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Rob Hester

@hesterr77.bsky.social
181 followers 533 following 3 posts

Academic in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.

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Reposted by Rob Hester
Dan Feuerriegel @danfeuerriegel.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Our findings build on work in our lab led by @laurencf.bsky.social w/ @hesterr77.bsky.social that shows the CPP traces the path of evidence accumulation for voluntary decisions based on personal preferences, extending beyond choices that are based on sensory input. doi.org/10.1162/IMAG... 16/n
doi.org
Tracing the neural trajectories of evidence accumulation and motor preparation processes during voluntary decisions
Abstract. Voluntary decisions have previously been described by where they arise in the brain and how actions corresponding to one’s choice are prepared. However, the processes by which these internal...
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Reposted by Rob Hester
Mark Kenny @markgkenny.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Foments to remember from a politics of anger
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Dan Feuerriegel @danfeuerriegel.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
New article in The Conversation @theconversation.com by Lauren Fong about her recent work on preference-driven decisions! Featuring some tough choices between baked goods. (Journal article quoted below) theconversation.com/are-we-ever-... @psychunimelb.bsky.social @paulmgarrett.bsky.social
theconversation.com
Are we ever truly free to make decisions? New study tracks a universal process in the brain
Your brain is constantly gathering evidence for making decisions – even when there’s only one option to pick from.
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Reposted by Rob Hester
Andrew Perfors @perfors.net · 22/01/2026
I just created a series of seven deep-dive videos about AI, which I've posted to youtube and now here. 😊 Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.
youtube.com
Part 1: How do LLMs work?
YouTube video by Andrew Perfors
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Paul Taylor @afni-pt.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Announcing the next AFNI Bootcamp: Sep 23-25, 2025. Free, open & virtual. This "Part 1" will focus on basic visualization and single subject FMRI processing, including discussions of alignment, templates, regression, ROIs and quality control. Details & registration: afni.nimh.nih.gov/bootcamp
afni.nimh.nih.gov
AFNI Bootcamp: Sep. 23-25, 2025 | afni.nimh.nih.gov
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Altmetric @altmetric.com · 20/08/2025
This is the definition of a failed social media platform.
For scientists who use social media to encourage followers to visit external links (websites, papers, etc.,) here’s some data from this blog. For nearly a decade, Twitter was the #1 or #2 source of traffic to the blog almost every day. It hasn’t been in the top 10 sources of traffic to the blog in years, and a single SheetMusicPlus.com article from 2016 generates more traffic here than all of Twitter. So far this year, Bluesky is responsible for about 100x as much traffic as Twitter. AltMetric reports that despite Twitter having 10x the user base as BlueSky, BlueSky users share almost as many scholarly publications as Twitter users- and Twitter’s numbers are declining as Bluesky’s rise.
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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
‘“in-class phone bans represent a low-cost, effective policy to modestly improve academic outcomes, especially for vulnerable student groups."
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Alex Fornito @alexfornito.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Have you been using ABCD data? Are you measuring psychopathology with the CBCL? You will want to check out our latest preprint, led by @kanepav.bsky.social, which shows that the constructs measured by the tool fail to meet many basic validity tests. Peep the thread!
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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Summary Table of the massive defunding of biomedical research in the United States www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
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Joe Barnby @joebarnby.com · 04/06/2025
Finishing your PhD or under 2 years out of your PhD? Apply to a Forrest PostDoc Fellowship in sunny Perth 🏖️ Very generous salary (~$108K/~£51K) + additional living expenses, research funding + travel allowance DM me to chat about projects or process 🧠 forrestresearch.org.au/fellowships/
forrestresearch.org.au
Fellowships - Forrest Research Foundation
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Alex Fornito @alexfornito.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Have recent changes led to uncertainty in your future scientific career? Wonder it's like in Australia? Good news! Monash's is seeking to hire talented EMCRs from other countries. Come join a wonderful community of brain mappers & modellers! www.monash.edu/research/eme...
monash.edu
EMERGE
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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Our brains occasionally mistake something harmless for a real threat. This is what scientists call a “proxy failure.” Negative or dangerous proxies are a signal to draw our attention to something that might be important or dangerous, even if it’s not. jayvanbavellab.substack.com/p/changing-t...
jayvanbavellab.substack.com
Changing the incentive structure of social media to reduce threat and negativity
Our evolutionary instincts are wired to detect threat and social media often exploits these instincts
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Andrew Perfors @perfors.net · 29/04/2025
I wrote an article about the psychology by which disinformation campaigns work, with examples from anti-trans propaganda. It's not just about individual beliefs, but also the way our institutions and norms are manipulated. Please read and share! pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/Ant...?
pursuit.unimelb.edu.au
Anti-trans attitudes have existed for years, but organised disinformation campaigns are increasingly driving them
Disinformation exists across all parts of the political spectrum, but it goes far beyond simple lying when it comes to the campaign against the transgender community, says a University of Melbourne ex...
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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence "implications are profound" New @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41... nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia - Nature
Using a natural experiment that avoids common bias concerns, this study finds that the live-attenuated shingles vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis within a follow-up period of...
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Reposted by Rob Hester
Cassie Boness, PhD @cassie-boness.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
We're looking for submissions that advance the research on a range of topics related to behavioral "addictions" including classification and diagnosis, etiology, and heterogeneity! Please share.
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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Science is under threat in the US. @elife.bsky.social have commissioned a series of articles discussing the implications and what we can do. The first three articles are now live. More to follow: elifesciences.org/articles/106... elifesciences.org/articles/106... elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org
Science Under Threat in the United States: How scientists and institutions should respond
Individual researchers and university leaders need to make the case for science to their elected representatives and to the public at large.
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Reposted by Rob Hester
Eiko Fried @eikofried.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Are you doing EMA research and wonder how to go about it? In recent work we've adressed some open questions and challenges, here is a brief summary of papers and materials. 🧵 #PsychSciSky 🧪 #StatsSky
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Josh Grubbs @joshuagrubbsphd.com · 05/03/2025
paper here! jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Sports Gambling and Drinking Behaviors Over Time
This survey study analyzes 2 years of data from a cross-section of adults in the United States to determine the trajectories of sports gambling frequency and alcohol-related problems over time and the...
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Reposted by Rob Hester
Andrew Perfors @perfors.net · 27/02/2025
Scientists and educators in Australia and NZ! Have you been watching the state of the world and wondering what you can do? We've created a crowdsourced document with resources and links with ideas. Pls check it out, do them, contribute your own, and share widely! docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
Ideas for how to be GOATS
Ideas for how to be GOATS Guardians Of (Australian) Academia, Teaching, and Science The title of this is jokey but the intent is absolutely not. It is intended as a compendium of resources for Austral...
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