Dr. Holly F. Levin-Aspenson

Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when

When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.

Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.

academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

New paper in JAMA Psych, from Alex Moussa-Tooks, myself, Leah Gilbertson, and Sarah Kopelovich at @uwspiritlab.bsky.social. Inside, we talk about the important role of clinical psychology in inpatient psychiatric care and the need for more research in this area.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

New study: AI chatbots systematically violate mental health ethics standards Researchers at Brown University found that AI chatbots routinely violate core mental health ethics standards, underscoring the need for legal standards and oversight as use of these tools increases.

Researchers at Brown University found that AI chatbots routinely violate core mental health ethics standards, underscoring the need for legal standards and oversight as use of these tools increases. www.brown.edu/news/2025-10...

Please join us for our Fall 2025 Virtual Open House at UNT on 10/29 at 6:00 PM CST/7 PM EST

Public health is under attack by a deluge of misinformation. We offer a consensus report from the American Psychological Association summarizing what we know & what interventions are effective in countering it. We provide 8 concrete recommendations. Open-access - awspntest.apa.org/fulltext/202...

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The Trump administration has laid it out: comply with their ideological agenda or else…

This is how we lose free thought in American higher education.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Open science discussions that are largely hostile and condescending toward non-adopters will not motivate behavior change. Are we doing altruism, or antagonism?

Signed, someone who practices open science

A lot of people think that every international student admitted means one fewer spot for domestic students, when the opposite is more likely true - the tuition revenue international students bring allows public universities to provide substantial discounts to domestic students, improving access.

People think they’re taking down a rich intellectual sinecure but they’re mostly terrorizing committed public servants who make $58,000 a year after 15 years of experience at a school that has to budget creatively so students can access textbooks.

Discretion Is Not the Better Part of Academic Freedom In a free society, we strive to eliminate the punishments that make discretion a rational choice—and not glorify discretion as a virtue when it is actually a vice.

Academic freedom will not survive by encouraging professors to censor themselves more.

“Too much of the response to the Trump admin’s repression has been driven by fear & cowardice. We need to fiercely support #academicfreedom as a fundamental right for all.”

— @johnkwilson.bsky.social

What if NIH had been 40% smaller? Replaying history with less NIH funding shows widespread impacts on drug-linked research

This may be the most important paper ever published about NIH funded research.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Faculty insert AAUP academic freedom statement into class syllabi Some Columbia professors have inserted a statement supporting academic freedom into their fall 2025 class syllabi in light of the University’s July 23 <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2...

“Knowledge flourishes when inquiry is free and respectful."

The AAUP supports statements affirming academic freedom in class syllabi!

@aaupcu.bsky.social

#DefendHigherEd #AcademicFreedom

📢 Our open letter reminds public higher ed leaders + administrators that their actions must follow the law, not political rhetoric. The First Amendment protects the teaching of controversial topics. Executive orders and legislation to the contrary cannot override this constitutional protection.

ACOG reaffirms that acetaminophen is safe for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. No reputable studies support suggestions like those in HHS’s recent announcement linking acetaminophen use in pregnancy to autism; in fact, high-quality studies show no such risk. https://bit.ly/47Wxc59

On Title VI, Discrimination, and Academic Freedom This report considers how Title VI has been used to create an enforcement apparatus that sidesteps long-established AAUP-recommended procedures of shared governance and offers recommendations for facu...

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NEW AAUP Report Analyzes Trump Admin Weaponization of Title VI
to Undermine Civil Rights Protections.

#Academicfreedom
#AcademicSky
#DefendHigherEd

Manufactured outrage is killing academic freedom in Texas | Opinion Enough with the "gotcha" attacks like the recent firing of a Texas A&amp;M instructor. Let professors teach. Let students learn, writes Pauline Turner Strong.

"Enough is enough. Texas must allow faculty and college students to explore freely the breadth of human knowledge, and administrators must support us in that time-honored quest."

– Pauline Strong, President @utaustinaaup.bsky.social

#AcademicFreedom
#AcademicSky
@texasaaup.bsky.social

How a secret recording of a gender identity lecture upended Texas A&M Officials have struggled to detail the exact reasons for the A&M professor’s termination, citing a technical issue with her course description. Faculty say the move was politically motivated.

The new reality that is emerging in Texas is that certain topics or ideas are simply off the table in the classroom.

The censorship of academic speech and entire fields of knowledge in service to an ideology poses an unprecedented danger to the future of higher education.

#AcademicFreedom

The new TOC from academia dot edu. By creating an Account with Academia.edu, you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent for Academia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, citations, mentions, publications, and areas of interest) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising, selling, or soliciting the use or purchase of Academia.edu's Services.

If you’re on academia dot edu, let me suggest that you strongly consider deleting your account.

Building One Faculty from Below Everyday actions by department chairs and other tenured and tenure-track faculty can build solidarity and faculty power.

"Step by step, by recognizing in word and deed the important contributions of contingent faculty . . . we can pave a path toward the ‘one faculty’ we need at this critical time.” Eva Swidler writes in #Academe about everyday actions to build faculty solidarity.

Advisory to Academic Workers In a moment when it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the consequences of our online speech and choices, the AAUP and Faculty First Responders are issuing guidance to AAUP members and othe...

The @aaup.org just shared guidance for academic workers on how to protect themselves online www.aaup.org/news/advisor...

I think I might just hurl my laptop into the sea

Resources for Research This section provides brief summaries of selected resources for research that have been published in journals of the Psychonomic Society, typically Behavior Research Methods. These resources consis…

Researchers have validated Fabla, a secure smartphone app that lets participants record spoken diary entries in their daily lives. ✅ Higher adherence & usability ✅ 2x more language data than text diaries. #psynomBRM paper by Kaplan @deannakaplan.bsky.social and colleagues.

Clemson fires two more faculty members over Charlie Kirk comments Clemson leaders had come under increased pressure from people online as well as South Carolina Republican politicians to take action.

The rampant violations of academic freedom and intrusions on extramural speech are escalating rapidly. Faculty members have the right to speak or write as citizens, free from institutional censorship or discipline. Expression of opinion as a citizen does not constitute grounds for dismissal.

Important stuff for federal workers and scientists and academics alike:

Deskilling is a huge concern.

It's terrifying that students and academics convince themselves that AI can substitute for their own critical faculties or skill development.

The AAUP notes with great alarm the rash of recent administrative actions to discipline faculty, staff, & student speech in the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk.

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“As we consider how to ‘defend’ academic freedom, I think it is important to admit when it has been lost. Perhaps one day it may return, but at least for now, academic freedom is no longer present at one of the largest public institutions in the country.” ⬇️⬇️

AAUP President Condemns Political Firings of Texas Faculty, Calls for Reinstatements The sudden firings of faculty members this week at two Texas universities are serious violations of well-established standards and principles of academic freedom and tenure and set a dangerous new pre...

The AAUP calls on Texas A&M & Texas State to reverse the ideological firings of faculty members. We condemn the removal of the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences & the chair of the English department at Texas A&M for supporting the academic freedom of an instructor as a draconian abuse of power.

psych departments post a faculty job that has nothing to do with AI challenge

Images show text of press release in black and blue ink on white pages. Full text here: https://texasaflcio.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/09-11_release_tseu_firing.pdf

Images show text of press release in black and blue ink on white pages. Full text here: https://texasaflcio.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/09-11_release_tseu_firing.pdf

⭐️ TODAY: Texas State Employees Union press release condemns the firing of Texas State University professor for statements he made as a private citizen. ✊👇

@cwa-tseu.bsky.social

texasaflcio.org/sites/defaul...