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Mohammad Atari

@mohammadatari.bsky.social
1.7K followers 276 following 71 posts

Assistant Professor of Psychology at UMass Amherst. Director of the Culture and Morality Lab.

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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Historical Psychology Preconference is coming to Philly for #SPSP2027 ! Please join us on February 11th, 2027 for this year’s theme: How the Events of Yesterday Shaped the Minds of Today. @spspnews.bsky.social
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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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Jessie Sun @jessiesun.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
New paper on virtue trade-offs in everyday life, led by my PhD student, Qilin Zhang! A growing literature emphasizes trade-offs between competing moral principles (e.g., kindness vs. honesty), but are such trade-offs ubiquitous in everyday life? 1/5
Screenshot of abstract from PDF of an article titled "Virtue-Trade-Offs in Everyday Life".
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I'm hiring a postdoc in 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲! This project will focus on psychological change in the Middle East and North Africa, with a particular interest in Islamic history. Topical themes include religiosity, creativity, morality, and institutions. 1/n
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Michael Muthukrishna @michael.muthukrishna.com · 29/07/2026
🚨 PNAS paper: "Indirect reciprocity undermines indirect reciprocity destabilizing large-scale cooperation" w/ Eric Schnell How do we achieve global cooperation on climate or conflict reduction? The problem isn't selfishness as much as it is cooperation itself - at a smaller scale. 1/
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
New paper out today in Social and Personality Psychology Compass! What happens when our moral values come into conflict? Our new paper explores "metamorality": the second-order principles we use to navigate conflicting moral choices. W/ Jesse Graham
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Max Primbs @maxprimbs.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Exciting opportunity to work on historical psychology!
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I'm hiring a postdoc in 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲! This project will focus on psychological change in the Middle East and North Africa, with a particular interest in Islamic history. Topical themes include religiosity, creativity, morality, and institutions. 1/n
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Merrick R. Osborne @merrickosborne.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Such fun! Chatting about my research and journey was an absolute blast. Thank you @cornellilr.bsky.social for the piece!
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Check out our new paper in SPPS.
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PNAS Nexus @pnasnexus.org · 17/03/2026
Conventional wisdom suggests that modernization makes cultures more homogenous, but what if the resources of technology and wealth that modernization offers allow people to more fully express their cultural preferences? In PNAS Nexus: ow.ly/eBIU50Yvm1A
Variation in values between countries in the World Values Survey has grown from 1981–2017.
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Einstein Foundation Berlin @einsteinberlin.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
🏆 @simine.com, psychologist at @psychunimelb.bsky.social / @unimelb.bsky.social and Editor-in-Chief of Psychological Science (@psychscience.bsky.social) is a leading voice in the reform movement in psychology - and is now being honored with the €150K Individual Award. Huge congratulations! 🎉
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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
LLMs overemphasize moral concerns common in Western societies and underestimate values more prominent elsewhere. These distortions likely stem from cultural biases in training data and carry societal implications and risks www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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William J. Brady @williambrady.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
We're excited about the upcoming Computational Psychology preconference at @spspnews.bsky.social this Thursday. See our action-packed full day agenda below! Featuring 3 keynote talk themes with related early-career speakers, data blitz session, panel discussion. Don't miss it! #SPSP
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April Bailey @ahbailey.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
postdoc opportunity! would be a good fit for an intergroup person with NLP chops interested in the role of historical narratives bonus, Edinburgh is a phenomenal city to live in with wonderful, walkable quality of life elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
The Psychology Department in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences are seeking a full time, fixed term Post-Doctoral Research Associate. This post is available from 1st of Septemb...
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Jorge Morales @jorgemorales.me · 09/12/2025
When we see something that's moving, our memories about it end up projected forward in time: We remember it further along than it was. In a new paper in 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, out today and led by @dillonplunkett.bsky.social, we demonstrate that this happens even when there is 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨𝙤𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧.🧵
subjectivitylab.org
Representational Momentum Transcends Motion
Dillon Plunkett & Jorge Morales (2025) Psychological Science
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M.J. Crockett @mjcrockett.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Important work!!
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
New paper alert! "Public Speakers With Nonnative Accents Garner Less Engagement" -- now out in Psych Science! This is my first graduate student's first first-author paper (and it was her first-year project). Short THREAD on the results:
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Benjamin Pitt @benjaminpitt.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Come work with me on cognitive diversity, development & dynamics in beautiful Amherst, Massachusetts! Graduate student applications are due a week from today. cognitiveconstructionlab.com
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Veronica Yan @veronicayan.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
It's one of my favorite times of the year! And I'm so so proud of my SLAM Lab grads who did a fantastic job presenting the cool projects they've each been working on.! @psychonomicsociety.bsky.social FYI @stephanyrea.bsky.social is on the job market.
