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Alex Browman

@alexbrowman.bsky.social
731 followers 395 following 35 posts

Assistant Professor of Psychology at College of the Holy Cross. I study how students, teachers, and the public think about education and the implications for improving education. Lab: alexbrowman.com

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Reposted by Alex Browman
Dilek Sayedahmed @dileksayedahmed.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I truly, deeply, sincerely do think the guy flipping burgers at McDonalds should be able to afford rent, bills, and groceries with his paycheck alone. That's kind of the whole point of having a job and I can't believe this is considered a radical position.🤷🏽‍♀️
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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
UVA alum Carrington Epperson: “I recommend anyone to take an African American studies course because you will never understand how much you weren’t taught about it before.”
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
My department is hiring an Assistant Professor specializing in Adult Development and Aging. We welcome applications from scholars exploring a wide range of topics within the psychology of aging—see link for more details. Application deadline is Sept. 13. Please share! apply.interfolio.com/191075
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I don’t know what the right concept is to explain it, but this kind of private equity extraction stranglehold on something like youth sports is one reason people are unhappy and feel like life is unaffordable nymag.com/intelligence...
Investors saw an opportunity and had a model. In 2014, a pair of private-equity firms acquired Varsity Brands, a team-sports-apparel and competitive-cheer company, for $1.5 billion. The deal gave Varsity Brands ubiquity in the youth-sports ecosystem at the national level, from the competitions themselves to the uniforms and training camps. Just four years later, it was bought by another private-equity firm, Bain Capital, for a reported $2.5 billion. In 2024, it sold again to KKR for around $4.5 billion.
Travel sports had been growing in popularity since the early aughts, but investments tended to be small and fragmented - a team here, a rink there.
The new mentality was bigger and more straightforward: Own it all.
Private investment firms began buying up teams, facilities, software, camps, apparel, and media streaming in a roll-up strategy that allows them to profit from almost every aspect of a family's participation. "It's a stay-to-play mentality where you go to a tournament that is owned by the same company that owns the team, that then says you have to book a hotel block that's owned by the team through a platform also owned by the team. They have rules about taking your own video because they want to sell you their media package, and you have to pay to park because they own that too," said a former club-lacrosse coach in New Jersey who has three children on travel teams. "Before you know it, you're paying a lot of money for the privilege of your kid playing a team from one town over, several states away from where you all live." Private equity didn't create all these practices, but in some cases it accelerated them, said Tom Farrey, founder and director of the Aspen Institute's Sports & Society Program.
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Mandatory post!
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
😂DARTH VADER IN SAN DIEGO: “The emperor is a fan of Flock. We must continue utilizing Flock technologies.”
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Evidence keeps accumulating that LLMs are a powerfully useful technology for people who already know what they're talking about, and a dangerous outsourcing of cognitive function for people who don't. This can occur within a single individual, who knows a lot about some things and not about others.
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Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
In 2016, San Antonio cop Matthew Luckhurst was fired after giving a homeless man a sandwich filled with feces. Last month, he became police chief in Benavides, Texas.
ksat.com
Records: Ex-SAPD officer fired for giving feces sandwich to homeless man promoted to South Texas police chief
A former San Antonio police officer fired for giving a homeless man a feces sandwich was promoted to serve as the chief of a South Texas police department, according to records reviewed by KSAT Invest...
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Sylvia Pellicore @roenok.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Seriously. Some of the smartest people in the world are working to make online gambling as addictive as possible. You aren’t immune.
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Jacson A. Bevens - XLVIII, LX @jacsonbevens.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
*sigh*
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
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Amanda Watson @amndw2.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
