iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mikaela Spruill

Apoorva Sarmal @apoorvasarmal.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

We’re back with another edition of the Critical Perspectives in Psychology! This year’s theme is Grasping the Root: Bridging Academic & Community Approaches in Psychological Science. We are accepting abstracts for posters, data blitzes & podium talks. Apply by October 8. Link below!

Poster describing the Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference 2027. The poster lists three keynote speakers: Dr. Michelle Twali, Dr. Camilla Griffiths, and Dr. Allison Skinner. Now accepting submissions until October 8, 2026. Link on poster and in a post below.

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Stanford SPARQ @stanfordsparq.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

New paper from Postdoc Fellow @spruill.bsky.social on "legal enculturation" - a framework for how laws shape people’s beliefs and perceptions. From redlining to jury exclusion, structural inequity gets written into law, which influences our psychology. tinyurl.com/23jtmxjt

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Stanford SPARQ @stanfordsparq.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Jennifer Eberhardt, @spruill.bsky.social, and Julia Proshan attended the APS 2026 convention!🌟 Eberhardt received the James S. Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award, and Proshan presented on the relationship between historical redlining and current disparities in police officers' treatment of drivers.

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Stanford SPARQ @stanfordsparq.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

SPARQ is officially on Bluesky! We're excited to connect with the community and share updates and news about our work here!💫

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I am excited to continue building this theoretical framework in the coming years. I hope you enjoy reading it!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Both the law and the individual mind are mutually constitutive entities. While our field often explores how individuals shape the law, legal enculturation attends to the influence of the law upon our attitudes, judgments, and decisions.

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Integrating perspectives from social, cultural and legal psychology, this manuscript introduces Legal Enculturation - the dynamic process by which the legal system structures the social, cultural and economic realities that individuals think, act and exist within.

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

💡New Publication💡 I am excited to share my latest publication and first solo-authored piece “The Law Shapes the Mind: Structural‐Level Influence on Individual‐Level Psychology.” Out now in Social & Personality Psychology Compass dx.doi.org/10.1111/spc3...

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M.J. Crockett @mjcrockett.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Can AI simulations of human research participants advance cognitive science? In @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social, @lmesseri.bsky.social & I analyze this vision. We show how “AI Surrogates” entrench practices that limit the generalizability of cognitive science while aspiring to do the opposite. 1/

sciencedirect.com

AI Surrogates and illusions of generalizability in cognitive science

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have generated enthusiasm for using AI simulations of human research participants to generate new know…

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Taya D. Henry, PhD @tayadhenry.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Our lab’s first study is published in @pppl-journal.bsky.social! We review definitions used in psych & law to describe those wrongly involved in the legal system. doi.org/10.1037/law0000468 @gblancovelasco.com @carinacardoso.bsky.social @karlihamilton.bsky.social @kimberleyclow.bsky.social

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Please reach out to the organizers with any questions about the preconference or submissions. @jadacopelandhayes.bsky.social @keturahragland.bsky.social @doctaphia.bsky.social @spruill.bsky.social

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

We also have an exciting line up of incredible speakers, including Courtney Bonam, Keturah Ragland, Jessica Remedios & Neil Lewis Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social. Join our line up with your submission by Oct. 23rd!!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

We are also pleased to announce that we have partnered w/ Minds Matter Podcast @mindsmatter.bsky.social for a live episode w/ Phia Salter @doctaphia.bsky.social & Glenn Adams!! This enlightening conversation will delve into the current state of critical research and the future of our work in psych!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

*We are 3 days away from the SPSP Preconference submission deadline!* If your research breaks boundaries in social psychology or you are applying exciting methods to your research, apply today!! spsp.wufoo.com/forms/2026-p...

Advertisement for the Critical Perspectives in Psychology preconference. Displays the invited speakers names & pictures. Includes a QR code to the submission portal.

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Phia Salter @doctaphia.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

We're accepting abstract submissions for the Critical Psychology Preconference until Oct 23rd. Join us! spsp.wufoo.com/forms/2026-p...

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Please reach out to the organizers Phia Salter, @jadacopelandhayes.bsky.social, @spruill.bsky.social & @keturahragland.bsky.social with any questions about the preconference and/or submissions.

