#xphi — Public Fediverse posts

There’s something new and exciting on the X-Phi Blog: »Where Should I Publish My X-Phi? A New Resource« https://xphi.net/2026/04/22/where-should-i-publish-my-x-phi-a-new-resource/ #xphi #philosophy

What helps people understand conversational cues?

Correctly identifying implications correlated not just with "theory of mind", but also reflective and logical reasoning. Short-term memory? Not so much.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339899

#communication #cogSci #linguistics #xPhi #logic

Is moral advice more compelling if it includes an argument? What if it's from an #AI?

Advice strongly influenced decisions to sacrifice-one-to-save-five, regardless of whether advice
- came from #chatGPT (3.5).
- included an argument.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-026-01005-6

#xPhi #ethics #edu

How can researchers overcome #AcquiescenceBias?

In a #questionnaire, acquiescence is a tendency to agree with statements or answer affirmatively regardless of survey content.

Alvarado-Leiton et al. report simple ways to mitigate it.

https://doi.org/10.1093/jssam/smaf022

#PsychMethods #xPhi

https://philpapers.org/browse/experimental-philosophy

#xPhi #ExperimentalPhilosophy #papers

"a movement that is blurring the lines between philosophy and psychology. This new approach, called experimental philosophy, aims to apply the practical tools and findings of the cognitive sciences to philosophical problems"

https://thenewjournalatyale.com/2012/04/we-started-the-fire/

#xPhi #ExperimentalPhilosophy

https://vimeo.com/showcase/8267237?video=1167686450

"Ethics in the Lab: Experimental

Philosophy between Is and Ought"

by https://www.philosophie.uzh.ch/de/seminar/people/research/snf_willemsen/willemsen.html

#xphi

Can we assume research participants accept the stipulations of vignettes?

This paper reports that moral dilemma decisions varied according to how much people seemed to believe stipulations (e.g., that intervening would actually save five people).

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1930297500006501 #xPhi

#xphi

There are three new calls on the X-Phi Blog: »6th European Experimental Philosophy Conference«, »Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Linguistic Justice«, and »The Armchair on Trial«. Read more at https://xphi.net! #philosophy #xphi #experimentalphilosophy

Do neuroscientists' claims about #freeWill impact students' #ethics?

A "deterministic passage ...from Crick" sometimes reduced decisions to proactively intervene in moral thought experiments compared to a "neutral #neuroscience text".

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1748028

#xPhi #cogSci #edu

Another #failedReplication of a reflection test priming effect on the #sideEffectEffect: https://doi.org/10.1111/mila.12558

But our data above cast doubt on this paper's expectation that reflection test primes actually cause reflection (we saw *less* reflection in the test-first group).

#cogSci #xPhi #Psych

We've found recruiting people for online #research via #onlineAdvertising yielded good results on overt and covert #dataQuality measures (perhaps because participation incentives aren't financial):

Attention checks passed ≅ 2.6 out of 3

ReCAPTCHA (v3) ≅ 0.94 out of 1.0

Sample size > 5000 (from six continents)

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412525000198

#surveyMethods #cogSci #psychology #xPhi #QualityControl #econ #marketing

People DID find formal explanations more satisfying when the category seemed unknown!

But only the most reflective thinkers realized tautological (uninformative) formal explanations were less satisfying than informative ones.

https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70101

#xPhi #cogSci #SciComm
2/2

Does #morality of a violation depend on your relationship to the wrongdoer?

People from #China and the #UnitedStates rated transgressions involving parents less immoral than transgressions involving a #sales person or superiors (N > 1200).

https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081097

#ethics #xPhi

There’s a new journal in town: Experimental Philosophy. Read about it at the X-Phi Blog: https://xphi.net/2025/11/15/journal-experimental-philosophy/ #xphi #philosophy

The first sessions of this season’s “XPHI UK Work in Progress Workshop Series” have been announced by James Andow and Eugen Fischer. Take a look at the X-Phi Blog: https://xphi.net/2025/11/15/workshop-xphi-uk-work-in-progress-workshop-series-3/ #xphi #philosophy

There’s a new job announcement on the X-Phi Blog: Eugen Fischer is looking for a 6-month Research Associate to work in the research project »Experimental argument analysis«. Check it out at https://xphi.net/2025/10/27/job-experimental-argument-analysis-norwich-uk/! #xphi #philosophy

There are some new calls and announcements on the X-Phi Blog! Take a look at https://xphi.net/! #xphi #experimentalphilosophy #philosophy

Is solipsism measurable?

Seven studies developed a self-report scale of how much one doubts that others exist (beyond one's own mind).

It correlated with loneliness, social disconnection, aggression, and problematic gaming.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113463?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Text-posts

#xPhi #psychometrics.#psych

There is something new in the X-Phi Blog’s »Hot Off The Press« series. My book »Empirical Studies on Questions of Need-Based Distributive Justice« has just been published! https://xphi.net/2025/10/08/hot-off-the-press-empirical-studies-on-questions-of-need-based-distributive-justice/ #philosophy #xphi #distributivejustice #justice

How can #AI and #cognitiveScience improve #healthcare?

