Two Psychologists Four Beers

Yoel and Alexa are joined by Spencer Greenberg, founder of the behavioral science startup incubator Spark Wave and host of the Clearer Thinking podcast. He describes how he became fascinated with psychology and behavior change, and how he's been working to provide empirically-backed strategies for everday tasks, like making decisions or forming habits. He also offers an alternative perspective on open science, arguing that a phenomenon he calls "importance hacking" has been overshadowed by p-hacking in calls for science reform. Greenberg further challenges the Alexa and Yoel to consider whether the "open scientist" will fall short of what can only be achieved by the truly "inspired scientist." Finally, Spenccer has a major project in the works, and he gives us the honor of the big reveal.Special Guest: Spencer Greenberg.Links:Two Psychologists Four Beers on UntappdHow Much Alcohol Is in Kombucha? | Revolution FermentationCareer science, open science, and inspired science (with Alexa Tullett) | Clearer Thinking with Spencer GreenbergTransparent ReplicationsHome | Clearer Thinking with Spencer GreenbergFree Courses for Decision Making And Reasoning - ClearerThinking.orgPositly: Study Participant Recruitment for Research, Surveys, ExperimentsGuidedTrack – GuidedTrackRooks - YouTube

With grad school application deadlines around the corner, Alexa and Yoel discuss how, exactly, that process works. Big picture, they talk about their goals in selecting graduate students to work on their labs, and whether they've gotten good at the process. They also examine typical application requirements - including recommendation letters, personal statements, GPAs, and (sometimes) the GRE - and consider which they'd keep, and which they'd prefer to never deal with again.Links:Two Psychologists F. on UntappdMastodon - Decentralized social mediaMastodon - WikipediaTwo Psychologists Four Beers Episode 32: Measurement Schmeasurement (with Jessica Flake)A wave of graduate programs drops the GRE application requirement | Science | AAAS

Yoel and Alexa discuss a recent paper, written by Hughes, Srivastava, Leszko, and Condon, that created and validated a new index of "occupational prestige." The index is intended to provide a tool to measure the third component of socioeconomic status, alongside income and education. The cohosts consider how occupational prestige might lead to differential treatment, or even unrealistic expectations ("is anyone in this hotel a doctor?"). Digging deeper, they discuss the paper's exploration of ways that prestige tracks with the physical, critical thinking, and interpersonal demands of a profession. Finally, they realize that as a "former social neuroscientist," Alexa hasn't been getting the respect she deserves.Links:Two Psychologists F. on UntappdPsyArXiv Preprints | Occupational Prestige: The Status Component of Socioeconomic StatusO*NET OnLineHercinia Arts Collective

Paul Bloom joins Yoel and Alexa to talk about the glamour and humiliation of teaching psychology at the college level. They discuss how they've changed their approaches to teaching over the years, and whether they've become more skilled or more out of touch (or both). Alexa shares her experiences teaching about morality and evolution to a predominantly Christian student body, Yoel laments the fact that his students aren't more disagreeable, and Paul claims that critical thinking is overrated. In an era of increasing remote instruction, they claim that online courses can't do what they do. But, only Yik Yak knows for sure.Special Guest: Paul Bloom.Links:Two Psychologists F. on UntappdPaul Bloom's Teaching AdviceCareer science, open science, and inspired science (with Alexa Tullett) | Clearer Thinking with Spencer GreenbergTeacher (On FIlm) - YouTube

Inspired by a recent Atlantic article ("The Myth of Independent American Families" by Stephanie H. Murray) Alexa and Yoel consider what it means to live in an indiviualistic society. At an abstract level, they discuss different visions for interdependence, from communes to church communities to welfare states. On a more personal note, they reflect on ways that they depend on, and support, people in their families and communities, and whether it would be desirable to increase those levels of reliance. They also consider the domains of romantic relationships (should we feel like we're free to leave at any time?) and college education (how affordable should it be?). And, Yoel explains his beef with student loan forgiveness.Links:Two Psychologists F. on UntappdThe Myth of Independent American Families - The AtlanticThe Swedish Theory of LoveFees - Future Students. University of Toronto | University of TorontoCost of Attendance – Financial Aid | The University of Alabama