Stephanie Noel Johnstone presents on her work examining drawing and transferConnie Fralick presents on her work examining consequences of student endorsement of the learning styles myth Alexis Richmond presents her work on motivational apprehension of frequent quizzes in coursesStephany Rea presents the first study of her dissertation on pretesting
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Nils Reimer @reimtime.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
This—on my former university, department, and advisor—is harrowing but required reading for all social psychologists. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
bloomberg.com
Oxford University Has Failed Women Over Harassment Concerns, Staff Say
The university has repeatedly been slow to act against male academics accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior, a Bloomberg investigation found.
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Alex Mesoudi @alexmesoudi.com · 14/11/2025
Come and do a PhD at Exeter with me and Chico Camargo (Computer Science) on human-genAI coevolution "Leveraging Natural Language Processing for Data-Driven Agent-Based Modelling of Online Cultural Dynamics" www.exeter.ac.uk/v8media/recr... More details here: www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
exeter.ac.uk
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Benjamin Pitt @benjaminpitt.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Do people remember where things are relative to their body (e.g. my left side) or relative to the environment (the North/uphill side)? The answer is both at once, according to my new paper now out in Psychological Science! 🧵 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Joshua Conrad Jackson @joshcjackson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Samani and Baumard map out trends in Romantic love in Persian literature from 10th century to 20th century CE. They find an increasing emphasis on romantic love over time, particularly during the Safavid era. This may reveal a link w economic development www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Joshua Conrad Jackson @joshcjackson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Fan and Baumard reveal new evidence of rising individualism over history, which suggests that wealth rather than Protestantism contributed to individualism www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Joshua Conrad Jackson @joshcjackson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
And last but not least, Obshonka and colleagues find that Roman rule explains puzzling variation in modern well-being differences across Germany Ancient Roman investment in infrastructure may explain why Southwestern Germans are so happy and healthy today www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Joshua Conrad Jackson @joshcjackson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
McClain and Kenny dig into the history of collectivism in Japan, conducting a pre-registered analysis of self-reported collectivism and tightness in the Japanese social survey and linking responses to historical subsistence patterns across Japan www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Joshua Conrad Jackson @joshcjackson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
@joannaschug.bsky.social leads a paper on gendered racial stereotypes. They show that the civil rights movement coincided with a rise in language about black men, but not black women www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Joshua Conrad Jackson @joshcjackson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
@mohammadatari.bsky.social and I begin with an editorial reflecting on the origins, current trends, and future of historical psych The future requires strong causal identification and theorizing about how institutions can cement or change historical trends www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Jin X. Goh | 吴晋勋 @jinxungoh.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
On election day, I wanna announce that I am recruiting social psych PhD students for my lab at UIC. My lab focuses on racial identities (esp Asian, Latino, MENA Americans) and intra-minority conflict/ coalition. So please tell your students to pick me! All details on my website: www.pbandjlab.com
iconic scene from Grey's Anatomy. Meredith Grey in scrub telling Derek "so pick me, choose me, love me"
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Joshua Conrad Jackson @joshcjackson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Our "Historical Psychology" special issue is now out in CRESP! www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu... Co-edited with @mohammadatari.bsky.social and featuring historical perspectives on love, racial identity, emotion expression, well-being, collectivism, religion, and more! Brief 🧵
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Benjamin Pitt @benjaminpitt.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be joining the faculty at @umassamherst.bsky.social next year as an assistant professor in Psychological & Brain Sciences! 🥳
media.tenor.com
a cartoon of homer simpson says whoo-hoo in front of a stone wall
ALT: a cartoon of homer simpson says whoo-hoo in front of a stone wall
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Richard McElreath 🐈‍⬛ @rmcelreath.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
When there is a random way to do something, there is a less random way that is better but requires more thought. In this case, regression models that make no sense don't belong in a multiverse analysis. An inferential regression without a causal justification is like an opinion without reasons.
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Amazing paper!
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
We are hiring in Social Psychology! Tenure-track position, focus on the Psychology of Peace and Violence, UMass Amherst. Review of applications will begin on October 24th. Let us know if you have any questions! Link: careers.umass.edu/en-us/job/52...
careers.umass.edu
Details - Assistant Professor - Psychology of Peace & Violence Program | Human Resources | UMass Amherst
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Edouard Machery @edouardmachery.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
New paper in Synthèse. Open access.
link.springer.com
Concepts of health and disease: insights from experimental philosophy of medicine - Synthese
Synthese - The aim of the paper is to explore how people understand the concepts of health and disease, including the factors that influence their judgments about whether a condition is a disease...
