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Wed 07 Feb 15:00: Understanding and managing conspiracy beliefs

Other Psychology Seminars - Fri, 26/01/2024 - 19:53
Understanding and managing conspiracy beliefs

While considerable progress has been made in uncovering the motivational processes, contextual consequences, and interventions to reduce beliefs in conspiracy theories, certain areas of concern remain unclear. First, recent academic debates have centred around the exact nature of different measures of conspiracy beliefs (e.g., conspiracy mentality vs. belief in specific conspiracy theories). Regardless, what these measures fail to capture are the underlying components that make up a “conspiracist worldview”, alongside the potentially distinct implications of these different ontological processes. To understand this, I discuss our ongoing work on developing a scale that aims to capture a propensity to perceive the world in conspiracist terms. Second, inoculation or “pre-bunking” interventions have proven effective at reducing general misinformation susceptibility and acceptance of conspiracy narratives. However, less is known about the efficacy of these interventions among the specific population of interest; that is, actual “conspiracy theorists”. To explain how interventions might be extended to manage this issue, I will present promising recent evidence from our pre-bunking interventions that are specifically tailored to appeal to those already susceptible to conspiracy narratives. Finally, I will summarise and discuss other potential extensions of pre-bunking interventions to improve their efficacy specifically among “conspiracy theorist” communities.

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Wed 24 Jan 15:00: The paradox of virality

Other Psychology Seminars - Mon, 22/01/2024 - 10:41
The paradox of virality

I will present the results from a variety of interconnected studies about intergroup conflict, the spread of (mis)information, and how these topics interact with digital technologies such as social media. First, I will present research showing how social identity motives — particularly out-group negativity — explain why content is widely shared (or goes “viral”) on social media. Then, I will present research showing that widely shared content is often not widely liked — a phenomenon I call the “paradox of virality.” I will discuss the results of a study showing how accuracy and social identity motivations causally shape the belief and spread of (mis)information. I will also present the results of a large-scale digital field experiment that tests the long-term effects of exposure to misinformation and divisive content by having participants unfollow several polarizing social media accounts and misinformation sources for one month. Finally, I will present current and future research directions demonstrating how we can explore these questions on a global scale using multi-site “global studies” and how we can enhance our methods for testing these questions using large-language models.

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Wed 28 Feb 15:00: Title to be confirmed

Other Psychology Seminars - Sun, 14/01/2024 - 12:37
Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

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Wed 31 Jan 16:00: Explaining regional mental health prescriptions in England through deprivation and aggregate personality profiles

Other Psychology Seminars - Sun, 14/01/2024 - 12:33
Explaining regional mental health prescriptions in England through deprivation and aggregate personality profiles

In a given week, one in five adults in England take antidepressants or medication for anxiety. Despite the large variance between regions, there is little understanding of why certain regions have highly elevated prescription levels. We adopted a psycho-social model to investigate spatial prescription patterns by analysing 4.1 billion general, 95 million anxiety-specific, and 178 million depression-specific prescriptions issued in England between 2015 and 2019. We found three possible explanations for why certain regions have highly elevated mental health prescription levels per capita. Areas with elevated levels tended to be: i) smaller ii) be contextually privileged (i.e., short distance to GP); but, more interestingly, iii) affected by high work barriers. By then controlling for these three explanatory variables and matching the prescription data with England’s largest personality survey, we found strong evidence for a potential alternative to mental health drug prescriptions: social activity. Indeed, areas with large proportions of residents scoring high on the extraversion activity facet displayed significantly less anxiety and depression prescriptions. This result offers new evidence and urges the adoption of schemes similar to the social prescribing scheme recently piloted by NHS England in which doctors refer patients to non-medical treatments such as local volunteer groups (e.g., community gardens, community businesses, art and craft centres), reducing both costs and pressure on doctors.

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Wed 14 Feb 15:00: Title to be confirmed

Other Psychology Seminars - Sun, 14/01/2024 - 12:32
Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

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Wed 07 Feb 15:00: Title to be confirmed

Other Psychology Seminars - Sun, 14/01/2024 - 12:26
Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

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Wed 24 Jan 15:00: The paradox of virality

Other Psychology Seminars - Sun, 14/01/2024 - 12:21
The paradox of virality

Abstract not available

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Thu 25 Jan 14:00: The finger of blame in depression and the brain

Other Psychology Seminars - Thu, 11/01/2024 - 09:41
The finger of blame in depression and the brain

Abstract not available

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Thu 14 Mar 14:00: Stimulating speech: auditory-motor interactions during perception and production

Other Psychology Seminars - Tue, 09/01/2024 - 11:01
Stimulating speech: auditory-motor interactions during perception and production

Abstract not available

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Thu 07 Mar 14:00: Restoring communication with intracortical brain-computer interfaces

Other Psychology Seminars - Tue, 09/01/2024 - 11:00
Restoring communication with intracortical brain-computer interfaces

Abstract not available

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Thu 29 Feb 14:00: Consolidation of memory and model-based planning

Other Psychology Seminars - Tue, 09/01/2024 - 10:59
Consolidation of memory and model-based planning

Abstract not available

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Thu 22 Feb 14:00: Mind Hacking – How magicians exploit psychological biases and limitations

Other Psychology Seminars - Tue, 09/01/2024 - 10:56
Mind Hacking – How magicians exploit psychological biases and limitations

Abstract not available

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Thu 08 Feb 14:00: Cognitive mechanisms of antidepressant drug action; from established treatments to novel developments

Other Psychology Seminars - Tue, 09/01/2024 - 10:54
Cognitive mechanisms of antidepressant drug action; from established treatments to novel developments