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

We have an exciting line up of speakers already, including Courtney Bonam, Neil Lewis Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social, Jessica Remedios, and Keturah Ragland @keturahragland.bsky.social Join our line up with a submission by Oct. 23rd!!!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

The Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference is back again for year two!! If your research breaks boundaries in mainstream social psych or you are applying exciting methods to your experimental research, our submissions are open! #SPSP2026

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 26/09/2025

Join us on September 30 at 3 p.m. ET for a virtual discussion with legal experts and longtime Supreme Court watchers. They’ll break down some of the major cases on the Court's upcoming docket and explain what the outcomes could mean for the future of American democracy. RSVP: bit.ly/4nKeDFP

brennancenter.org

Democracy’s Day in Court

Supreme Court watchers preview pivotal cases on voting rights, fair representation, and presidential power.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Supreme Court unanimously rejects the "moment-of-threat rule," which required courts to examine only the exact moment in which a police officer alleged that their safety had been threatened in determining whether they acted reasonably. Kagan's opinion makes clear that this idea is clearly absurd.

Most notable here, the “totality of the circumstances” inquiry has no
time limit. While the situation at the precise time of the shooting will
often matter most, earlier facts and circumstances may bear on how a
reasonable officer would have understood and responded to later ones.
Prior events may show why a reasonable officer would perceive otherwise ambiguous conduct as threatening, or instead as innocuous.
Plumhoff v. Rickard, 572 U. S. 765, well illustrates this point. There,
an officer’s use of deadly force was justified “at the moment” partly
because of what had transpired in the preceding period. Id., at 777.
The moment-of-threat rule applied below prevents that sort of attention to context, and thus conflicts with this Court’s instruction to
analyze the totality of the circumstances. By limiting their view to the
two seconds before the shooting, the lower courts could not take into
account anything preceding that final moment. So, for example, they
could not consider the reasons for the stop or the earlier interactions
between the suspect and officer. And because of that limit, they could
not address whether the final two seconds of the encounter would look
different if set within a longer timeframe. A rule like that, which precludes consideration of prior events in assessing a police shooting, is
not reconcilable with the fact-dependent and context-sensitive approach this Court has prescribed. A court deciding a use-of-force case
cannot review the totality of the circumstances if it has put on chronological blinders.
The Court does not address a separate question about whether or
how an officer’s own “creation of a dangerous situation” factors into the
reasonableness analysis. The courts below never confronted that issue, and it was not the basis of the petition for certiorari. Pp. 4–9.
91 F. 4th 393, vacated and remanded.
KAGAN, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. KAVANAUGH,
J., filed a con

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

The Supreme Court's first and only decision today is Barnes v. Felix. Per Kagan, the court unanimously rejects the 5th Circuit's narrow approach to deadly force claims against police, holding that a proper analysis looks to the "totality of the circumstances." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

JUSTICE KAGAN delivered the opinion of the Court.
A police officer’s use of deadly force violates the Fourth
Amendment when it is not “objectively reasonable.” Graham v. Connor, 490 U. S. 386, 397 (1989). And that inquiry
into reasonableness, we have held, requires assessing the
“totality of the circumstances.” Id., at 396 (quoting Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U. S. 1, 9 (1985)).
The question here is whether that framework permits
courts, in evaluating a police shooting (or other use of force),
to apply the so-called moment-of-threat rule used in the
courts below. Under that rule, a court looks only to the circumstances existing at the precise time an officer perceived
the threat inducing him to shoot. Today, we reject that approach as improperly narrowing the requisite Fourth
Amendment analysis. To assess whether an officer acted
reasonably in using force, a court must consider all the relevant circumstances, including facts and events leading up
to the climactic moment.

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 10/04/2025

The Supreme Court’s emergency ruling blocked the Trump administration from removing supposed Venezuelan gang members without any legal process, @qjurecic.bsky.social writes. But it “also narrowed the path by which those detainees can contest their removal”:

bit.ly

What, Exactly, Is the Supreme Court Thinking?

The justices exhibit a disturbing willingness to ignore the human costs of Trump’s actions, preferring instead to remain within the more comfortable zone of high-minded legal theory.

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Thank you all so much for having me!! It was a joy to share more about my research in psychology and law. If you want to learn more about legal judgment & decision making, intriguing Supreme Court cases and what “objectively reasonable” actually means to people, listen to this episode!

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J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Scholarship is an expression of deep hope in the future — by writing things down, we hope that future generations can make some use of what we do. Writing today about the science of AI policy, I am citing a 1950s book on the role of scientists in labor unions. Thank you Milton Nadworny <3

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Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Some good news: "The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years in response to what it calls a 'crisis' prompted by the Trump administration’s freeze..." www.philanthropy.com/article/maca...

philanthropy.com

MacArthur Foundation to Increase Giving for Two Years in Response to ‘Crisis’

The move was prompted by the Trump administration’s freeze on federal foreign aid and the now-suspended freeze on federal grants.

