Show Notes
Earlier this year, the last of five "Many Labs" projects was accepted for publication at Collabra: Psychology, representating the culmination of a nearly-decade long series of multi-lab replication efforts. In this episode, Alexa and Yoel consider what they've learned from Many Labs 1 through 5, including insights about replication, expertise, and the impact (or lack thereof) of small effects. They also discuss their own connections to the project - Yoel as an original author, and Alexa as a researcher examing psychologists' reactions to the findings. Although the co-hosts deny they have any existential fear of death (see Many Labs 4) they do share their most recent life-threatening experiences. Links: Two Psychologists F. on Untappd
Many Labs 1
Many Labs 2
Many Labs 3
Many Labs 4
Many Labs 5
PsyArXiv Preprints | Psychologists Update their Beliefs About Effect Sizes After Replication Studies
Burlington Farmers Market
More from Two Psychologists Four Beers
Harvard psychologist and philosopher Josh Greene joins the show to talk about his influential work in moral psychology and why he has partly moved from basic science to applied projects. We talk about two ways he's trying to apply his research to change the real world. The first is Giving Multiplier, a donation platform that nudges people towards higher-impact giving (listeners can get extra matching funds on Giving Multiplier by visiting https://givingmultiplier.org/invite/BEERS). The second is Tango, an online interactive quiz game that gets Democrats and Republicans to like each other a little better.
Andy Masley joins Yoel and Mickey to talk about a claim that's made him (in)famous: using AI chatbots doesn't meaningfully affect your carbon footprint or water usage. We discuss what data centers actually do with water, why "ten times a Google search" is not a useful metric, and why people really don't want data centers built near them.
Paul and Yoel talk about whether it's a problem that psychologists seem to be no better than laypeople at predicting behavior. We also cover a recent controversy in anthropology, talk a little bit about the Odyssey (movie), and discuss whether people ought to be drinking more.
Cognitive scientist Molly Crockett joins the show to talk about what it's like to be known in the field as an "AI skeptic." We talk about where Molly is actually skeptical, but also what she thinks that label gets wrong. Along the way, we cover a bunch of other things too: Molly's research in social neuroscience, computational modeling, and moral psychology; Molly and Mickey's disagreements about empathic AI; and Molly's case for what she's calling "thick empathy." Finally, Molly makes a pitch for non-alcoholic beer, which sadly falls on deaf ears. Special Guest: Molly Crockett. Links: OSF | The pitfalls of pay-to-play morality
Researcher, professor, and former Division III football player Nick Epley joins the show to talk about why we underestimate the benefits of social connections. We are a social species, and yet many of us choose to avoid connecting with others. Nick and I talk about his research on this, and about his new book, A Little More Social, which is all about how we can change our behavior to connect more with others. Special Guest: Nick Epley. Links: Nicholas Epley