iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mary Katz

Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

We’re thrilled to have such a wonderful lineup this year! Please consider submitting your work, we’ll have open slots for full length and blitz talks, as well as posters! We’re also working to organize a session on translational science, so if you care about bridging theory and impact, stay tuned!

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

You can access the article here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Since this paper is based on my master's thesis, I'd like to thank my committee @afilindra.bsky.social & Tomas Ståhl for their invaluable guidance! I also want to thank the deeply engaged peer reviewers and editor who went above and beyond to ensure our work was as strong as it could be. 10/10

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Given the current conservative skew of the Supreme Court & recent Court cases centering conservative Christian perspectives, this work informs timely debates about the role of religion in U.S. society, with broad implications for political conflict and the politicization of religion. 9/10

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Our results suggest that ideological preferences, rather than assumptions about which beliefs are likely rooted in religion, shape how people decide the conferral of religious exemptions. 8/10

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Interestingly, we found that ideological biases persist even when Americans do not think claimants’ First Amendment rights are being infringed. Both liberals and conservatives still supported exemptions more than their ideological counterparts if doing so aligned with their ideological goals. 7/10

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Across Studies 2 & 3, we found that people are more willing to grant exemptions to both conservative & liberal religious claims than to nonreligious claims. However, participants’ political ideology strongly predicted whether they thought the exemption should be granted. 6/10

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Study 3 participants read about women with high-risk pregnancies seeking exemption from their state’s strict abortion ban and justified their request with either nonreligious, freedom from religion, or religious arguments. 5/10

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Studies 2 & 3 tested for schematic and ideological biases. In Study 2, participants read about wedding vendors seeking exemption from state antidiscrimination law to refuse service to same-sex couples, justifying it with nonreligious or religious beliefs. 4/10

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

In Studies 1a & 1b, we presented Americans with liberal & conservative political stances devoid of religious language. We found that people across the political spectrum assume that only conservative stances on issues typically discussed in religious terms are rooted in sincerely held beliefs. 3/10

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

My collaborators (@ncaluori.bsky.social & my graduate advisor @mikeypasek.bsky.social) and I examined whether schematic and political biases predict how people conceptualize sincerely held religious beliefs and reason about religious exemptions. 2/10

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Who gets to claim a religious exemption? In the eyes of Americans, the answer depends heavily on political ideology, not just the belief itself. My first first-author paper is out in @spspnews.bsky.social’s Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin! New paper 🧵1/10

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Abby Cassario @abbycassario.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

I'm thrilled to share that I have defended my dissertation, "Falling Short? Testing the Causal Relationship Between Downward Mobility and Populist Support." A lot of existing work (including some of my own pre-testing) links downward mobility to support for populist politics. 1/4

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Way to go, @abbycassario.bsky.social! So excited (and lucky) to have you joining our lab as a postdoc this summer!!!

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Attending @spspnews.bsky.social ews.bsky.social in our home city of Chicago this coming week? Be sure to check out the cool work being done by members of our lab, including postdoc @ncaluori.bsky.social, grad students @marykatz.bsky.social & Zarnab Zahoor, and undergrad Yahel Tirosh!

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

I had such a great time chatting about belief, belonging, and intergroup relations on #ThisisUIC — the official podcast of the University of Illinois Chicago! You can Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at today.uic.edu/podcast/beli...

today.uic.edu

Belief and belonging with Michael Pasek: Why can’t we all get along? | UIC today

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

📣 Excited to share new work led by @anneleh.bsky.social and Star Hartley in @spssi.bsky.social's Journal of Social issues! We report studies w/ indigenous iTaukei and Indo-Fijians (displaced under colonial rule) investigating how each reasons about equal rights and democratic governance in Fiji.

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

I didn’t expect my first interview with the @nytimes.com to be from my 4-day old child’s pediatrician’s appointment! “Singular acts of violence, when they serve a particular narrative, are being spun into a tale of persecution,” Pasek said. “And that is where things feel dangerous to me.”

nytimes.com

The Paradox of Violence

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Nava Caluori @ncaluori.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

The @spspnews.bsky.social Religion & Spirituality Preconference is accepting applications for talks, data blitzes, & posters until 10/23! We're excited to hear from Kathleen Corriveau, @alexandraworm.bsky.social, @drmeltemyucel.bsky.social & @joshcjackson.bsky.social. More info: tinyurl.com/33x9za7r

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

We’re hiring an assistant or associate professor to join our psychology department at the University of Illinois Chicago! We’re a vibrant research-active department in a great city, a diverse institution with a purpose-driven mission, and a fun place to work! #psychjobs uic.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

uic.csod.com

Assistant or Associate Professor - Clinical Psychology (Tenure Track)

Position SummaryTeach at the undergraduate and graduate level, advise students, conduct research in area of expertise, participate in the intellectual...