We got some answers from the #NudgesInHealthcare Symposium at #UPenn.

Check out this summary of some themes in the write-up below:

https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/in-the-loop-or-on-the-loop-the-conundrum-of-ai-clinical-decision-support/

#medicine #psych #econ #compSci #tech #LLM #edu #bioethics #xPhi

Thousands of people in a dozen countries thought reflective reasoning was usually the best way to make a decision in ordinary dilemmas.

Runners up were intuition, friends' advice, and the wisdom of a crowd (in that order).

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.1355

#cogSci #epistemology #xPhi

Might the concept of "good judgment" vary by framing or social roles?

Five studies of four countries (🇺🇸🇨🇦🇬🇧🇨🇳) found some words and roles were more associated with "rational" than "reasonable" (and vice versa).

https://doi.org/10.1162/opmi.a.24

#CogSci #xPhi #linguistics #dataViz

Can #AI chatbots handle student discussion better than teachers?

In a controlled study of 83 Chinese adolescents, dialogue with a #generativeAI resulted in more learning than dialogue with a human teacher.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2025.2521339

#edu #LLM #tech #teaching #policy #CogSci #xPhi

"We do not assume [system 2 is] always better ...than [system 1], or vice versa, .... Some tasks might be better handled by S1..., especially once the system has acquired enough experience": https://doi.org/10.1145/3715709

Amen! https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2505.22987

#cogSci #AI #xPhi #epistemology

This week I share a text message and infographic that improved decisions about #existentialRisk: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/d2pc4

#AntibioticResistance kills many.

Misusing #antibiotics makes matters worse.

IAPHS: https://iaphs.org/conference/conference-program

#Nudges in #Healthcare: https://nudgeunit.my.canva.site/symposium-2025-webpage

#medicine #health #psychology #ethics #Philosophy #xPhi #BioXPhi

There’s a new announcement on the X-Phi Blog: On Tuesday, Nicole Gotzner and Kevin Reuter will give a talk about »Intentionality and Discrimination« on Zoom. Find out more: https://xphi.net/2025/08/31/talk-intentionality-and-discrimination/ #philosophy #xphi

There are three new calls on the X-Phi Blog: »Moral Epistemology and Social Progress«, »Philosophers on Philosophy«, and »Folk Epistemology«. Take a look: https://xphi.net/ #philosophy #xphi

There is some news on the X-Phi Blog, including a call for a conference on »Law’s Many Users« as well as announcements for a workshop and a hackathon on »Data-Driven Methods for Philosophy«! Take a look: https://xphi.net/ #philosophy #xphi

Adopted and donor-conceived children were way less likely to confound nature and nurture than traditionally-conceived kids (ages 4 to 8).

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 And this difference wasn’t explained by differences in parents.

📄 Here's the free preprint (otherwise paywalled in Developmental Psychology): https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/3e8rj

#parenting #psychScience #childDevelopment #genetics #Adoption #IVF #donorConception #essentialism #xPhi #philMind #philSci

Maybe @Dockers opted for the misspelled "TruTemp" #branding because #philosophy had already taken "Truetemp".

Aside: I recently published new data about #thoughtExperiments like Truetemp:
🔒 https://doi.org/10.1093/analys/anaf015
🔓 https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/y8sdm

#cogSci #xPhi #trademark #marketing

Do people vacillate more before or after they can decide?

In this paper, most vacillations occurred before people could decide about logic or moral problems, except maybe for moral dilemmas.

Check out the #processTracing method: https://doi.org/10.1017/jdm.2024.15

#xPhi #ethics #cogSci

Do people vacillate more before or after they can decide?

In this paper, most vacillations occurred before people could decide about logic or moral problems, except maybe for moral dilemmas.

Check out the #processTracing method: https://doi.org/10.1017/jdm.2024.15

#xPhi #ethics #cogSci

Do people vacillate more before or after they can decide?

In this paper, most vacillations occurred before people could decide about logic or moral problems, except maybe for moral dilemmas.

Check out the #processTracing method: https://doi.org/10.1017/jdm.2024.15

#xPhi #ethics #cogSci

Do people vacillate more before or after they can decide?

In this paper, most vacillations occurred before people could decide about logic or moral problems, except maybe for moral dilemmas.

Check out the #processTracing method: https://doi.org/10.1017/jdm.2024.15

#xPhi #ethics #cogSci

Do people vacillate more before or after they can decide?

In this paper, most vacillations occurred before people could decide about logic or moral problems, except maybe for moral dilemmas.

Check out the #processTracing method: https://doi.org/10.1017/jdm.2024.15

#xPhi #ethics #cogSci

This week I’m presenting not-yet-published #data in an #xPhi talk and poster at #APAEastern25 in #NYC.

I’ll post about those and the #Philosophy sessions I attend (on #BlueSky or #Mastodon).

