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Dr. Shayna Sparling

@shaynagram.bsky.social
1.1K followers 246 following 599 posts

Assistant professor at UGuelph, pastry lover and applied social psychologist who studies social connection, identity-related stigma, and sexual health.

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Reposted by Dr. Shayna Sparling
INQYR @inqyr.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
‼️Okay, you might have noticed how we fell behind on our live posts. It was for good reason!! ‼️ 🪩🌈Keith Adamson from our Canadian network and Imanié 007 SLAYED with a runway closing performance!! 🌈🪩 👏👏What a STUNNING end to our showcase!! 👏👏
Keith Adamson is on the left, a slideshow presentation is on a projector screen, entitled ‘A Study of Ballroom, Black Excellence, and Anti-Black Racism in Canada’ A performer from Imanié 007 Performers from Imanié 007
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
We had a BLAST at #INQYRbeyondlimits today! We got to see Meyer give an excellent keynote, were blown away by an amazing Black Queer Joy Ballroom performance, and connected with wonderful colleagues. 💕
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INQYR @inqyr.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🗣️ Dane Di Cesare (he/him) (Canadian Network) presents “Save point. Screenshot elicitation methodology in video game research with 2S & LGBTQ+ youth” 🌈🎮For all of our queer gamers out there, this one is for you!🎮🌈 #INQYRBeyondLimits
Dane Di Cesare (he/him) stands beside a video game screenshot (from Dragon Age) on a projector screen
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Susan Coltman @susancoltman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
My mom is my orange shirt. 🧡 She's proof that they didn't win. They tried to take everything: her language, her culture, her family, her land. She carried the hardship, and she carried the strength too. And I'm the orange shirt too. I'm the next generation, the proof that we're still here.
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Mike, the baptist. @mchrisbrand.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Beastie Boys never warned me about all the other rights I would need to fight for.
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Heather Urry @heatherurry.io · 24/09/2026
holy fucking shit - see Claude Code (Opus 5.5) rip through a survey eligility test I was really proud of... It requires tracing a route through designated points on a map with server-side Javascript applying eligibility criteria. (1.5 min video)
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Check out these cool findings from one of our latest papers (thanks @paolopalma.bsky.social ) for the beautiful summary!
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Rhodri Cusack @rhodricusack.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
We're hiring! 2 postdocs + 3 PhD students to join InfantNeuroAI at Trinity College Dublin: awake infant fMRI & OPM-MEG, plus computational models of how infants learn. Aims: understand infant visual cognition, infant neuroimaging methods, more energy-efficient learning 🧵 www.cusacklab.org/vacancies
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 16/08/2026
Every conversation about bike lanes is like: "Car crashes kill a huge number of people every day, including pedestrians, cyclists, & car occupants. Good bike infrastructure has been shown to make everyone safer (& doesn't increase congestion)." "But sometimes cyclists break rules & hit people!"
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INQYR @inqyr.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
🚨🌈 THIS IS IT — ONLY 24 HOURS LEFT! 🌈🚨 The countdown is ON! Early Bird registration for Beyond Limits 2026 ends tomorrow! 🎤 Keynote by Dr. Ilan Meyer 📍 Toronto | 📅 October 2, 2026 🐦💨 Catch the Early Bird before it flies away — August 17 is your last chance to save! www.inqyr.org/beyond-limit...
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Dan Silverman @dmsilverman.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I‘m far from an AI doomer, but it is amazing how many serious voices — on LinkedIn, no less! — are sharing stories about how AI slop is quickly becoming one of the top problems they see in academic writing and research “AI will 10x our research!” doesn’t seem to be surviving encounters with reality
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Connor Ewing @cmewing.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
University leadership: We stand ready to support our faculty as they confront the disruptions & uncertainty caused by AI. Faculty: Great! We'll need smaller class sizes, especially for incoming students and— University leadership: Lol, no. We meant like subscriptions to Claude.
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I spent all of last week working on my T&P documents for my 2-year AND my lifetime performance review. I'm still recovering (and catching up on emails) 😑
static.klipy.com
Ginger Cat Lying Lazily in Corner
ALT: Ginger Cat Lying Lazily in Corner
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Jenn Dowd @drjenndowd.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Come to Oxford and join our amazing Nuffield community! Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellows (PPRFs) in Sociology, include sociology, demography, criminology, social and medical statistics, public policy, and social policy. www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/the-college/... @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social
nuffield.ox.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowships in Sociology (two posts) - Nuffield College Oxford University
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Patrick Skeels @baslogic.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
My 4yo daughter pretending to be me, sitting on the couch holding a dinner plate like a steering wheel: yeah I gotta drive all the way to work on a Saturday, cuz they need me to do more philosophy.
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paolo @paolopalma.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
A common mistakes I’ve seen quant researchers wading into intersectionality make is mistaking intersectionality as an interaction effect. I think I’m gonna start sending people this paper since it does a nice job explaining how intersectionality informs modeling choices doi.org/10.1016/j.ss...
