Thomas Talhelm
@thomastalhelm.bsky.social
I'm an associate professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. I also founded Smart Air, a social enterprise dedicated to making low-cost air purifiers and teaching people how to build their own.
Fascinating graphic on the causes of death across the lifespan.
November 13, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Fascinating graphic on the causes of death across the lifespan.
Chicago sunset 🌇
November 9, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Chicago sunset 🌇
“My graduate training never prepared me for the IRB question about the risk of being eaten by alligators.” Erin Westgate on her study on the psychological effects of taking novices scuba diving. 🤿
November 4, 2025 at 9:53 PM
“My graduate training never prepared me for the IRB question about the risk of being eaten by alligators.” Erin Westgate on her study on the psychological effects of taking novices scuba diving. 🤿
Small nerd milestone: Our new paper made the top ten list at SSRN! 🥳 I think this is a fun, ambitious project, so it's great to see people downloading the paper. @ssrn.bsky.social bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
November 2, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Small nerd milestone: Our new paper made the top ten list at SSRN! 🥳 I think this is a fun, ambitious project, so it's great to see people downloading the paper. @ssrn.bsky.social bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
In my neighborhood near the Chicago Bears’ stadium, the creepy crawlies are Packers. 🏈
November 1, 2025 at 1:44 PM
In my neighborhood near the Chicago Bears’ stadium, the creepy crawlies are Packers. 🏈
The Culture Pre-Conference is accepting nominations for the Outstanding Contributions to Cultural Psychology. Submit by December 1st. sites.google.com/view/culture...
October 25, 2025 at 2:21 PM
The Culture Pre-Conference is accepting nominations for the Outstanding Contributions to Cultural Psychology. Submit by December 1st. sites.google.com/view/culture...
We're accepting data-blitz talks and posters. The deadline is this Thursday (October 23).
October 19, 2025 at 2:19 PM
We're accepting data-blitz talks and posters. The deadline is this Thursday (October 23).
Interested in culture? Submit to the Culture Pre-Conference! Yogurt-themed proposals will be fast-tracked. sites.google.com/view/culture...
October 19, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Interested in culture? Submit to the Culture Pre-Conference! Yogurt-themed proposals will be fast-tracked. sites.google.com/view/culture...
One week left to submit research to the Culture Pre-Conference! ⏰ Open to students, post-docs, and untenured faculty. sites.google.com/view/culture... @iaccp.bsky.social
October 16, 2025 at 5:54 PM
One week left to submit research to the Culture Pre-Conference! ⏰ Open to students, post-docs, and untenured faculty. sites.google.com/view/culture... @iaccp.bsky.social
Much credit should go to my many co-authors 👏 Testing over 1,000 people longitudinally over three years was a LOT of work!
October 13, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Much credit should go to my many co-authors 👏 Testing over 1,000 people longitudinally over three years was a LOT of work!
Instead, cultural differences are living on in other ways. Maybe it's how relationships are structured, how teachers teach, or just fitting in with the locals. For example, newcomers’ thought style became more correlated with locals’ over time. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Instead, cultural differences are living on in other ways. Maybe it's how relationships are structured, how teachers teach, or just fitting in with the locals. For example, newcomers’ thought style became more correlated with locals’ over time. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Here’s why I think that’s fascinating. Young people in China are still learning cultural legacies rooted in ancient farming! That’s despite the fact that farming is becoming less common.
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Here’s why I think that’s fascinating. Young people in China are still learning cultural legacies rooted in ancient farming! That’s despite the fact that farming is becoming less common.
The changes continued through year 3, although the change came fast in the beginning and slowed down over time.
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
The changes continued through year 3, although the change came fast in the beginning and slowed down over time.
Oh, and the psychologists did not predict this. I guess people don’t believe my theory! 😅
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Oh, and the psychologists did not predict this. I guess people don’t believe my theory! 😅
Bingo! 🎯 What DID explain the changes in people’s thought style was whether they moved to a historically rice-farming area (like Shanghai) or wheat-farming area (like Beijing).
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Bingo! 🎯 What DID explain the changes in people’s thought style was whether they moved to a historically rice-farming area (like Shanghai) or wheat-farming area (like Beijing).
Rice farming required more labor and coordination than wheat, so China’s rice areas tend to be a little more interdependent and think more holistically. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1... @sagepub.com
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Rice farming required more labor and coordination than wheat, so China’s rice areas tend to be a little more interdependent and think more holistically. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1... @sagepub.com
Why would that be? Here's one clue: China’s rice-farming regions are a little wealthier on average than wheat-farming areas.
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Why would that be? Here's one clue: China’s rice-farming regions are a little wealthier on average than wheat-farming areas.
But again, the data showed nothing! If anything, there was a slight trend in the *opposite* direction. Students moving to wealthier areas tended to think more holistically over time than other students.
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
But again, the data showed nothing! If anything, there was a slight trend in the *opposite* direction. Students moving to wealthier areas tended to think more holistically over time than other students.
OK, maybe it’s economic development that matters more? Our guessers predicted strong effects for moving to wealthier areas.
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
OK, maybe it’s economic development that matters more? Our guessers predicted strong effects for moving to wealthier areas.
But here’s what actually happened to people who moved to big cities. Mostly nothing!
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
But here’s what actually happened to people who moved to big cities. Mostly nothing!
That’s what most people think! We asked 188 psychology students and professors to guess what we’d find, and they predicted that people moving to big cities would experience STRONG decreases in relational thought (-28%).
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
That’s what most people think! We asked 188 psychology students and professors to guess what we’d find, and they predicted that people moving to big cities would experience STRONG decreases in relational thought (-28%).
This setup is exciting (to me!) because we can test how different environments affect the way people think. For example, do people who move from rural areas to big cities like Beijing and Shanghai think more like WEIRD Westerners?
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
This setup is exciting (to me!) because we can test how different environments affect the way people think. For example, do people who move from rural areas to big cities like Beijing and Shanghai think more like WEIRD Westerners?
People in individualistic, WEIRD cultures tend to choose the abstract, categorical pairings. People in collectivistic, non-WEIRD cultures tend to choose the relational pairings. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @science.org
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
People in individualistic, WEIRD cultures tend to choose the abstract, categorical pairings. People in collectivistic, non-WEIRD cultures tend to choose the relational pairings. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @science.org
We gave them a categorization task that’s been used a ton to measure cultural differences. Choose two of three objects to categorize together. link.springer.com/article/10.1... @springer.springernature.com @springernature.com
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
We gave them a categorization task that’s been used a ton to measure cultural differences. Choose two of three objects to categorize together. link.springer.com/article/10.1... @springer.springernature.com @springernature.com
Here’s what we did. We tested about 1,400 students’ cognitive style as they moved to college across China.
October 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Here’s what we did. We tested about 1,400 students’ cognitive style as they moved to college across China.