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Steven Watson

@nostawnevets.bsky.social
88 followers 72 following 186 posts

Assistant professor in Psychology at Durham University researching investigative interviews, deception, and interactions with vulnerable people

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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
My uni forced co-pilot on us as a productivity tool and now my e-mail search doesn't work. This has not improved my productivity. Side note, if they REALLY want to improve my productivity, my tip would be a halfway navigable website.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The bad news is I did not get a grant I thought was very good and was looking forward to working on. The good news, I have a bit more time to clear the backlog than expected in the next couple of months!
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
...What?
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Uta Frith might think people like me shouldn't qualify as autistic, but then she needs to pop over and explain why I turn into a mute T-Rex in Sainsbury's.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
A new open article which examines whether and when educating people about autism affects sentencing decisions! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... Previous work has shown that informing people defendants are autistic usually leads to more leniency. This is not always what happens in practice. 1/6
tandfonline.com
The effect of crime type and knowledge about autism spectrum condition (ASC) on the judgement of defendants with ASC
Research on how autistics are sentenced is ambivalent: some studies suggest harsher treatment, while others propose more lenient sentences. However, it is unclear whether lenient sentencing is caus...
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
If you do want a new job, I recommend this one for an Assistant Professor in our Psych department at Durham: durham.taleo.net/careersectio... Working with computational modelling and AI will be an advantage, but you can apply that to almost any area of Psychology.
durham.taleo.net
Assistant Professor (Research %26 Education)
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I know I work in the UK again because I've spent 90 minutes of my work day trying to achieve the very simple task of buying a train ticket.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Choosing postdocs for interview is hard. Who let all the young ones become so talented?
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
There is the fun bit of writing grants - coming up with the ideas, building the evidence case, chatting with the team about all the cool things you want to do. Then there is the bit where you need to work out the logistics and guess how much stuff will cost in 6 months. Guess which part I'm at.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Just once I'd like to move to a country which isn't undergoing a shift to right wing politics. Maybe I am the immigrant they all want to keep out?
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Supervised so hard I got a present from the student's PARENTS. Relieved that I had actually given them a good grade after that 😅
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Starting a new job on Monday, which means I'm currently having to actively monitor three e-mail inboxes in Outlook, and I think I should be paid danger money for how inexplicably stressful it is.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
We have a postdoc position open! Work with us on developing VR training for first responders when encountering people showing "concerning behaviour". The goal is to give knowledge and practice to make everyone safer: utwentecareers.nl/en/vacancies... Deadline May 17th
utwentecareers.nl
PostDoc position on VR training for first responders dealing with “Personen met Onbegrepen Gedrag” (Dutch language) - Looking for a job that matters?
We offer a challenging PostDoc position with the Human Media Interaction and the Psychology of Conflict, Risk, and Safety groups of the University of Twente, working on novel, mixed paradigm VR traini...
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Someone I know was told by their psychiatrist yesterday in the year of our lord 2026 that they can't be autistic because their daughter is and "it's not genetic". This is incorrect factually and makes no sense logically. I will tell this story whenever someone says we're overdiagnosing.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
A new article with Alina Kaufmann and Max Friehs, which is a bit of a departure for me. Here we gave growth mindsets in education a hard test - how well does it motivate when you give people a very difficult task? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Investigating the relationship between a growth mindset and intrinsic motivation in a cognitive task
The concept of a growth mindset has received an enormous amount of attention in academic circles and educational settings, and many interventions inco…
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Reposted by Steven Watson
Dr. Sara L Middleton @saralilplants.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
After 4+ years of work the Academic Wheel of Privilege is out! One of the most complex projects I’ve led! Deeply grateful to coauthors Justin, Bethan, Mahmoud, Flavio and 30+ expert reviewers for their care, time and dedication in developing this framework. 🔗 osf.io/preprints/me... #AcademicSky 🧪
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
First paper from one of my PhD's theses! Here Peter developed a test of how emotional mimicry varies depending on the valence and veracity of verbal statements, and found lower emotional alignment for deceptive messages, especially with positive valence: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Unmasking Deception: Examining Receivers’ Emotional Responses with Automated Facial Expression Analysis in Veracity and Valence - Journal of Nonverbal Behavior
Emotional mimicry, an unconscious nonverbal response, may reveal how people react to truthful versus deceptive communication. Mimicry typically increases when individuals seek connection but may be su...
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
A brand new article in which my co-authors develop a cool VR simulation comparing burglary behaviour between those acting alone vs in pairs, and, most critically, in which I finally had a reason to use the Poisson distribution! If you can't get access, do feel free to ask: doi.org/10.1007/s118...
doi.org
“It’s Better to be Alone Than in Bad Company” - Virtual Reality Comparison of Solo and Paired Burglars - Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology
Most criminological research perceives crime through the lens of a single victim and a single offender perspective. In reality, law enforcement organisations recognise that crime, and particularly bur...
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
A new special issue in the Journal of Criminal Psychology about investigative interviewing! There's great stuff throughout, but naturally I especially want you to read the article we about benefits of making sure suspects feel taken care of to encourage information sharing: doi.org/10.1108/JCP-...
doi.org
The effect of tailored reciprocity on information provision in an investigative interview
Purpose. In their study of reciprocity in investigative interviews, Matsumoto and Hwang (2018) found that offering interviewees water prior to the interview enhanced observer-rated rapport and positiv...