Screenshot of article title “A tutorial for conducting intersectional multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA) by Clare Evan’s and colleagues Excerpt from article (1 of 2): Translating theory into methods, jointly considering the "double jeopardy" of two marginalized positionalities (Black and woman, for instance) would imply use of additive main effects to describe inequalities. However, this additive treatment would not capture what King called the multiplicative "multiple jeopardy" of being both Black and a woman (King, 1988). For instance, assessing risk of a health outcome additively based on race and gender (e.g., "Black" plus "woman" additive main effects) may not be enough to describe the prevalence of a particular health outcome among those who are Black and women, necessitating an additional
multiplicative interaction term (Black × woman).Excerpt from article (2 of 2): Put simply, intersectionality is a framework that enables us to theorize about, and critique, social experiences (exposures) at particular
intersections and the systems of oppression that create those experiences, while regression analyses that include interactions capture the effects of these experiences on particular outcomes. Thus, the effect of exposures may or may not result in statistically significant interaction effects. Failure to find statistically significant interaction effects says nothing about the validity of intersectionality-it neither proves nor disproves the existence of intersectional experiences. In this sense, intersectionality may be better thought of as a framework for analysis (e.g., how we structure our questions), rather than a testable theory.
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Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 30/07/2026
New blog post! Odds ratios are...a bit weird. Here I explain two problems (interpretation, non-collapsibility) and provide some simple recommendations for improved reporting. www.the100.ci/2026/07/30/r...
the100.ci
Reviewer notes: Odds ratios are really odd
When psychological researchers investigate binary outcomes, they routinely report odds ratios to quantify the strength of an effect or an association. This is quite understandable given that psycholog...
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
For folks who are getting hyped about that new Odyssey movie and are looking for a nice chaser - definitely check out the books The Song of Achilles and Circe: Circe by Madeline Miller | Goodreads share.google/NakDo6EfLRnF...
share.google
Circe
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of…
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
I actually did almost no work while I was visiting family for nearly two weeks...how bad is my email inbox going to be when I check on Monday? 😬
static.klipy.com
Alexis Rose's Iconic 'Yikes' Face in Schitt's Creek
ALT: Alexis Rose's Iconic 'Yikes' Face in Schitt's Creek
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Samantha Joel @datingdecisions.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
We made an open repository of close relationships measures. Our goal is to catalogue all of the published self-report measures in relationship science. You can help us expand the database by suggesting measures you tend to use in your research, or by uploading your own measures! relascale.com
relascale.com
RelaScale - Psychological Measures and Constructs
RelaScale is a searchable database of psychological measures and constructs for relationship researchers.
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paolo @paolopalma.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
I've recently been featured on a Postdoc Spotlight for @ctnplus.bsky.social. As people may know, I started off in social psychology studying anti-immigrant prejudice. This spotlight highlights how I've taken what I've learned to inform my work in public health, and particularly in HIV stigma.
ctnplus.ca
Postdoc Spotlight: Paolo Palma | The CTN+
Dr. Paolo Palma joined the CTN+ in 2025 as a postdoctoral fellow. Grounded by a background in social psychology, he’s driven to understand the health impact of prejudice and discrimination, and how we...
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Wow! Glad we have the chance to voice some concerns! tc.canada.ca/en/corporate...
tc.canada.ca
Public consultation on the future of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
Consultation collecting feedback on the future of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
OKAY! For the first time in a long time, I have NO outstanding journal articles to review! Finally!! Is this what inbox zero feels like?!
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Big Ern's Energetic Shout
ALT: Big Ern's Energetic Shout
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Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcculloch.com · 17/05/2026
I have an important link for everyone who liked the previous post:
tally.so
The Long Form Census You Nerds Wanted
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Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 13/05/2026
You can now watch Jeremy's excellent talk on the term "association" and what it's even supposed to be referring to on YouTube. Must watch if you're doing associational research! www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKdC...
youtube.com
J Labrecque | Association. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means
YouTube video by the Causal Inference Interest Group (CIIG)
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Mark Hooper @markhooper.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
If you’ll be at the World Conferences on Research Integrity, consider joining our pres, “Friendly Ghosts?”. We’ll discuss authorship dilemmas when contributors decline. Tuesday, 11.15am, Stream G. Me, Jennifer Wright, and Michael Vincent #WCRI2026 #researchintegrity @wcrifoundation.bsky.social
A picture of a friendly ghost. It's blushing and cute. A person's legs are sticking out the bottom of a big sheet. Text reads: "Friendly Ghosts? Ethical dilemmas when research contributors decline authorship. WCRI, Tuesday, 10:30 - 12:00, Stream G (Seymour).
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Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