"You’ve read a million pearl-clutching op-eds about woke professors and cancel culture, but for my money, the real crisis facing American higher education is that colleges & universities are increasingly run by people who are hostile to students & professors, &...the idea of the university itself."
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Alex Hanna @alexhanna.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Sir, another graduation ceremony in which the students booed AI has dropped. "College graduates were pissed after their school used AI to announce graduates’ names and missed hundreds of names" (via @/FearedBuck on Twitter)
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Seeking travel suggestions! I'll be in the Netherlands for 2 weeks in late May and I'm looking for day trip suggestions to keep myself busy while my wife is teaching. I'll be based in Well, NL and will have a car. Would also love to meet up with anyone I know in the area!
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Daryl Cameron @dcameron.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
In light of the recent announcement to disband NSF's SBE program (which includes much of what would cover basic social psychology research), EMP Lab postdoc @amormino.bsky.social put together this advocacy resource guide. Please take a look, share, and let's advocate www.paigeamormino.com/pages/9337
paigeamormino.com
Paige Amormino - Saving SBE starts before the bill is written.
Right now, NSF SBE does not have its own separate line of funding in the FY2027 budget structure. This matters because if SBE is not specifically protected ...
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Pam Davis-Kean, PhD @umpamdk.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
The NSF 2027 budget has noted that they will close out the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science Program (SBE). This is not a good thing. nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/FY-202...
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Annette Gordon-Reed @agordonreed.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Or like saying you don’t need to learn how to play the piano because there are player pianos. It misses the whole point.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
It's like approaching a chef who really loves making new dishes, watching other people enjoy them, enjoying the taste himself and saying, look, this cooking thing takes a lot of time and energy, wouldn't you rather just get your nutritional needs from this brand new Gruel Bar we're selling?
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 21/03/2026
THREAD: Cherise Doyley was in her 12th hour of contractions at the hospital when a tablet was brought to her bedside. On the screen was a Zoom call with a judge and several lawyers and doctors. She was in court, a nurse told her. The reason? For failing to agree to a C-section.
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Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · 05/03/2026
We asked people around the world to rate the morality and ethics of others in their country. The U.S. is the only place we surveyed where more adults describe the morality and ethics of others living in the country as bad than good. See our full morality report here: www.pewresearch.org/...
Chart showing in many countries, people see their fellow citizens as morally good.
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Laura King @kingla.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Edward L. Deci, 83, Dies; Found Self-Determination as a Key to Happiness www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/s...
nytimes.com
Edward L. Deci, 83, Dies; Found Self-Determination as a Key to Happiness
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Derek Bruff @derekbruff.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Props to POD Network's AI in Education SIG for pointing this out... That Einstein app did a rebrand this week. First image is from the website today, second image from three days ago. Today he's a "personal tutor." Earlier this week he "watches lectures, writes essays... and submits your homework."
From February 25, 2026: Meet Einstein. The personal tutor every student deserves. Einstein connects to your Canvas, knows your strengths and weaknesses, and guides you step by step throughout your entire educational journey.From February 22, 2026: Meet Einstein. Einstein is an AI with a computer. He logs into Canvas every day, watches lectures, reads essays, writes papers, participates in discussions, and submits your homework — automatically.
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
When I finished my PhD, my lab gifted me a bottle of Bruichladdich Octomore scotch, the nicest bottle I'd ever owned. I nursed it for 6 years and only finished it off on my wedding day. I now have a new one, because a recent development deserved a similar celebration: I've been awarded tenure!
A bottle of Bruichladdich Octomore 15.3 scotch and its accompanying tin
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
what even is the fucking point
How can Einstein do all this?
Einstein has his own virtual computer with a browser, just like you do. He can navigate websites, watch videos, read documents, type in text fields, click buttons, and submit forms. Anything you can do on a computer, Einstein can do.