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
A truly fascinating review paper, covering a lot of cool research and creating new directions for future work. I just put it on the syllabus for my grad-level culture seminar. Highly recommend!
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
🔔The third Historical Psychology preconference at SPSP! We particularly encourage early-career researchers to present their work. Topics include cultural change, cultural evolution, history+AI, temporal text analysis, historical+geographical psych, ethnohistorical record, history as context, etc.
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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
“The idea that humans evolved to be protective & sensitive to harm directed towards women appears increasingly popular in evolutionary psych [but] ethnographic evidence conflict with this perspective, [which seems] rooted in contemporary WEIRD values rather than an evolved psychological mechanism”
open.substack.com
Did humans evolve to 'protect' women?
Ethnography complicates a convenient narrative
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Society for Philosophy and Psychology @socphilpsych.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
‼️ Recent work by Setayesh Radkani, Joshua Tenenbaum & Rebecca Saxe: What people learn from punishment: A cognitive model
pnas.org
What people learn from punishment: A cognitive model | PNAS
Authorities, from parents of toddlers to leaders of formal institutions, use punishment to communicate disapproval and enforce social norms. Ideall...
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Eric Shuman @ericmshuman.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
I am hoping to recruit a Ph.D. student to join the SPARC (Social Psychology of Activism, Resistance, & Change) Lab at @UVAPsyc in Fall 2026! You can find more info about my research on my website (ericshuman.com), and the program here (psychology.as.virginia.edu/social-psych...).
ericshuman.com
Home
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Abdo Elnakouri @abdoe.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Hi all! Having recently moved to @uh.edu, I’ll be reviewing graduate applications to join the newly minted Worldviews in Motion lab for Fall 2026! Please share with anyone who might be interested 😊 For lab info, check out our (though it’s mostly me atm) website: www.abdoelnakouri.com
abdoelnakouri.com
WIM Lab
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Edouard Machery @edouardmachery.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Join us tomorrow, Tuesday October 7th at 12PM EDT for a talk with former fellow Michael Tomasello! "Agency and the Organization of Human Experience." More info and abstract here: ow.ly/usIc50X4wS7 Zoom Link: pitt.zoom.us/j/96906545761
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Myra Cheng @myra.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
AI always calling your ideas “fantastic” can feel inauthentic, but what are sycophancy’s deeper harms? We find that in the common use case of seeking AI advice on interpersonal situations—specifically conflicts—sycophancy makes people feel more right & less willing to apologize.
Screenshot of paper title: Sycophantic AI Decreases Prosocial Intentions and Promotes Dependence
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Josh Miller @jdmiller.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Apropos of recent open science conversations - this paper is an awesome primer for grad students and faculty who want to learn more: online.ucpress.edu/collabra/art...
online.ucpress.edu
Easing Into Open Science: A Guide for Graduate Students and Their Advisors
This article provides a roadmap to assist graduate students and their advisors to engage in open science practices. We suggest eight open science practices that novice graduate students could begin ad...
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
New chapter preprint: Is Empathic AI possible? osf.io/preprints/ps...
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PNAS Nexus @pnasnexus.org · 02/09/2025
Although men and boys are more directly and indirectly aggressive than women and girls in most contexts, a study of 24 countries finds one specific context in which this pattern is reversed: the sibling relationship. In PNAS Nexus: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
A girl pretends to pull her brother’s ear. Stock photo.
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USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences @dornsife.usc.edu · 18/08/2025
Is extreme wealth a moral failure, or a badge of honor? A global study co-led by USC Dornsife reveals what really drives our judgments.
dornsife.usc.edu
What people really think about ultra-wealthy billionaires
Is extreme wealth a moral failure or a badge of honor? A global study reveals what really drives judgments about the ultra-rich
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Mohammad Atari @mohammadatari.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Glad this is finally out! Check out @igi.bsky.social ‘s thread! Thanks to @edouardmachery.bsky.social and team.
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Manikya Alister @manikyaalister.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
We know that a consensus of opinions is persuasive, but how reliable is this effect across people and types of consensus, and are there any kinds of claims where people care less about what other people think? This is what we tested in our new(ish) paper in @psychscience.bsky.social
Screenshot of the article "How Convincing Is a Crowd? Quantifying the Persuasiveness of a Consensus for Different Individuals and Types of Claims"
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