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Valerie van Mulukom

@herebehumans.bsky.social
369 followers 208 following 84 posts

Senior Lecturer in Psychology @ Oxford Brookes University, UK // Research on cognitive & evolutionary science of religious, secular, political, conspiracy belief & imagination. #COVIDisNotOver

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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
bsky.app/profile/edga...
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Amazing paper I'm honoured to be a part of! It's a motivational and evolutionary framework of the psychology of stories. Go check it out!
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The Psychologist @psychmag.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Back at Space Park Leicester to hear @herebehumans.bsky.social on 'Imagining the final frontier'. Here she is on 'the unreal in everyday life'. www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
New article in @theconversation.com about finding flow through hobbies 🎻🎾🎮 theconversation.com/feeling-dist...
theconversation.com
Feeling distracted? How hobbies can help you find ‘flow state’ and save your brain
Hobbies are a fun way to turn down the noise and increase focus.
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The Psychologist @psychmag.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Use your imagination! The unreal in everyday life… On the eve of World Imagination Day, @herebehumans.bsky.social showcases a framework for understanding the importance of fiction and imagination. www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
bps.org.uk
Use your imagination! The unreal in everyday life… | BPS
On the eve of World Imagination Day, Dr Valerie van Mulukom showcases a framework for understanding the importance of fiction and imagination.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
So, next time you consider components of religion as separate from major aspects of human nature, think also of the broad picture! I hope you enjoyed this thread. Follow me for more research updates throughout the year! (she says, New Year's resolution firmly in mind). Thanks!
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
..And recently for art performances. Like religious rituals, experiencing art together reduced people's self-boundaries, sometimes to the point of feeling merged with the other. 🤝 This increased self-other overlap was associated w/ increased bonding.🫂 osf.io/6atkp_v2
osf.io
OSF
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Rituals -whether religious or secular- are also known to bring us together. We feel more connected to others around us, particularly those who had the same experience as us. We showed this previously for raves.. doi.org/10.3389/fpsy...
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
This tells us two main understandings: (1) Feelings are not always frivolous bodily responses that we need to overcome, but can be guiding principles; (2) Social constructs through which we structure our worlds can be established & changed through rituals osf.io/g34m9_v1
osf.io
OSF
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Religious rituals actually function much like secular rituals, awe experiences, and even art performances: They are collective experiences during which feelings are encoded into powerful memories or symbols of meaning, encapsulating complex ideas. osf.io/7y6w8
osf.io
OSF
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
For yesterday's #WorldReligionDay, consider our research showing what religion can tell us about human nature. Religious rituals may seem like either stifled Sunday mornings or exotic events in lands far away, but neither capture the reality of these events 🧵
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KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Event: 📅 Thursday 26 February 🕔 5.00pm to 7.00pm 📍 Headington Campus, Sinclair Building, Room 4.01 More info on the MSc psych website: www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/post...
brookes.ac.uk
MSc or PGDip or PGCert in Psychology at Oxford Brookes University
Psychology, PGDip/PGCert or MSc, degree course from the Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development at Oxford Brookes University
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Thinking about studying MSc psych? Discover what it’s like to study Psychology at Oxford Brookes (@obu-hst-research.bsky.social), meet members of the course team & gain a deeper understanding of the curriculum & learning experience. Find out more and register: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/oxford-bro...
OPEN EVENING 2026

MSc Psychology Conversion Course

Discover what it’s like to study Psychology at Oxford Brookes, meet members of the course team, and gain a deeper understanding of the curriculum and learning experience.

📅 Thursday 26 February
🕔 5.00pm to 7.00pm
📍 Headington Campus, Sinclair Building, Room 4.01