And soon I’ll field surveys about online/hybrid #conferencing.

https://www.apaonline.org/mpage/2025eastern

Good news in our preprint about #polarization:

Demand for BIPARTISAN #news analysis was strong!

People in the #US preferred fact-checking teams that engaged in #AdversarialCollaboration at least as much as copartisan and/or professional teams.

Follow the manuscript or authors on #GoogleScholar: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?oi=bibs&hl=en&cluster=1017561778629165218

If you prefer a link directly to our preprint: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/gp9w7

#journalism #socialMedia #decisionScience #collectiveIntelligence #socialPsychology #politicalPsychology #epistemology #xPhi

Will momentary reflection on a divisive issue change minds?

"At least 45" seconds of reflection on facts about #vaccines, #abortion, #GMOs, #surrogacy, etc. didn't seem to shift people's views from the prior week (N ≅ 800, k = 2).

https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70009

#ethics #xPhi #psych

Excited for 2025 presentations in #NYC at the #APA (January 8 to 11): apaonline.org/mpage/2025eastern?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Text-posts

The talk: https://researchgate.net/publication/370132037?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Text-posts
The poster: https://researchgate.net/publication/371248872?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Text-posts

#decisionScience #philosophy #xPhi #epistemology #bioethics #cognitiveScience #surveyMethods #DualProcessTheory

Do small groups produce better #argumentation?

A multi-country study of pre-primary, primary, and secondary students (N > 4000) found whole class discussions were more complex and explicit, in aggregate.

#openAccess paper: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-024-00914-6

#edu #logic #teaching #xPhi

Excited to share YEARS of research about how to get people to think reflectively and how reflection impacts philosophical judgments at the 2025 #APA in #NewYorkCity (January 8 to 11): https://www.apaonline.org/mpage/2025eastern

Can't make it?
- More about my talk: https://researchgate.net/publication/370132037
- More about my poster: https://researchgate.net/publication/371248872

Thanks to the #APA, James Beebe, and the Experimental Philosophy Society for the opportunity!

#decisionScience #philosophy #xPhi #epistemology #bioethics #cognitiveScience #mTurk #Prolific #UniversityParticipants #surveyMethods #DualProcessTheory

Reflective thinking often improves judgment and decisions, but across three experiments reflective thinking didn't seem to predict FEELING better about one's decision: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1930297500009414

This may help explain why we so often underrate reflective thinking.

#logic #criticalThinking #decisionScience #epistemology #xPhi #psychology

SEP:ssä tykkänään uutena entry taiteen ja estetiikan kokeellisesta filosofiasta, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/experimental-aesthetics/

Mikä ihmeen X-phi, selviää ensimmäisen hyperlinkin takaa, ja voi siitä vilkaista vaikka täältäkin, http://experimental-philosophy.yale.edu/ExperimentalPhilosophy.html

#taide #estetiikka #art #aesthetics #filosofia #philosophy #experimental #xPhi #sep #new

Turns out large language models also exhibit "groupthink", but uncertainty doesn't seem to help them mitigate it.

What can you do about it?
1. Increase diversity (via Devil's Advocacy)
2. Reduce redundancies (via Distillation)

Free paper via @tomstafford et al.: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.12428

#AI #LLM #Tech #decisionScience #psychology #epistemology #xPhi #logic #CriticalThinking

If there are two plausible solutions to a major #health issue (A and B), should you run an A/B test?

Even when most laypeople thought both solutions were appropriate, they were more averse to running A/B experiments than trying just A or trying just B (N ≅ 2000). The same #experimentAversion pattern was observed in CLINICIANS — the people who can be involved in randomized clinical control trials, etc.!

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-084699

#medicine #science #cogSci #philSci #xPhi #bioethics #policy #bias

Are moral decisions impacted by economic environment?

Perhaps! “…in low-income nations, tournament-based compensation increased deontological commitments [but] in higher-income nations, the effect on deontological commitments reversed …consistent with the historical development of the doux commerce thesis.”

A fun #economics paper that reminds me of the early days of #xPhi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jleo/ewae016

#philosophy #psychology #policy #history #ethics #development #decisionScience #mTurk

Moral comparisons of utilitarian tradeoffs depended on the rating protocol?

Participants rated pairs of utilitarian tradeoffs. Relative differences for each pair depended on
- whether participants saw both tradeoffs at the same time or separately.
- whether the rating was comparative or quantitative.

Sometimes (although not most of the time), the average relative difference for one protocol reversed in the other protocol!

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105919

#SurveyMethods #xPhi #ethics #moralPsychology

Does studying economics turn students "into unscrupulous calculating machines"?

In "a sample of #Polish undergraduate students of #Economics (N=408) and #Sociology (N=123) ...we observed that the choices of more advanced #economists-to-be [we]re more #deontological (grounded in norms) than #utilitarian (grounded in benefits) [suggesting] that economic education does not...."

http://dx.doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2024/17-2/5

#ethics #moralPsychology #xPhi #higherEd