Julia Strand

Hi all! I'm on sabbatical this year and have bandwidth to zoom into lab meetings to talk about open science in cog psych and speech research and/or how to implement practices that reduce research errors! (www.carleton.edu/perception-l...).

Email me if that sounds fun to you too!

The threat of analytic flexibility in using large language models to simulate human data: A call to attention Social scientists are now using large language models to create "silicon samples" - synthetic datasets intended to stand in for human respondents, aimed at revolutionising human subjects research. How...

Can large language models stand in for human participants?
Many social scientists seem to think so, and are already using "silicon samples" in research.

One problem: depending on the analytic decisions made, you can basically get these samples to show any effect you want.

THREAD 🧵

Psychological Methods invites early-career psychologists to apply to be a 2026 Editorial Fellow. This year kicked off our EF program -- it was enriching for the EFs and rewarding for everyone involved. Let's do it again!

For details:
www.apa.org/pubs/journal...

@apajournals.bsky.social

Experimentology cover: title and curves for distributions.

Experimentology is out today!!! A group of us wrote a free online textbook for experimental methods, available at experimentology.io - the idea was to integrate open science into all aspects of the experimental workflow from planning to design, analysis, and writing.

YouTube video by TEDx Talks Color is in the mind of the beholder | Julia Strand | TEDxStOlafCollege

What does it mean for objects to be a color? Turns out it’s a super hard question to answer!

In my TEDx talk, I discuss the science (and wonder!!) of color perception, including bird vision, #TheDress, and how there aren’t “right” answers about what we perceive.

youtu.be/gc9ydhNgt6U?...

New preprint commentary from me, @malte.the100.ci, and @ianhussey.mmmdata.io.

Cognitive dissonance in large language models is neither cognitive nor dissonant.

THREAD BELOW 🧵

osf.io/preprints/ps...

The video for our "Could Severance Happen" panel @carleton.edu is now available! www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY-S...

Poster featuring all three faculty in front of a sign for Severance Hall at Carleton College

Julia, dressed as Helly R, on a stage with slides about long term memory behind her

Julia, dressed as Helly R

Another fun event at @carleton.edu last night! A multidisciplinary analysis of whether Severance is possible, featuring neuroscience (Julie Neiworth), cognitive psychology (me), and philosophy (Jason Decker)! Take home: it’s complicated. But real fun to think through.

How much of our selves do we share professionally? Julia and Jonathan tackle questions around authenticity and navigating all the different relationships we have in our professional lives. What do we choose to share with whom? And how? Being honest is...

New episode alert! www.juiceandsqueeze.net/51 in which @juliafstrand.bsky.social and @jpeelle.bsky.social talk about toeing the line of sharing personal stuff in professional contexts.

And Aaron Heidgerken-Greene from the incredible maker space at @carleton.edu even made trophies for the speakers!

Guess Lectures Instructions Guess Lectures Notes and instructionsJulia Strand, Carleton College The Premise: In Guess Lectures, faculty give 7-minute talks using someone else’s slides from an unrelated discipline, sight unseen...

It has been loads of fun and is super popular (full auditoriums). It also happens to be very little work to organize. If you'd like to offer Guess Lectures at your institution, I wrote up a set of instructions to make it easier for you. Reach out with questions! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Definitely use the word “composition.” The guy in that painting looks kind of like Jude Law. Hey, that pastoral scene has wheat in it, plenty to say about Triticum aestivum. 10 minutes is up. Riotous applause ensues.

Imagine this. A biology professor stands at the podium. A wheel-of-fortune style spinner rolls past “Philosophy, ”Cinema and Media Studies,” and “Religion” and lands on “Art History.” Deep breath. What does she remember from that painting class sophomore year?

I started a new thing at Carleton College! It highlights the breadth of a liberal arts education, reminds students that faculty don't know EVERYTHING, and is loads of fun!

In "Guess Lectures," faculty give 7-minute talks using someone else’s slides from an unrelated discipline, sight unseen.

The snack size ziplocks are in the big box and the quart size are in the small box and it gives me Stroop-like interference wherever I open the drawer

And here is the preprint for the aforementioned Stage 2 Registered Report with the fabulous @naseemdh.com, @violetsarebrown.bsky.social, and @juliafstrand.bsky.social. osf.io/preprints/ps... THREAD BELOW 1/

SUPER EXCITED!!!!

Join us for #SIPS2025 Online to explore the historical development of #OpenScience, key milestones, and ongoing challenges with @katiecorker.bsky.social @juliafstrand.bsky.social @michelenuijten.bsky.social @aurelienallard.bsky.social, Zoltan Dienes, and @kaileylawson.bsky.social

Hi friends, the Spark Society's NSF funding has been terminated. We are dedicated to continuing our work and hope we can rely on you for support.

Ugh, so sorry to hear it, Chris.

Can confirm that my NSF grant "How False Beliefs Form & How to Correct Them" was cancelled today because it is "not in alignment with current NSF priorities" Shocking that understanding how people are misled by false information is now a forbidden topic. Our work will continue but at a smaller scale

Right?? Cognitive Behavior(al Research Methods) Therapy

Wow there are some great parallels here: sharing/transparency reveals features of the process to enable evaluating them….New methods take time to learn but are worth it…..😁

Totally agree! And I thought the punchline was going to be therapy! 😁

Science Requires Scientists to be Critical of Science These days, my primary motivation for engaging in projects is either irritation or spite.

New post! Should we hold back criticisms of scientific practices for fear that they will be weaponized by political attacks on science? Absolutely not. We need to recognize the distinction between scientific arguments and ideological arguments. getsyeducated.substack.com/p/science-re...

Reason #835 that working with @violetsarebrown.bsky.social is fun

We’re now calling preprints “PAPER TITLE (lab’s version)”

Yes, same to you!!

Yes!!

Communicating Research with the Public: The Art and Science of Op-Eds April 10th, 2025 MPA Midwestern Prychological Association Dave Nussbaum

Starting #MPA2025 off with @davenussbaum.bsky.social talking about communicating research for the public. Especially focused on writing and placing an effective op-ed. 1/