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Association for Psychological Science @psychscience.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Congratulations to the newest class of APS Rising Stars ⭐! www.psychologicalscience.org/members/awar...

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Morteza Dehghani @mdehghani.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

At @spspnews.bsky.social, many asked for guidelines on using LLMs in the social sciences. Our new paper in AMPPS addresses exactly that! We provide a primer for evaluating LLMs in social science research, focusing on methodological rigor, replicability, and validity: osf.io/preprints/ps...

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Isha Smith-Ramakrishnan @ishasr.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

First @spspnews.bsky.social symposium complete! I presented my work on differing gendered perceptions of East and South Asians. Really excited to continue this line of work as I wrap up my master’s thesis. Thank you to everyone who came to support! #SPSP2025

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Happy SPSP Day to those who celebrate! I’m looking forward to starting this conference off sharing new research, “Right, Wrong or Reasonable? Morality in Legal Decision Making” in the Moral Pre conference!! #SPSP2025

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Equal Justice Initiative @eji.org · 19/02/2025

Where the death penalty remains active, increasing jury diversity can increase reliability and help reduce the risk of wrongful convictions.

eji.org

Diverse Juries More Reliable, Less Likely in Alabama Death Penalty

Accurate representation among juries can reduce wrongful convictions.

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Ronda F. Lo @rondalo.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

I'll be presenting 3 posters at SPSP2025 this weekend! ‼️Thursday Pre-Conferences: Social Psychology in Legal Contexts - 12:15-1pm 🚔 Psychology of Police Shows Advances in Cultural Psychology -3:30-4:45pm 🧬 Gene-Culture Studies ‼️Friday Poster Session B (9-10am) 😷 Asian Health Hazard Stereotype

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Yes!! Can’t wait for you to join & I’m also looking forward to your symposium!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Check out the amazing line up of speakers for the inaugural Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference! If you are going to #SPSP2025 you don’t want to miss this!!

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Nick Camp @ncamp.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Going to #spsp2025? Interested in what psychology can tell us about what works (or doesn't) to change policing? Join me @andreadittmann.bsky.social @calvinklai.bsky.social @spruill.bsky.social & Kyle Dobson very early next Saturday to find out.

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Politics and Social Change Lab @pascl-stanford.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

A huge thank you to @spruill.bsky.social for sharing her research exploring the influence of legal language on Black and White Americans’ perceptions of police officers and police use-of-force. Truly thought-provoking work!

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

“To treat the symptoms of creative maladjustment would be to dull a necessary and noble pain that is an authentic moral response to injustice. For King, maladjustment to injustice is an illness with only one cure—justice.” Today’s very timely read.🤔 spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Kiana C. @kianacoxphd.myatproto.social · 10/12/2024

You get introduced to some ppl so young & thru the lens of history. To you, they are a legend, an idea, a symbol of excellence, a commitment to Blackness and its humanity. And when they die, you are in profound disbelief. Both surprisingly and predictably, I forgot she was human.

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

“If you don’t understand yourself, you don’t understand anyone else.” -Nikki Giovanni 🤍🕊️✨

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Marginalia Science @marginaliascience.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

ICYMI: check out our october newsletter featuring @spruill.bsky.social ✨ the second marginalia science x boston college symposium is coming up; apply to be a speaker by oct 25 (more details and application link in the newsletter) t.co/CsK7PA9g9Q

t.co

https://open.substack.com/pub/marginaliascience/p/newsletter-october-2024?r=ud0ov&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 26/11/2024

A new analysis shows that the average U.S. Supreme Court justice serves more than twice as long as their counterparts in other major democracies. These longer terms don’t earn the United States better judicial performance, but they do come with costs.

brennancenter.org

Life Tenure for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Is a Global Oddity with Clear Costs

Compared to other democracies, the United States is an outlier in granting life tenure to justices, producing diminishing returns and mounting costs.

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Dee @deelasheeart.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

“The Shop”

illustration of a vibrant Black hair salon with various clients and stylists doing hair. The scene is filled with dynamic energy, showcasing clients getting their hair braided, styled, and flat ironed. The space is warmly lit, with salon tools and hair products visible on counters and shelves. In the background, a stylist sweeps the floor while a child sits under the dryer.

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Mikaela Spruill @spruill.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Yes, we are!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

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Hakan Çakmak @hakancakmak.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Finally, something like this is out in PSPR! Identities, ideologies, status quos... Exactly where these variables and their antecedents operate in predicting individual responses to political realities hadn't been starkly addressed in mainstream psychology until now. See: doi.org/10.1177/1088...

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