I'm not going to provide details, so don't ask. Nevertheless: No, it is not OK to have one hallucinated cite. No, you can't delete that and expect me to take the rest of your work seriously. No, absolutely not. It should never ever happen.
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Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Significant differences are indicated with 🐦‍⬛
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
One of my intro stats students e-mailed me today because they were checking their work using Chat GPT. Chat told them why they got a question wrong and they wanted confirmation. I gently reminded them that Chat GPT is an LLM and not really meant to do math. Also, yes, it's explanation was wrong
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
My honours thesis student did such a great job presenting her work at our psychology thesis poster conference yesterday!! She took on a really challenging but really important project and I'm so proud for her!!
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Michael W. Kraus @mwkraus.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
"On the one hand, you have an imaginative property beloved by millions, and on the other, there are actually existing trans people." 🎁 defector.com/its-time-to-...
defector.com
It’s Time To Grow Up | Defector
HBO’s new Harry Potter TV series is premiering this Christmas Day. Under current plans, it will last at least a decade. The trailer looks like the original films were run through an AI generator, but ...
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
I did my first reverse seared roast today and it turned out so great! Now, where does this go on my CV?
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Eric Walsh-Buhi (he/him) @ewabu.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Great piece from Nutrition Action on using ChatGPT for advice on diet and health. #Nutrition #AI #PublicHealth
Photo of a piece from Nutrition Action on using ChatGPT for advice on diet and health
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Q. Pheevr @q.pheevr.ca · 28/03/2026
A matchmaking gift set that, tragically, sets you up with your own mother… called Oedipal Arrangement
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
In lab meeting next week, I'm going to talk to my students about time management. What are your hot tips for time management? What's something you wish you had learned earlier that improved the way you get your work done?
media.tenor.com
a cat is looking at a laptop computer screen with a lot of text on it .
ALT: a cat is looking at a laptop computer screen with a lot of text on it .
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Not me over here using "find and replace" to remove fix all the spots where my fingers were on autopilot and I used a double space after a period! 🫠
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
I developed a paranoid habit of hitting control-S after every thought I type out while I'm writing - thanks to losing work several times on Word. I now find it unsettling NOT doing that while I write in a Google doc. 😬
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Diana Chan McNally @dianachanmcnally.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
This is a nuclear bomb to Ontario's democracy. The Ford government wants to obfuscate absolutely everything it does.
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violet allen @blipstress.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
It's honestly blackpilled me a little how the last couple of years have revealed that so many people are just fundamentally averse to reading and writing and thinking as worthwhile human activities.
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Kristen Hanley Cardozo @khandozo.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
I dunno man, I think precipitously canceling people's funding caused a lot of damage to other people's careers and lives and reputations and maybe they should live with the blowback. They come from a media ecosystem that makes public lists of insufficiently bigoted professors.
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The academic urge to eschew work-life balance when your partner is out of town.
media.tenor.com
a close up of a stuffed monkey wearing a green shirt and overalls making a funny face .
ALT: a close up of a stuffed monkey wearing a green shirt and overalls making a funny face .
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Josh Grubbs @joshuagrubbsphd.com · 06/03/2026
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Samantha Joel @datingdecisions.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Study promotion for a great PhD student! If you and/or your romantic partner are experiencing depressive symptoms, consider participating in this online study. Your participation can help researchers better understand romantic partner support. Open to couples of any gender or sexual orientation 🌈
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
I'm reading a paper from 2017 that uses the word "whilst" to an excessive degree and it's making me so annoyed with the review team. 😳
media.tenor.com
a red cat laying on top of a keyboard with a sad face
ALT: a red cat laying on top of a keyboard with a sad face
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Global News @globalnews.ca · 27/02/2026
Cartel violence hit the popular tourist area of Puerto Vallarta on Sunday, cancelling flights in and out of the town. globalnews.ca/news/1170876...
globalnews.ca
‘Ghosted’: Canadians stranded in Puerto Vallarta say they are abandoned by WestJet | Globalnews.ca
British Columbians who were stuck in Mexico after violence erupted in Puerto Vallarta say they feel abandoned by WestJet with no help to get home.
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Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 25/02/2026
Maybe of interest: The submission guidelines of Psychological Science now demand an explicit statement on measures taken to reduce the risk of AI-generated responses for all online studies! www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...
Online Studies
Psychological Science requires that authors who use samples from online data collection include a statement in the Method section explicitly addressing their approach to preventing and detecting automated or AI-generated responses.