How does Einstein access my Canvas?
You link your Canvas account once during setup. Einstein uses your credentials to log in, view assignments, and submit work on your behalf.

Will my professor know?
Einstein submits assignments from your account just like you would. The work is original and generated per-assignment — not copied from a database.
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C. Thi Nguyen @add-hawk.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out. As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class. Here's what happened:
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Canadian English Dictionary @canadiandictionary.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
And the results are in! After carefully reviewing the results of a national poll the Board of Directors of the Society for Canadian English (SCE) has determined that this year’s Canadian Word of the Year (CWOTY), the first of its kind, will be “maplewashing.”
"Canadian Word of the Year" on a red banner. Beneath the banner reads "maplewashing" and "the deceptive practice of making things look more Canadian than they actually are"
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Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque: "This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
Bronze plaque saying "A Letter to the Future. Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.  August 2019. 415ppm CO2"
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Like, what are we doing?
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Björn E. Hommel @bjoernhommel.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
🚨 SynthNet is out 🚨 Researchers propose new constructs and measures faster than anyone can track. We (@anniria.bsky.social @ruben.the100.ci) built a search engine to check what already exists and help identify redundancies; indexing 74,000 scales from ~31,500 instruments in APA PsycTests. 🧵1/3
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
I’m looking for a good article about people’s personal experiences deeply embracing and then eventually retreating from conspiracy theories. Suggestions?
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Charles Johnson @charles.littlegreenfootballs.com · 25/11/2025
i’m not crying you’re crying xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
Fifteen Years
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Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Whenever people complain about the number of folks relying on food stamps, it is worth reminding them that SNAP is, by too large of a degree, a subsidy for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage and their political allies who reject public policy prescriptions to reduce income inequality.
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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 10/10/2025
I have to fan-girl for a minute here. My friend @rosvall-lab.bsky.social built an app to gather data on bird behavior during the 2024 solar eclipse. 10,000+ citizen scientists contributed (including my kids), and the resulting paper was published in Science today! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Total solar eclipse triggers dawn behavior in birds: Insights from acoustic recordings and community science
On 8 April 2024, a total solar eclipse disrupted light-dark cycles for North American birds during the lead-up to spring reproduction. Compiling more than 10,000 community observations and artificial ...
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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
“When Dr. Andrew Boozary and his team at Toronto's University Health Network looked deeper into the issue, they discovered that about 100 patients accounted for more than 4,500 emergency department visits in one year.” /End www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Toronto ER costs, visits by frequent patients reduced with new housing model | CBC News
The Dunn House, a long-term housing project with easy access to healthcare, is helping 48 of Toronto's most-frequent visitors to the ER. The program has greatly reduced the number of hospital visits a...
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Eladio Bobadilla @eladiobobadilla.com · 04/10/2025
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Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 01/10/2025
Jane Goodall, the celebrated primatologist and conservationist best known for her work studying the behavior of chimpanzees, died Wednesday, Oct. 1. She was 91.
rollingstone.com
Jane Goodall, Trailblazing Primatologist and Environmental Activist, Dead at 91
Jane Goodall, the trailblazing primatologist best known for her work studying the behavior of chimpanzees, has died at the age of 91.
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Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Wow www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
One week left (Sept. 15) to apply for our positions in Cognitive Psychology and Developmental Psychology. Please share widely, and happy to answer questions!
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amy brown 👻 @amybrown.xyz · 22/08/2025
this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like
Why should I write better when a machine can do it for me?
Because actually no one can do it for you, because your voice is unique among all the people on earth. Siri never petted a horse's neck. Alexa has never been ghosted by the captain of the football team. But you have lived, your heart is beating, you have suffered, and you have something important to say. It's a human's job, to use words, and whatever job you give to a machine, that part of your brain goes dark. Maybe it's worth it when it comes to remembering phone numbers and directions, but when that part of your brain that uses words goes dark, that's a vast area that's very close to your soul. Don't let some internet platform convince you that what you have to say and create isn't worthwhile. Words are the echo of your soul. Honing that echo matters.
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Alan Baxter @alanbaxter.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Turn off AI in search results. I just did this in Chrome and it works. tenbluelinks.org#chrome-windows
tenbluelinks.org
How to Turn Off Google AI Overview and Set "Web" as Default
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
The College of the Holy Cross is hiring for 2 tenure-track psychology positions: 1 in Cognitive Psychology (specifically, higher-order cognition) and 1 in Developmental Psychology. Please share widely! Developmental job ad: apply.interfolio.com/171704 Cognitive job ad: apply.interfolio.com/171698
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mark brandt @mjbsp.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
If you are making a syllabus at the start of this semester, you might find the generic syllabus make a helpful tool (I did not make this, I just use it every semester) wcaleb.rice.edu/syllabusmake...
wcaleb.rice.edu
Generic Syllabus Maker
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Lexi Decker @lexidecker.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Thrilled to share our new @NatureComms paper: "Exploration is associated with socioeconomic disparities in learning and academic achievement in adolescence." www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵1/7
nature.com
Exploration is associated with socioeconomic disparities in learning and academic achievement in adolescence - Nature Communications
Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds often show lower academic achievement, commonly linked to limited resources. Here, the authors show that reduced exploration–a behavior tuned for learning...
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Chaz Firestone @chazfirestone.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
these are forks
a visual illusion: what appears to be some strangely shaped pink pieces of cloth are actually the background on which several forks are laying
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Thanks to @equityaccelerator.bsky.social for covering my new paper on belonging in school! The paper (open-access!): link.springer.com/article/10.1... And a summary: bsky.app/profile/alex...)
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Alex Browman @alexbrowman.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
New (and first solo) publication on belonging in school, which I'm presenting at AERA today (April 24 @ 5:25 in Bluebird Ballroom Room 3C). Here's the open-access link, and a very quick summary: What do researchers vs. students really mean when we say “belonging”? link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Centering Social Fit, Self-Concept Fit, Goal Fit, and Resource Fit as Core Elements of Students’ Experiences of Belonging at School - Educational Psychology Review
A common theme across psychological research on belonging in school has been a focus on the social—on the quality of students’ connections to others in the school environment. In this review, I argue ...
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Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Social psychology lost a giant, and I lost a dear friend and collaborator. Still processing the loss of Sam Sommers, and probably will be for some time. Cherish the time you have with your people, folks. now.tufts.edu/2025/03/20/r...
now.tufts.edu
Remembering Psychology Professor Sam Sommers
Sam Sommers, longtime professor at Tufts, studied the psychological causes and consequences of racism
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AERA @aeraedresearch.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
AERA has just learned that all restricted-use NCES data licenses will be cancelled, possibly as early as March 20. We urgently request that all AERA members and others in the research community with restricted-use licenses take these two actions: www.aera.net/Research-Pol...
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AERA @aeraedresearch.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
AERA and COPAFS have issued a statement on the sudden termination of 169 contracts within IES, including those that NCES holds for the collection and reporting of education statistics. Read the full statement: www.aera.net/Newsroom/AER...
aera.net
AERA and COPAFS Statement on the New Administration’s Sudden Termination of National Center for Education Statistics Contracts
AERA and COPAFS Statement on the New Administration’s Sudden Termination of National Center for Education Statistics Contracts
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