Michael Inzlicht

On Mentors What makes someone a mentor, dear readers?

I don't usually write grateful posts, but I wanted to thank the people who shaped my career: from my PhD advisor who taught me to write, to the student who taught me courage. New post!

New chapter with @dcameron.bsky.social, Martina Orlandi, and @minzlicht.bsky.social:
osf.io/preprints/ps...

In this chapter, we argue that instead of debating whether human or AI empathy is superior overall, it is more useful to focus on the distinct trade-offs that each source of empathy offers.

New chapter preprint, led by my graduate student @jdweng.bsky.social -- "What so special about human empathy? Examining AI empathy and its trade-offs". A fun collaboration with @minzlicht.bsky.social and philosopher Martina Orlandi. Considering tradeoffs for *both* is critical to understanding

It would be wrong to say I'm against the idea of cognitive fatigue having an entirely metabolic basis (it's a simpler explanation!), but there are empirical and theoretical hurdles these theories must address before they're (re)adopted as working hypotheses. We don't need a sequel to ego-depletion

No need to oppose metabolic and motivational theories After a long and intense day at work, you find yourself so exhausted that you refuse to drive and join your friends at their dinner party; instead, you indulge in fast food and easy entertainment at h...

A reply to our letter (@minzlicht.bsky.social and I) questioning the need for metabolic costs to explain control induced cognitive fatigue. I worry we're talking past each other here. We're not denying that cognitive fatigue has a metabolic basis (I'm not a dualist) 1/N

Finally, someone has solved a real problem with AI! No more having to take a paper in the format for a journal that rejected you, and reformat it for a new journal. Well done!! formatmypaper.com

In Praise of Drinking (A Little) I’m ba-a-ack.

I'm republishing my most controversial essay: defending drinking culture in academia. Colleagues got mad. One journal editor loved it. Online reactions ranged from "fascinating" to demands for retraction. Now it's free to read.

🚨New WP!🚨

Structured AI Dialogues Can Increase Happiness and Meaning in Life

In a preregistered RCT, four psychology-grounded #AI chatbots improved well-being across several outcomes.

Co-authors: Jonas Schoene, Johannes Eichstaedt, Aadesh Salecha, Sonja Lyubomirsky

🧵👇

AI in the friend zone: Rethinking companionship — Schwartz Reisman Institute Can we have genuine relationships with AI systems? At the third Technophilosophy Soiree, conceived of and led by SRI Research Lead Karina Vold , leading thinkers from a variety of disciplines explore...

Can AI be a friend?

At the third Technophilosophy Soirée, led by @karinavold.bsky.social, SRI brought together scholars to ask how AI companionship is changing the way we connect, empathize and understand each other.

🎥→ tinyurl.com/ys4wdzeb
#AIethics @minzlicht.bsky.social @uoftethics.bsky.social

This Substack Really Tied My Sabbatical Together Happy birthday to Speak Now Regret Later!

53 posts, one sabbatical, and five dead psychological theories later: reflecting on a year of Speak Now Regret Later. Also 40% off annual subs through October because apparently I enjoy controversy.

Thread on a bunch of my issues with "cognition" and "cognitive" talk in the Mind Sciences.

New review! We synthesized literature on empathic AI: AI-generated emotional support is rated higher than human responses, but people's knowledge of the source shapes their perceptions. W/ @desmond-ong.bsky.social @amit-goldenberg.bsky.social @anatperry.bsky.social

osf.io/preprints/ps...

Does Data Matter in Psychology? Psychology presents itself as deeply empirical and quantitative.

What happens when the data say no, but our feelings say yes? From stereotype threat to implicit bias, psychology keeps choosing vibes over evidence. Maybe the data was just decoration?

Mazel tov, Joel!!!

It's publication day! Check out this thread for a summary of our new paper

❝Delegation to AI can increase unethical behaviour❞

Lots of love and labor got into this paper and I'm thrilled to see it out in the wild today

The Atlantic Announces Free Digital Subscriptions for All U.S. Public High Schools None

www.theatlantic.com/press-releas...

This is hilarious! I am going to screenshot this as proof that really, REALLY, I'm pretty quiet!

You and nearly everyone else in my comment section!

Thanks Jonas!

Thanks John!

Am I the Asshole for Taking Work Calls on My Own Balcony? My neighbour asked me to move indoors last month, and I minded.

I've been shushed my entire life—in Starbucks, by strangers, even by my own wife. But maybe the problem isn't that I'm loud. Maybe it's that we automatically assume quiet is virtuous. Am I the asshole? You tell me.

Thanks Norbert!

Thanks Jake!

Thanks Linda!

Just found out that I am the 2025 recipient of the Diener Award in Social Psychology from SPSP. I couldn’t have done it without my mentors (official and otherwise), students, and collaborators. I'm proud of this, but mostly just grateful I get to do work I love.

Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.

“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”

It costs a lot less to house people.

New paper! Different to my usual schtick concerning cognitive costs. We analysed differences in learning between depressed and healthy students and whether Pavlovian biases differed between them. We found mixed evidence... have a read!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Awesome work, Sam!

Pseudo Effects: How Method Biases Can Produce Spurious Findings About Close Relationships - Samantha Joel, John K. Sakaluk, James J. Kim, Devinder Khera, Helena Yuchen Qin, Sarah C. E. Stanton, 2025 Research on interpersonal relationships frequently relies on accurate self-reporting across various relationship facets (e.g., conflict, trust, appreciation). Y...

In a new paper, my colleagues and I set out to demonstrate how method biases can create spurious findings in relationship science, by using a seemingly meaningless scale (e.g., "My relationship has very good Saturn") to predict relationship outcomes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Self-reports are better measurement instruments than implicit measures - Nature Reviews Psychology Implicit measures are widely used because they are assumed to be superior to self-reports. In this Perspective, Corneille and Gawronski challenge this view and argue that claims about disadvantages of...

The original paper is by Olivier Corneille and Bertram Gawrosnki: www.nature.com/articles/s44...