Rationale

As large language models and other generative AI tools become more accessible, the risk of data contamination by non-human respondents has increased dramatically in research. Psychological science (and the social sciences generally) is particularly susceptible to this issue given its growing reliance on online data collection. Preventing automated responses during data collection and detecting them afterward often involve methodological trade-offs. For instance, technical barriers that aim to prevent LLM use (e.g., blocking copy-pasting functionalities) may eliminate behavioral indicators needed for detection (e.g., pasting rather than typing). This policy aims to enhance transparency and reproducibility of reported results by requiring authors to articulate their approach across both prevention and detection dimensions, enabling readers and reviewers to assess the likelihood of reported data being influenced by automated responses.

Scope

This policy applies to any submission with at least one study that includes data collected online without direct human supervision (e.g., via crowdsourcing platforms, student participants who complete the study online, online recruitment ads, or remote survey distribution tools).

Required Reporting

Authors must include in the Methods section either:

A statement confirming that procedures were in place to prevent and/or detect and exclude automated or AI-generated responses, including a description of those procedures (e.g., explicit participant instructions against LLM use, disabled copy–paste functionality, CAPTCHA use, IP filtering, consistency checks, attention checks, adversarial prompting) as well as the types of automated responses that these procedures are suitable …
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Ashwini Ashokkumar @ashwinia.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
🚨🚨 My lab is hiring a Postdoc! 🚨🚨 Postdoc opening in my lab at Harvard Psych (start: Summer/Fall 2026). We study identity, group dynamics, language, & politics. Rolling review begins 3/14 Apply: academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15806 Please repost + tag folks who might be a good fit! 👇
academicpositions.harvard.edu
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Ashwini Ashokkumar’s lab at the Department of Psychology at Harvard University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow position to start in Summer 2026. The lab conducts research on social ...
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
PLEASE. Use "insert page break" instead of just hitting the return key a few times. 😭
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Dr. Shayna Sparling @shaynagram.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
This is really cool @cbcgem.bsky.social
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