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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Third, a Psychology of Science Hub collaboration I co-authored: ⚡ Publishing, Incentives, and Conflict: An Action Research Inquiry 📅 Thu, Oct 8 | 10:30–11:25 UTC Sessions have several talks; stay for the whole slot! 🎟️ Register free: bigteamscienceconference.github.io

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

⚡ ManyContexts: Measuring the Worlds That Big Team Science Samples 📅 Wed, Oct 7 | 13:00–13:55 UTC ⚡ Invariance Blindness: When Cross-Cultural Inference Outruns Measurement Validity 📅 Thu, Oct 8 | 10:30–11:25 UTC

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

We have three Lightning Talks at the Big Team Science Conference 2026, and I'm presenting two live on Zoom 🌍 Two, with @onurcanyilmaz.bsky.social, ask what cross-cultural research often skips: 1. Do we know the contexts we're comparing? 2. Do our measures mean the same thing everywhere?

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Excited to present our work at the Culture & Cognition 2026 Conference! Across four preregistered studies (N = 4,102) in the US and Türkiye, religious and secular authority primes changed cognitive accessibility—but not generosity. See you at #Psychonomic2026!

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Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS) @improvingpsych.org · 25/08/2026

Congratulations to the project “Why I declare a conflict of interest and you should not,” which received🏆2026 SIPS commendation! It uses action research to explore whether the structural incentive to publish constitutes a conflict of interest that ought to be disclosed.

conflictofinterest.science

Conflict of Interest Research

Academic publishing advances knowledge, but it also advances careers.

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Evolutionary Social Psychology @socialpsych.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Empirical evidence suggests human cooperation often departs from classic reciprocity models. Long-term relationships, partner choice, and relationship maintenance may be more central than tit-for-tat-like exchange. Rethinking Reciprocity(Mathew & Boyd, 2026): www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Share your perspective through our survey on the project website. Your input will help inform future discussions on conflict of interest, transparency, research integrity, and better scientific practices. Project website: conflictofinterest.science

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

For a summary of the paper and the full discussion, see this thread: bsky.app/profile/ensa...

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Honored that our paper, "Why I declare a conflict of interest and you should not," received a 2026 Commendation from the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (@improvingpsych.org).

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Many thanks to @akinunver.bsky.social, the organizing team, lecturers, assistants, my teammates—Mehrdad Heshmat, Chengqian Wang, and Zehra Usta—and all the participants for making SICSS such a rewarding experience. Looking forward to the collaborations and ideas that began in Istanbul.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I'm excited to explore how AI- and LLM-based experiments can complement my research on social cognition, cooperation, and moral behavior. Beyond the methods, what made #SICSS special was its intellectually stimulating environment, inspiring discussions, and the friendships.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

The biggest takeaway for me was our group project, RoboPsyche. After 10+ years of designing and conducting experiments with human participants, this was my first experience experimenting with #LLM agents. I have a feeling this won't be the last.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

We explored how LLMs are reshaping #ComputationalSocialScience — from computational text analysis and AI agents to causal inference and the methodological challenges of integrating these systems into research. A truly thought-provoking experience.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Grateful to have participated in the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science ( #SICSSIstanbul2026). This year's theme—Social Sciences in the Age of Large Language Models—offered an exciting perspective on how LLMs are transforming computational social science.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Huge thanks to @balazsaczel.bsky.social and @szaszibarnabas.bsky.social for leading this ambitious project, and to all contributors involved—and to @cos.io for making it possible. Really happy to be a small part of this collective effort pushing toward more transparent and robust science.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Our large-scale multi-analyst project is now out in Nature (@nature.com)! 🚨 Same data, different analysts → different results. Analytical choices matter more than we assume, with implications for robustness in social & behavioral science. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

Investigating the analytical robustness of the social and behavioural sciences - Nature

When 100 social and behavioural science claims were examined, 34% of reanalyses closely matched the original results, with 74% reaching the same conclusion, revealing limited robustness of single...