Yoel and Alexa are joined by Stefan Uddenberg, a social perception researcher and author of the paper "Deep Models of Superficial Face Judgments." This paper was the focus of a previous episde - "A Face for Podcasting" - in which the co-hosts discussed the research, and the resulting controversy. Now, Stefan offers a new, insider perspective. He begins by offering a deeper explanation of the work, noting that a large, diverse set of facial images, is essential for studying how people are unfairly judged based on appearance (e.g., their race and gender). He also recounts the outrage on Twitter and somehow finds lessons to be learned from even the harshest and most misinformed attacks. In an unexpected twist, Yoel and Alexa discover Stefan's hidden talent.Special Guest: Stefan Uddenberg.Links:Two Psychologists F. on UntappdStefan UddenbergDeep models of superficial face judgments | PNASReflections on ML models of first impressions | by Alex, Jordan, Josh, Stefan & Tom | MediumIn the Air - YouTube

As the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) starts gearing up for their 2023 conference, Alexa and Yoel debate some of the organization's recent efforts to be more anti-racist and politically engaged. First, the co-hosts discuss debate over moving the conference from its originally scheduled location (Atlanta, Georgia) due to the state's restrictive abortion laws. They consider how boycotting (or, as SPSP ultimately decided, not boycotting) fits with the organization's mission and identity. Second, they examine SPSP's new submission evaluation criteria, which reward submissions for promoting equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. Yoel and Alexa are largely divided on both topics, but Yoel provides at least one improvement they can agree on.Links:Two Psychologists Four Beers on UntappdDemonstrating Our Commitment to Anti-Racism Through Programming and Events | Society for Personality and Social PsychologySPSP Diversity StatisticsGeorgia's strict abortion law could take effect soon. Here's what the law does. - Georgia RecorderViews on whether abortion should be legal, and in what circumstances, in U.S. | Pew Research CenterStacey Abrams Urges Hollywood to Stay and Fight Anti-Abortion Laws in GeorgiaWe Didn't Start the Fire - YouTube

Yoel and Alexa chat with Jennifer Cox and Lauren Kois, co-directors of the Southern Behavioral Health and Law Initiative. Established in 2020, the initiative was created to address the dearth of mental health resources for people who become involved with the legal system. Jennifer and Lauren walk our co-hosts through common scenarios that can occur when a person with mental illness encounters the legal system, some of which involve long waits in understaffed state hospitals with little access to basic mental health resources. They also describe various efforts to ameliorate these problems, including their own work to optimize use of the 988 mental health emergency line in Alabama. In the process, they offer hope for researchers who aim to effect policy change without becoming mired in political polarization. And, they challenge future guests to a deadlifting contest.Special Guests: Jennifer Cox and Lauren Kois.Links:Two Psychologists Four Beers on UntappdSOUTHERN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND LAW INITIATIVE - WelcomeStanding tall: A new stage for incompetency casesYoel Romero - WikipediaTomberlin - stoned [Official Audio] - YouTube

Independent researcher Aella joins Yoel and Alexa to talk about her experiences doing freelance social science. Their discussion touches on some far-ranging topics, from the upsides of Twitter microfame to the humbling experience of questioning one's faith. At one point, they consider the compromises - good and bad - that come from catering to one's critics. Aella also discusses a recent funded research project where she asks people about their sexual fetishes. Special Guest: Aella.Links:Two Psychologists F. on UntappdKnowingless – In pursuit of an internally consistent annihilationerodynamicsAll The Twitter Polls (@aella_girl) - Google Sheets

Mickey returns with the hot takes you know and love. He joins Yoel and Alexa to discuss Jonathan Haidt's recent Atlantic article, "Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid." Haidt claims the answer is social media, but the cohosts aren't fully convinced. To shed a bit more light on the matter, they turn to an article by Amy Orben and Andrew Przybylski which provides a rigorous analysis of the relationship between social media use and well-being. In the end, Mickey admits to being a hypocrite, and Alexa makes a plug for Big Potato. Links:Two Psychologists F. on UntappdWhy the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid - The AtlanticOrben & Przybylski (2019)Response from Twenge, Haidt, Joiner, & CampbellResponse to the ResponseUS TikTok User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China, Leaked Audio ShowsThe Welfare Effects of Social Media - American Economic AssociationWindows of developmental sensitivity to social mediaCorrupting The Youth: Teaching of Psychology | RSS.com