, a child with trachoma bacteria will begin to suffer from blurred vision and will gradually go blind, though this process may take many years. A very cheap treatment is available that cures the condition before blindness develops. As little as $25, donated to an effective agency, can prevent someone going blind later in life. How much would you pay to prevent your own child becoming blind? Most of us would pay $25,000, $250,000, or even more, if we could afford it. The suffering of children in poor countries must matter more than one-thousandth as much as the suffering of our own child. That's why it is good to support one of the effective agencies that are preventing blindness from trachoma, and need more donations to reach more people.
September 22, 2025 at 6:28 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
But which features "work" and which ones do not? To find out, we randomly assigned participants to read one of the full set of 90 arguments, and then analyzed the relationship between our coded argument features and the amount people chose to donate. (7/10)
Donation measure: "If you receive the additional $10, how much would you like to donate?" and then a scale ranging from $0 to $10 in $1 increments.
September 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
First, we selected five of the most promising arguments, and confirmed that they could indeed persuade people to donate to charity: participants who read one of the arguments donated about $1 more on average of a potential $10 bonus than those who read a control text. (6/10)
Violin plot with 6 conditions on the X-axis (Control, and then Arguments 3, 5, 9, 12, and 14). Mean donation amount is on the Y axis, ranging from $0 to $10. Mean donation in the control condition was $2.58. All of the arguments performed about a dollar better and similarly, with means ranging from $3.30 for the lowest-performing argument to $3.98 for the best performing argument.
September 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
We received 90 total submissions (!), and coded them for a variety of features - does the argument appeal to expert authorities? emphasize equality? encourage perspective-taking? (5/10)
Table of features & accompanying descriptions: Particular hardships: Mentions specific, physical needs or hardships, such as clean drinking water or blindness Massive margins for poor: Appeals to the massive marginal utility of dollars transferred to poor recipients Own good fortune: Refers to the reader’s own assumed economic good fortune Diminishing margins for rich: Appeals to the diminishing marginal utility of dollars kept by rich donors Children: Mentions children Experts: References experts (e.g., philosophers, scientists), either as a group or individually Self-interest: Describes the possible intrinsic or extrinsic benefits of donating for the donor Counterarguments: Mentions and addresses possible counterarguments External sources: References external, material sources, such as empirical studies or news articles Concrete benefit: Mentions a quantified, concrete benefit of donating (e.g., providing 3 mosquito nets) Luck/randomness: Mentions luck or randomness as a determinant of life circumstances or events Behavioral contagion: Mentions that donating might inspire other people to give or spark behavioral contagion Religion: Appeals to religion, religious teachings/tenets, or religious authorities Single hardship: Focuses on one, single need or hardship, such as trachoma VOI, perspective taking: Appeals to veil-of-ignorance reasoning or other perspective-taking thought experiments Common: Mentions that donation is a common behavior Better than nothing: Mentions that giving something is better than giving nothing Evolution: Mentions human evolutionary history Equal value: Appeals to the notion of equality between individuals or groups Particular near person: Mentions a particular person who is physically or emotionally near to the reader Note: Experimenter-rated argument features. Gray and white color coding correspond to high- and low-frequency features, respectively.
September 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
Can reasoned arguments shift moral behavior? In a new preprint, @eschwitz.bsky.social, Jason Nemirow, @fierycushman.bsky.social and I explore this question in the context of charitable donation. (1/10)
Title: Philosophical Arguments Can Boost Charitable Giving Authors: Kirstan Brodie, Eric Schwitzgebel, Jason Nemirow, and Fiery Cushman
September 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
Massive crowd saying #HandsOff in Ithaca, NY.
A crowd of protestors at a Hands Off protest. A crowd of protestors lining the sidewalks along a busy street.
April 5, 2025 at 11:07 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
Excited to be chairing my first ever symposium today at #SPSP2025! We have a great lineup including Suraiya Allidina, @kyleratner.bsky.social, and @leorhackel.bsky.social. Come check it out! @spspnews.bsky.social
Motivated perception and learning: probing sociocognitive mechanisms of intergroup bias Friday, Feb 21, 2025 1:45-2:55 PM Bluebird Ballroom 1A Motivated Attention in Social Categorization - Suraiya Allidina, PhD Intergroup Constraints on Sound Symbolism - Kyle Ratner, PhD Learning of Intergroup Empathy Norms Induces Misperception of Empathy Gaps - Leor Hackel, PhD Stereotype Congruence Biases Social Learning - Kirstan Brodie
February 21, 2025 at 3:14 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
November 16, 2024 at 3:18 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
Wishing a very happy rhubarb season to all who celebrate 🥧
A homemade pie crust with strawberries and rhubarb, ready for baking A homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie, freshly crimped and ready for baking A homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie, fresh out of the oven
June 10, 2024 at 9:01 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
My awesome senior thesis student Izzy is recruiting participants for her study on multiracial identity! If you qualify, check it out! And please share!!
Are your parents two different races? Seeking participants for a study on identity! Answer two 10-minute surveys regarding your experience with race. To qualify, your parents must be non-White and belong to two different racial groups, and you must be 18 or older and reside in the U.S. Upon completing the survey you will be entered into a raffle to win 1 of 5 $20 Amazon gift cards! If you're interested, you can take the first survey at tinyurl.com/mridstudy.
March 1, 2024 at 7:28 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
The Krosch Lab is repping @spspnews.bsky.social! Come see our senior thesis student Izzy present about multiracial identity flexibility, happening NOW at the Self & Identity poster session! (And catch @amykrosch.bsky.social and I tomorrow!)
Krosch Lab presentation schedule
February 8, 2024 at 5:58 PM
kirstanbrodie.bsky.social
Google Lens thinks it's a Tobacco Wireworm.
October 16, 2023 at 12:19 PM