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

looking forward to the drama

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Couldn’t have done it without the support from my incredible advisor! Thanks, Mikey! :)

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

Now out in JPSP! Behavioral economic experiments w/ Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews in the U.S., Israel and Fiji show that belief in God can facilitate cooperation, even across religious divides! More about our work (co-led with @jeremyginges.bsky.social) below! psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d...

Screenshot of title and abstract of paper, "In their God we trust: Religious Cognition increases cooperation across religious divides."

Abstract: Belief in moralizing Gods is widely thought to foster cooperation between coreligionists, but there is disagreement regarding whether this effect is limited to the religious ingroup or if it extends to members of religious outgroups. Here we report the results of a cross-cultural research program that demonstrates that people who think about God (a) are more trusted by both coreligionists and members of other religious groups and (b) typically behave in a more trustworthy manner toward both ingroups and outgroups. We ran three preregistered
studies (N= 1,784) with Christians and Muslims in the United States, Jews and Muslims in Israel, and Christians and Hindus in Fiji. Our contexts varied in multiple ways, including the level of intergroup conflict.
Using two-player trust games involving real money, we varied whether participants interacted with ingroup or outgroup members and whether reciprocators considered God when deciding how much to return to trustors. We nd in each context that making moralizing God beliefs of one player salient enhances both intragroup and intergroup cooperation. Our ndings add to a nascent literature documenting the potential for religious cognition to extend moral norms across intergroup divides. We discuss implications for theories of the emergence of moralizing Gods and implications for public debates about religious pluralism in diverse societies.

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Samuel Perry @profsamperry.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Reactions to the new Pope are yet another good example of how our religious evaluations are (now, maybe always) downstream of partisan in-group concerns. Conservatives dismissing him with no other knowledge other than hearing he's like Francis. Progressives celebrating him cuz he criticized Vance.

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

I am hiring a new Lab Manager to help run the NYU Center for Conflict & Cooperation. We start reviewing apps on MAY 1st and it pays over $58,000. Please share with anyone who might be interested! Please apply here: apply.interfolio.com/166620 See more details below:

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

So honored to have received this award! I couldn’t have done it without the support of the most incredible advisor :)

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Proud advisor moment, getting to celebrate @marykatz.bsky.social winning a Graduate Student Paper Award at the Midwestern Psychological Association! Catch her talk (and my other student Zarnab’s talk) tomorrow morning!

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Samuel Perry @profsamperry.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Will Americans vote for an atheist? Across 4 survey experiments, authors find Democrats favorable, Republicans unfavorable. Importantly, for highly-religious Republicans, even describing the atheist as a patriotic war hero doesn't seem to matter (atheist = 👎). onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Will Americans Vote for an Atheist?

Conventional wisdom holds and previous research confirms that for a political candidate, atheism is anathema. But the United States is becoming a more secular nation. Does secularization mean that at...

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Samuel Perry @profsamperry.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

After years of steady decline the share of US population who are Christians is stabilizing and perhaps a slight bounce back. One wonders what “Christian” means now, however.

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Paul Teas @icedteas.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Officially a doctor, or PhDONE (I think is what they say). So grateful to @lindaskitka.bsky.social and all the help I've received these past few years!

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 29/01/2025

We've created a tracker that covers all executive orders affecting LGBTQ folks along with federal and state legislation. We're at 334 anti-LGBTQ bills. docs.google.com/spreadsheets... Credit @alli.gay @erininthemorning.com @evanurquhart.bsky.social @miralazine.bsky.social @lizsaila.bsky.social

A screenshot of a multi‐column table listing several U.S. presidential Executive Orders relating to LGBTQ+ rights and antidiscrimination policies. Each row has columns for “Origin” (POTUS), “Number/Identifier” (e.g., EO 13988), “Title” (such as Preventing and Combating Discrimination…), “Action Type” (e.g., Broad Nondiscrimination, Military Nondiscrimination), “Summary” (key points of each order), and “Date Signed.” The listed orders span from early 2021 through early 2025, covering topics like preventing discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, banning conversion therapy, rescinding prior harmful EOs, and restricting or expanding DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives.