Find out more and register
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
I will share the results again here in a month or so! That way, you may learn more about what your genre may say about you.. Thanks!
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
We're looking for participants for a 10-15 minute survey asking about your favourite fiction genre, interests, worries & coping styles. brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... We're trying to better understand how engagement with fiction relates to how you engage with the world - let us know!
Research poster which says: "What does your favourite literary genre say about you? Help us find out! This 10-15 minute survey for an Oxford Brookes University research project asks questions about books you like to read/listen to, as well as some of your interests, worries & coping styles. https://tinyurl.com/Brookesfictionsurvey" on a background image of books.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
We're looking for participants for a 10-15 minute survey on your favourite TV/film or book genre, as well as your interests, worries, and coping styles. I promise to report the results back here so you can reflect on what this says about you.. Thanks! brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Research poster asking for participants: What does your favourite TV/film genre say about you? Help us find out! This 10-15 minute survey for an Oxford Brookes University research project asks questions about TV/film genres you like to watch, as well as some of your interests, worries & coping styles. https://tinyurl.com/Brookesfictionsurvey
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
To me it seems more like deeply engrained feudalism; either way, it is as frustrating.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
I think because people there are really motivated to learn; they don't want to squander their time and money being at Oxford *not* getting educated.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Not in capitalism it isn't (it not being about the outcome but the process). I think that's a major part of the problem.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Relevant to research on true crime and related fiction: We love the feeling of insight we get from finding or hearing the solution to whodunits, crossculturally!
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Sean Mullen, Ph.D. @drseanmullen.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
179 experts. 28 countries. 1 message: Long COVID is real, multi-systemic, and devastating. It affects over 400 million people. And we're not prepared. New global consensus just dropped. link.springer.com/content/pdf/10… 🧵
link.springer.com
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Emily Carter @emilycurates.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
A #crab in a fish tank discovered the air pump… and turned it into a personal jacuzzi. Crabs are curious creatures and often interact with their environment in surprisingly playful ways.
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Prof. Gillian Brown @gillianrbrown1.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Great talk at #ehbea2025 by @paulajasheppard.bsky.social on family size and child health: inconsistent findings across populations, which would be expected if we focus on asking 'under what conditions/context do we see X', rather than expecting one answer.
Speaker standing in front of projected slide.
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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Ayesha Ali from @brunelcce.bsky.social presenting on the importance of Spiritual-But-Not-Religious practices providing community for people in Glastonbury, including a slide with the first quote from a male witch I’ve seen so far at #ehbea2025
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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Great presentation from @brunelcce.bsky.social’s Julieta Baker on how a high proportion of parents in post-industrial settings have little experience of parenting before having their own kids, and frequently experience parenting problems they don’t know how to solve #ehbea2025
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Did you know that crows participate in true crime investigations? vm.tiktok.com/ZNdR8RvNy/ Are you a fan of true crime? Participate in our 5-10 minute survey on fiction genre preferences, interests & coping styles! brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... We're still looking for +50 ppl; thnx!
An image depicting a crow dressed up as a Sherlock Holmes with a magnifying glass and deer hunter cap. The artwork is called "Charlek crow Holmes", by illustrator ahlemkhedri (https://medibang.com/author/5450119)
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Rebecca Fielding-Miller @rebeccafieldingmiller.com · 22/03/2025
Today I lost an NIH grant training clinicians to do research about intimate partner violence with perinatal women. More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications. I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Thanks to all who have taken part already! We now have a large number of scifi & thriller fans 🛸🧟, but true crime, horror, drama, and fantasy fans are lagging (among others) 👮👹🧝 - where these fans at? Take part to tell us why your genre is your favourite & take a 5-10 min break from scrolling!
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
📺 Feel like a small break from scrolling to tell us about your favourite TV/movie genre?🎞️ Here is a 5-10 minute survey for our latest research project project on understanding the functions of fiction: brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... Thanks very much for participating (&/or RT/likes)!
A picture of a woman watching TV, with text superimposed, saying: "What does your favourite TV/movie genre say about you? Help us find out!". Additional text states: "This 5-10 minute survey for an Oxford Brookes University BSc research project asks questions about TV/movie genres you like to watch, as well as some of your interests, worries, and coping styles." and finishes with the URL and the statement: "This survey has received ethical approval from the Psychology Research Ethics Committee at Oxford Brookes University."
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Same, but also: Why isn't the Library better? Like even if it has the same information as the Store has, and which you can see in one easy go, it'd be so much easier to remind myself why I got it, and then it'd be easier to see if it's something I feel like.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Was this..made in AltaVista
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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
EvoDemoS 2025 website is now live. The 10th Evolutionary Demography Conference will be held 22-24 September 2025, at Oxford University, organised by @robsalgo.bsky.social and colleagues evodemo2025.weebly.com
evodemo2025.weebly.com