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
I swear I do normally post about my research here and it's not all self-aggrandisement, but I am pretty chuffed to win this best teacher award from our study association. Still, I asked my model friend Ida to pose for me because she does a better job conveying my pride than I ever could.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Although, another nice part of the job is when you find a card full of really nice things your colleagues have said about you on your desk!
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
There are few things more satisfying in my job than reading really good student theses.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
I will use this in my petition to make Final Fantasy silly again. I thought FF16 was great, but did my dog ride a chocobo looking ridiculous? Or wear a sailor's outfit to pass for human? No. That is why FF7 is still the best and Red XIII is a legend.
It's Red XIII AKA Nanaki riding a chocobo. Red is a dog AND cat like character, and a Chocobo is a bird like horse charcaters ride around on. Think a giant yellow ostrich with sass. It's so stupid and wonderful, if I could donate my sight to you forever just so you could see this one image it would be worth it.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
If you're looking to wind down the clock before your Christmas break, try reading our new open access article, in which we explore how the simple wordiness of suspects answers can give the impression of cooperation bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The link between suspect verbosity during investigative interviews and observer‐rapport
You have to enable JavaScript in your browser's settings in order to use the eReader.
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Reposted by Steven Watson
Dr Katie Twomey @k2mey.eurosky.social · 15/12/2025
Please feel free to share! We want to understand how to better support autistic and or ADHD undergraduate students at UK universities. The entire study team is neurodivergent (as you can imagine we had some excellent meetings!)
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
As we move toward automatic grading for efficiency, I present my old Dutch exam of mine as a note of caution. I scored 0 of 6 points. My errors were: a) Typing a , instead of . at the end of the sentence. b) Not adding a . to the end of the sentence. c) A typo where I wrote hif instead of hij.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Co-writing a grant in Dutch, which as we enter the final stages makes me feel like a human ChatGPT*. "Hey Steven, what evidence is there for an argument like this?"; then we swap roles with me giving prompts for arguments the humans have to write for me. *Hopefully one with actual knowledge.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Our uni is getting rid of Endnote so I had to swap to Zotero which you all told me was better, but it... isn't? Or am I missing something? I find it hard to believe anything I read on the internet might not be 100% accurate.
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Normally I would say "I don't speak for all autistics" but on this one I think I'm safe. Autism isn't caused by paracetamol, it's caused by people finding us fun, interesting and attractive and making autistic babies with us in the traditional way. I hope this clarifies this apparently complex issue
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Reposted by Steven Watson
Dave Markowitz @davidmmarkowitz.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Prior work shows AI is often truth-biased in text-based deception detection. In our new 12-study paper in @journal-of-comm.bsky.social, we find a substantial lie-bias in audiovisual deception detection during mock interrogations. Read more here! doi.org/10.1093/joc/...
doi.org
Validate User
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
A new paper which warns perceived knowledge doesn't predict security behaviour as well as actual knowledge, and perceived knowledge can increase vulnerability through overconfidence. The problem, intervention success is usually measured with perceived knowledge. www.iadisportal.org/ijcsis/paper...
iadisportal.org
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
In our new open access article we explore if, when and how people decide whether online user reviews are fake when buying online. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... We find... (1/3)
tandfonline.com
A grounded theory of how consumers determine the veracity of online user reviews
Consumers use online reviews to decide which products to purchase. Cybercriminals produce fake reviews to influence unknowing consumers into buying products of lower quality, which can lead to fina...
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
A new open access paper led by Iris van Sintemaartensdijk and Joelle Simon, where we show that you can help people make better passwords with the right information... briefly, and they probably wont remember it anyway: doi.org/https://doi.... Maybe time to use a password manager!
doi.org
Redirecting
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Happy to say a short summary of evidence disclosure methods we wrote for a practitioner audience is now available for free in the new (excellent) edition of Applied Police Briefings: appliedpolicebriefings.com/index.php/AP...
appliedpolicebriefings.com
Applied Police Briefings: Accessible Policing Research
Simplifying policing research for law enforcement professionals. Discover actionable insights from our briefings.
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Reposted by Steven Watson
Kirk Luther @kirkluther.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Hi! Looking for a job in Forensic Psychology? Well, you're in luck! Come work with us! carleton.ca/deputyprovos...
carleton.ca
Assistant Professor - Psychology (Forensic Psychology) - Office of the Deputy Provost (Academic Operations and Planning)
The Department of Psychology at Carleton University invites applications from qualified candidates for a preliminary (tenure-track) appointment in Forensic Psychology at the rank of Assistant Professo...
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Reposted by Steven Watson
Meg Ternes @megternes.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
We get the most amazing speakers each year for this conference and this year is no exception. This year we will be hosting keynote @tessneal.bsky.social and panelists @kirkluther.bsky.social @chrisjlively.bsky.social Joseph Eastwood and Madison Hynes. Just 8 days left to submit your abstract!
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Steven Watson @nostawnevets.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Soon I'm giving a lunch lecture about neurodivergent study tips for our Psych students. Delighted that this gave me an opportunity to create my first ever meme (and an excuse to talk about Final Fantasy 7 in a professional setting)
Image shows Samuel l Jackson in Pulp fiction threatening someone with a gun while saying "Say "have you tried making a schedule again, I dare you""
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Reposted by Steven Watson
Chris N. H. Street (he/him) @cnhstreet.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
If you or anyone you know is a researcher in the area of deception and is on BSky, please reach out! Would love to add you to our Starter Pack #deception #academicsky #psychlaw
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