A spreadsheet at the top shows columns tracking anti‐LGBTQ bills by status and year: total bills (334), 2025 bills (327), 2024 rollovers (7), how many passed committees (3), passed one chamber (5), passed both chambers (0), enacted (1), vetoed (0), failed (3), and carried forward (0). Below that, another header row lists different types of anti‐LGBTQ legislation (e.g., gender‐affirming care bans, pronoun bans, “Don’t Say Gay,” drag bans, bathroom bans) with the total count of each category (e.g., 55 for gender‐affirming care bans, 20 for pronoun bans, 14 for “Don’t Say Gay,” etc.). A color‐coded U.S. map spans the lower half, with states shaded from light orange to deep red according to how many anti‐LGBTQ bills they contain. Texas appears in the darkest red (46 bills), with lighter shades indicating fewer bills in other states. A note at the bottom right explains that the map shows total tracked bills per state, which does not necessarily reflect each bill’s likelihood of passage.

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

i love that keith’s version of the “paul hollywood handshake” is just to cry and get emotional about the pottery 🥹

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

not shitty/trashy but arcane and blue eye samurai are incredible animated series on netflix the orville for a star trek parody that somehow gets you invested by the end the great pottery throwdown is very wholesome love is blind or the ultimatum if you want to go really shitty and trashy

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

In happy news, our paper, "Thinking about God increases intergroup prosociality even when conflict is salient", is now out in GPIR! Particularly excited that this paper includes two amazing Fijian collaborators who played integral roles in leading fieldwork! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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Jin X. Goh | 吴晋勋 @jinxungoh.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Seems like my old post is getting some traction with new followers. With just 10 days left, here's a reminder that I will be reviewing PhD applications in social-personality psych for my lab at UIC. Details & research priorities are on my lab website. Please let you students/ lab managers know!

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Excited to share a new preprint (accepted for publication in Group Processes and Intergroup Relations)! In prior work, we've found that thinking about God increase cross-religious prosociality. Here we ask: But what about when intergroup conflict is salient? osf.io/preprints/ps...

osf.io

OSF

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 17/09/2024

honestly did not realize how much shorter i am compared to the rest of the lab 😂

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 17/09/2024

Had such a fun time last night with our Belief, Identity, and Group Relations lab enjoying the late summer weather in beautiful Chicago! With @ncaluori.bsky.social @marykatz.bsky.social and Zarnab Zahoor.

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mark brandt @mjbsp.bsky.social · 29/08/2024

"Asian-White multiracial people stand in solidarity more strongly with Asian people than White people", but "Asian monoracial people incorrectly believe that physically White-looking Asian-White" people "stand in solidarity more strongly with White people" journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

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Paul Teas @icedteas.bsky.social · 11/06/2024

Found some weird/interesting things about how Americans view 40 social movements in a survey I conducted recently with YouGov (1/11)

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 10/05/2024

One of the things we’re very excited for at UIC!!!

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Jin X. Goh | 吴晋勋 @jinxungoh.bsky.social · 10/05/2024

I just taught my last class at Colby today. I’m thrilled to announce that this Fall, I’ll be joining the University of Illinois Chicago as an assistant professor of psychology!! Bittersweet to leave Colby after 5 incredible years, but I love Chicago too much after an amazing sabbatical there!

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Mary Katz @marykatz.bsky.social · 08/05/2024

Fun fact: having the most supportive & incredible advisor really helps you have a successful 1st year of grad school! So TY. But seriously - I’m so grateful I get to do research w/ Mikey and in the social psych area at UIC. This 1st year has been lovely & I’m excited for the years to come :)

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Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · 16/04/2024

I understand the intuitive appeal of attempting to appear 'fair and balanced.' But if the underlying reality is unequal, failing to point that out is just misinforming readers.

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mark brandt @mjbsp.bsky.social · 15/04/2024

American identity is one of the strongest predictors of preferences for curbing the civil liberties of Muslim citizens by @nazita.bsky.social & co www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #PsycSciSky #SocialPsych polisky

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Ryan Lei @ryanlei.bsky.social · 09/04/2024

We have couple of new papers from the lab, (1) on how Black and Asian parents engage in what we call collective racial socialization: psycnet.apa.org/record/2024-...; and (2) how hair texture might matter for how children invisibilize Black women: psycnet.apa.org/record/2024-...

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Mikey Pasek @mikeypasek.bsky.social · 02/04/2024

We desperately need a ceasefire.

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mark brandt @mjbsp.bsky.social · 29/03/2024

In the American political context, concerns of anti-Christian bias can be signals of concerns of anti-White bias. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

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