Abstract not available

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Thu 01 Feb 14:00: Towards early identification and prevention of child mental health problems

Other Psychology Seminars - Tue, 09/01/2024 - 10:53
Towards early identification and prevention of child mental health problems

Abstract not available

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Thu 25 Jan 14:00: Talk title tbc

Other Psychology Seminars - Tue, 09/01/2024 - 10:53
Talk title tbc

Abstract not available

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Thu 18 Jan 14:00: Developmental brain plasticity: a few insights from stroke and epilepsy in children

Other Psychology Seminars - Tue, 09/01/2024 - 10:49
Developmental brain plasticity: a few insights from stroke and epilepsy in children

Abstract not available

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Fri 26 Jan 12:00: What Cephalopods Might Reveal About the Evolution of Cognition The host for this talk is Clive Wilkins

Other Psychology Seminars - Mon, 08/01/2024 - 09:52
What Cephalopods Might Reveal About the Evolution of Cognition

The soft-bodied cephalopods including octopus, cuttlefish, and squid possess a suite of cognitive attributes that are comparable to those found in vertebrates. Inspired by our previous work on the cognitive capacities of jays and other members of the corvid family such as ravens and New Caledonian crows (“feathered apes”), we have found evidence that cuttlefish, for example, remember the ‘what, where and when’ of past events, and that they exhibit self control as well as making future-oriented decisions such as eating less crab at lunchtime if their favourite shrimp are available for dinner. These findings will be discussed in terms of an evolutionary framework of why these invertebrates may have evolved such cognitive capacities, and the implications for our understanding of the evolution of cognition in general~ in humans and other animals.

The host for this talk is Clive Wilkins

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Fri 08 Nov 16:30: Title to be confirmed The host for this talk is Varun Warrier

Other Psychology Seminars - Sun, 07/01/2024 - 15:48
Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

The host for this talk is Varun Warrier

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Wed 17 Jan 16:00: The failure of Russian propaganda in Ukraine and Russian PsyOps ads on Facebook

Other Psychology Seminars - Sun, 07/01/2024 - 13:58
The failure of Russian propaganda in Ukraine and Russian PsyOps ads on Facebook Two 25-minute talks:
  1. The failure of Russian propaganda by Jon Roozenbeek (Cambridge): Russia’s war in Ukraine is entering its 11th year. From the start, propaganda has been a key component of Russia’s military strategy, with the Kremlin sparing no expense to build legitimacy for its invasion and confuse audiences worldwide about its motivations. In this talk, Jon Roozenbeek discusses his forthcoming book, Propaganda and Ideology in the Russian-Ukrainian War (2024, Cambridge University Press). He will focus on Russia’s extensive propaganda campaign in Donbas after 2014, which served as a pre-amble to the 2022 full-scale invasion. He argues that this campaign failed in its primary goal, namely to convince Russian-speaking Ukrainians of Russia as an attractive alternative to Ukrainian identity. This failure went unrecognised by the Kremlin, which in part explains its gross miscalculations on the physical battlefield.
  2. Russian PsyOps ads on Facebook: a case study using data analytics to uncover manipulation network by Tetiana Haiduchyk, Uliana Hresko and Anton Dek (Trementum and Judge Business School): While analysing the Russian psychological operations in Ukraine conducted via Facebook advertisement, the authors discovered ads originating from pages whose names conformed to specific naming patterns such as “adjective synonymous to ‘nice’ + two or three letters and one number”. To investigate this and other patterns, they compiled lists of potential combinations and conducted Facebook searches, which allowed to identify 344,552 Facebook public pages likely belonging to a botnet. The authors then conducted a manual review of a 400-page sample to assess the number of genuine pages in the dataset, the estimate is that only 1.25% of pages in the sample are false positives.

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Wed 17 Jan 15:00: The failure of Russian propaganda in Ukraine and Russian PsyOps ads on Facebook

Other Psychology Seminars - Sat, 06/01/2024 - 10:25
The failure of Russian propaganda in Ukraine and Russian PsyOps ads on Facebook Two 25-minute talks:
  1. The failure of Russian propaganda by Jon Roozenbeek (Cambridge): Russia’s war in Ukraine is entering its 11th year. From the start, propaganda has been a key component of Russia’s military strategy, with the Kremlin sparing no expense to build legitimacy for its invasion and confuse audiences worldwide about its motivations. In this talk, Jon Roozenbeek discusses his forthcoming book, Propaganda and Ideology in the Russian-Ukrainian War (2024, Cambridge University Press). He will focus on Russia’s extensive propaganda campaign in Donbas after 2014, which served as a pre-amble to the 2022 full-scale invasion. He argues that this campaign failed in its primary goal, namely to convince Russian-speaking Ukrainians of Russia as an attractive alternative to Ukrainian identity. This failure went unrecognised by the Kremlin, which in part explains its gross miscalculations on the physical battlefield.
  2. Russian PsyOps ads on Facebook: a case study using data analytics to uncover manipulation network by Tetiana Haiduchyk, Uliana Hresko and Anton Dek (Trementum and Judge Business School): While analysing the Russian psychological operations in Ukraine conducted via Facebook advertisement, the authors discovered ads originating from pages whose names conformed to specific naming patterns such as “adjective synonymous to ‘nice’ + two or three letters and one number”. To investigate this and other patterns, they compiled lists of potential combinations and conducted Facebook searches, which allowed to identify 344,552 Facebook public pages likely belonging to a botnet. The authors then conducted a manual review of a 400-page sample to assess the number of genuine pages in the dataset, the estimate is that only 1.25% of pages in the sample are false positives.

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