EvoDemoS 2025
EvoDemoS 2025 International Conference. The local organising committee welcomes you to the 10th International Conference of the Evolutionary Demography Society, hosted at Pembroke College, Oxford, bet...
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
The petition is here: www.change.org/p/demand-spo...
change.org
Sign the Petition
Demand Spotify Remove Andrew Tate’s Harmful Courses on How to Traffic Women
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
It's so hard to believe it's true, but here we are.
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Dr Sarah Myers @drsarahmyers.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Post Doctoral Research Assistant ‘50 Years of Becoming A Mother’ www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
ucl.ac.uk
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
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William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
if you find yourself reluctant to support the guy at Columbia because you find some of the politics he espoused distasteful or even abhorrent, you should know that this is exactly the reaction that they hoped for in choosing him as a target for unlawful detention based on political speech.
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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
“She’s in this orange prison outfit,” he said. “She just feels so isolated and desperate, you can imagine, she’s saying, ‘I want to come home’.” She is safe, he said, but living “in horrendous conditions” and had not had access to legal representation. Stop traveling to the U.S, It’s not safe.
theguardian.com
British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue
Backpacker Rebecca Burke was handcuffed and taken to a detention facility in Washington state
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
"Ministers run away from a wealth tax and then concoct a punitive benefits system in the name of growth. They have made that shameful choice" So disappointing of Labour. The neoliberal turn truly is here. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
There is a shameful tradition of demonising disabled people. Why is Labour reigniting it? | Frances Ryan
Ministers run away from a wealth tax and then concoct a punitive benefits system. They have made that choice and it’s immoral, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
I think it's time as a society that we face the implicit agreement we've made that if you don't financially contribute to the economy, you're not afforded the same human rights. It's horrific, and shows that we largely live in economies, not societies.
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Sleestak @sleestak.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
James Harrison, whose blood donations saved over 2 million babies, has died. www.npr.org/2025/03/03/n...
npr.org
James Harrison, whose blood donations saved over 2 million babies, has died
Harrison, whose plasma contained a rare antibody, rolled up his sleeve 1,173 times from 1954 to 2018. The Australian is credited with helping 2.4 million babies and advancing scientific research.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
😒 ugh. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
theguardian.com
UK awarded its lowest ranking for workplace gender equality in a decade
‘Sluggish’ pace in tackling gender pay gap and worsening employment levels push UK back to 18th in PwC index of OECD countries
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Filippo Valsorda @filippo.abyssdomain.expert · 28/02/2025
As I sit home with a terrible cold, I can’t help but be pissed that we decided as a society that we’re just cool with getting sick. We applied technology to water-borne and food-borne illness, and you generally don’t get sick that way anymore. But airborne? Nah, let’s keep getting sick.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Unbelievable but true. My son's nursery keeps refusing air purifiers, even after all staff got sick and a child ended up in hospital a couple of months ago.
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
We really need to get better at spotting abuse.
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Nicholas Gibson @njsgibson.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Religion data for reuse! Those stories about U.S. religion you're currently seeing in the news? They're from the Pew 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study. While anyone can explore the data with their online tools, Pew has also shared the underlying dataset: doi.org/10.58094/3kw...
doi.org
2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS) Dataset Archives
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Valerie van Mulukom @herebehumans.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Very cool study finding that people engaged with negative content longer when it was presented as art vs non-art 🎨 I agree with the study's leading author that it's time we're embracing art's other functions beyond mere aesthetics. We discuss this aesthetic cognitivism in doi.org/10.31234/osf...
A quote from the linked PsyPost artice: "These findings suggest that art acts as a kind of buffer when we engage with difficult or negative subjects. The aesthetic qualities of art and the sense that we are in a slightly removed, “as-if” world when experiencing art, may reduce the emotional impact of negative content, making it more approachable. This reduced emotional cost, combined with the appeal of aesthetic appreciation and thought-provoking perspectives, makes people more willing to explore negative themes through art than through non-art media."
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Nancy Levine Stearns @nancylevinestearns.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
💥The Netherlands' largest pension fund, has sold its shares in Tesla, Meta, and Alphabet (Google). The fund with US $569 billion equivolent in assets is "directing more money to companies and projects that help to improve society and the environment." #Divest www.reuters.com/markets/euro...
reuters.com
Dutch pension fund ABP sells all Alphabet and Meta shares, CEO tells newspaper FD
ABP, the Netherlands' largest pension fund, has sold its shares in tech companies Meta and Alphabet , its CEO told Dutch newspaper FD in an interview published on Monday.
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Norbert Schwarz @nschwarz.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
An important reminder: a truly tolerant society must retain the right to deny tolerance to those who promote intolerance or it will fail.
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Morteza Dehghani @mdehghani.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Our new paper in PNAS Nexus. County morals > politics for carbon footprints? 🤯 We find that county-level values predict actual green behavior (emissions!), not just attitudes. Stronger than political leaning.
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