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Learned of Robert Trivers’ passing. His ideas shaped how I think. I remember writing his name repeatedly in my grad school applications, alongside E. O. Wilson, W. D. Hamilton, and Edward Westermarck. I like to imagine them in conversation somewhere.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

And kudos to Melih Varol for presenting our lab’s theoretical projection: 🔹 The Future of Moral Psychology: A Multilevel Integrative Approach with Dual Inheritance Theory Looking forward to more events that bring together researchers passionate about the science of morality! 🔬✨🙌

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Thanks to my co-authors for their talks: 🔸 The Moral Intention–Behavior Gap in Religious and Non-Religious Individuals — @ilaydavelioglu.bsky.social 🔸 Authority Reminders and Prosocial Behavior — @rozelinvurgun.bsky.social 🔸 Religious Ingroup Bias in Anonymous Interactions — Selenay Keleş

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

I had the pleasure of presenting two of our studies: 🔹 Metaethics, Beliefs, and Prosocial Behavior: A Longitudinal Study 🔹 Divine Order and Human Justice: The Impact of Religious Identity and Cues on Third-Party Punishment

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

This weekend, our Moral Intuitions Lab presented five studies from our Templeton Religion Trust project (@templetonrelig.bsky.social) at the III. National Symposium on Morality Studies in Social Psychology. A fantastic gathering of researchers working on morality! 🧠✨

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Benjamin Zubaly @bzubaly.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

A lovely summary by @ensaracem.bsky.social of our new paper in Theory and Society. Many great collaborators and I provide a balanced overview of, and some potential responses to, this important normative scientific conflict. Open access in his thread. We'd love to hear your perspective.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

To broaden the conversation, we are now collecting perspectives across fields. If you work in research, we would be grateful for your input. 📋 Survey: erasmusuniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

We suggest: • Integrating COI & bias discussions into training • Encouraging everyday reflexivity • Examining institutional incentives • Using safeguards like preregistration & registered reports

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

We argue that simply declaring “I publish to advance my career” is not necessarily helpful. Instead, we need better reflection on how incentives operate—not just more boilerplate COI statements.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Publishing matters for knowledge, but also for jobs, promotions, and stability. This dual function creates incentives that can subtly shape decisions throughout the research process—often without being acknowledged.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Our new paper is out in Theory and Society: “Why I declare a conflict of interest and you should not.” We examine whether the structural pressure to publish should itself be understood as a conflict of interest—and what that means for research culture. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

link.springer.com

Why I declare a conflict of interest and you should not - Theory and Society

Academic publishing is both an indication of scientific contribution and a currency for career advancement. This dual role gives rise to a normative scientific conflict: Does the structural incentive ...

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

Had a great time presenting our results on how religious and secular authority cues shape altruistic punishment at the "Trust and Cognition" workshop hosted by OZU Social Cognition Lab, led by Dr. Pınar Ugurlar. Big thanks to everyone who sparked such thought-provoking discussion!

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Cognitive Science of Religion @scienceofreligion.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

As religious beliefs increase, the perception of compatibility between religion and science on existential issues rises. Conversely, as belief in science grows, the perception of conflict between religion and science increases. The data comes from the UK, the Netherlands, and Kazakhstan.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

3) Yes, reflection may manifest differently across groups. In this study, we measured it using standard techniques, such as the CRT, Raven's Matrices, and open-mindedness measures. Believers generally score lower on these measures than nonbelievers in the US. Do these answer your questions?

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

2) While genetic modes are unclear, individual differences certainly exist. For example, quest religiosity is positively linked to cognitive reflection, whereas intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity are negatively linked.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Thanks for your questions! 1) Yes, cultural differences likely influence this relationship. Literature shows a positive relationship between reflection and religious belief in places like the US and China.

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

🚨 New paper! 🚨 Cognitive reflection was negatively correlated with belief in God & disbelief in evolution—for both Christians & non-believers. This challenges the idea that reflection simply reinforces prior beliefs—challenging ERM and supporting DPM. 🔗 doi.org/10.1017/jdm....

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 02/05/2024

🚨 Our chapter, "Heroism as Moral Intuition," is now available in the Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies. We explore heroism as evolved moral intuition for conflict resolution from the perspective of Morality as Cooperation Theory. link.springer.com/referencewor...

link.springer.com

Heroism as Moral Intuition

'Heroism as Moral Intuition' published in 'Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies'

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Evolutionary Social Psychology @socialpsych.bsky.social · 28/09/2023

Generalized morality culturally evolves as an adaptive heuristic in large social networks. psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d...

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Cognitive Science of Religion @scienceofreligion.bsky.social · 27/09/2023

🚨 Post-doc alert 🚨 Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Religious Belief in Jordan Grafman’s Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab & Northwestern University Details: www.cognitiveneuroscienceofreligion.org/opportunities

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 27/09/2023

🧠 Curious about the fascinating world of cognitive science and religion? 🚀 Follow this account for insightful updates that will expand your understanding. #CognitiveScience #Religion

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Ensar Acem @ensaracem.bsky.social · 23/09/2023

🔬🧠 #HiSciSky! I'm a PhD candidate in Psychological Sciences exploring the fascinating overlap between social psychology and behavioral economics. My focus? Morality, religion, politics, and cooperation. Stay tuned for intriguing insights from my research journey! 🌟

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