Upon Reflection

Nick Byrd
Upon Reflection Podcast

Welcome to the Upon Reflection podcast with Nick Byrd, a podcast about what we think as well as how and why we think it. Nick studies the philosophy of cognitive science and the cognitive science of philosophy. This podcast will share Nick's and others' research. For instance, the podcast will discuss the differences between intuition and reflection as well as the ways in which intuitive reasoning predicts different philosophical, moral, and religious judgments than reflective reasoning. The podcast will also discuss topics like implicit bias—e.g., contrary to what you may have heard, implicit bias may not be entirely unconscious and involuntary. If you want to hear more about this research, you can subscribe wherever you find podcasts. And if you end up enjoying the Upon Reflection podcast, then feel free to tell people about it, online, in person, or in your review.

  1. 25/04/2023

    Ep. 12 - Tell Us What You Really Think (with B. Joseph, G. Gongora, and M. Sirota)

    I have a question for you: "If a bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total and the bat costs $1.00 more than the ball, how much does the ball cost?". Did 10 cents seem right? The authors of questions like this are attempting to lure you to accept this incorrect answer in order to test whether you thought reflectively when you solved the problem. However, there may be problems with this method of testing reflective thinking. So my colleagues used some underrated methods to determine the degree to which tests like this misclassify correct responses as reflective or lured responses as unreflective. I'll read the paper in this episode. The (free) paper is "Tell Us What You Really Think: A think-aloud protocol analysis of the Verbal Cognitive Reflection Test". Special thanks to co-authors Brianna Joseph and Gabriela Gongora for helping me with Study 1 and to co-author Miroslav Sirota for helping with conceptualization and revisions. This paper is dedicated to the late Anders Ericsson (1947-2020), who helped inform the development of our online think-aloud protocol (Study 2). As always, free preprints of my papers are available on my CV at byrdnick.com/cv under "Publications". This podcast is sponsored by Namecheap. Namecheap is committed to offering the best value and customer service for website domains, hosting, and SSL encryption certificates. After looking at their offers, I was tempted to switch my website to their services. You can learn more namecheap.pxf.io/byrd. You can find the Upon Reflection podcast here or in your podcast app. You can also find out more about me and my research on Twitter via @byrd_nick, or on Facebook via @byrdnick. If you end up enjoying the Upon Reflection podcast, then feel free to tell people about it, online, in person, or in your review. Related posts * Upon Reflection, Ep. 10: Great Minds Do Not Think Alike * Upon Reflection, Ep. 8: Reflective Reasoning & Philosophy * What good is reflective reasoning? * The Roles of Intuition & Reflection in Skill & Expertise * On Whether Reflection Is A Virtue

    33 min
  2. 01/06/2022

    Ep. 11 - Testing Implicit Bias (with Morgan Thompson)

    In this episode, I read my short paper with Morgan Thompson in WIRES Cognitive Science titled, "Testing for Implicit Bias: Values, Psychometrics, and Science Communication". You may have heard about implicit bias. It is measured by indirect rather than direct measures of bias. We reconstruct arguments from debates about these measures, reveal some instances of talking past one another, highlight how debate has changed, and highlight how the debate is laden with value judgments about psychometrics and science communication. As always, free preprints of my papers are available on my CV under "Publications". This podcast is sponsored by Homer. Homer is a learning program for kids delivered through devices like tablets. It covers reading, math, creativity, critical thinking, and even socio-emotional learning. Try a free trial or just learn more at the link in the podcast description (homer.i8epma.net/byrd). You can find the Upon Reflection podcast here or in your podcast app. You can also find out more about me and my research on Twitter via @byrd_nick, or on Facebook via @byrdnick. If you end up enjoying the Upon Reflection podcast, then feel free to tell people about it, online, in person, or in your review. Related posts * Upon Reflection Podcast Ep. 1: What We Can Infer About Implicit Bias * Implicit Bias & Philosophy * Debiasing in Administration, Advising, & Teaching * Implicit Bias | Part 3: Workplace Bias * Implicit Bias | Part 4: Ten Debiasing Strategies

    23 min
  3. 04/05/2022

    Ep. 10 - Great Minds Do Not Think Alike

    This time I read my 2022 paper in Review of Philosophy and Psychology titled, "Great Minds Do Not Think Alike: Philosophers' Views Predicted by Reflection, Education, Personality, and Other Demographic Differences". As the title suggests, various psychological factors predicted variance in philosophers' answers to classic philosophical questions. This raises questions about how psychological and demographic differences can explain philosophical differences. There are also implications for scientific psychologists as well as academic philosophers. As with all of my writing, a free preprint can be found on my CV at byrdnick.com/cv under "Publications". This episode was sponsored by Pimsluer. Pimsleur claims to help you become conversational in another language quickly and effectively so that you can understand and be understood when speaking to someone in another language. Find out more at imp.i271380.net/byrd. You can find the Upon Reflection podcast here or in your podcast app. You can also find out more about me and my research on Twitter via @byrd_nick, or on Facebook via @byrdnick. If you end up enjoying the Upon Reflection podcast, then feel free to tell people about it, online, in person, or in your review. Related posts * Domain-familiarity & The Cognitive Reflection Test* Philosophy As Proto-Psychology* Multi-disciplinary Philosophy PhD Programs* 9 Facts About People Who Study Philosophy* How To Prepare For A Thesis Defense

    47 min
  4. 18/07/2021

    Ep. 6 - Your Health vs. My Liberty (Pandemic Psychology Research)

    Welcome to the latest episode of Upon Reflection. This time, I read my paper with Michał Białek, "Your health vs. my liberty: Philosophical beliefs dominated reflection and identifiable victim effects when predicting public health recommendation compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic" (Total N = 998). As the title suggests we found that complying with public health recommendations didn't depend on whether people received messaging about identifiable COVID-19 victims or statistical victims in flatten the curve graphs. Rather compliance increased the more that people endorsed an effective altruist principle about reducing harm and the more that they endorsed the truth of scientific theories, but compliance decreased as people valued liberty more than equality. Importantly, we also found that people were less likely to prevent the spread of disease by wearing masks and staying at home if the pandemic was equally deadly, but labeled as a "flu" pandemic—-mostly because they perceived this as less threatening to society. We think this suggests that people's life-threatening decisions to flout public health recommendations like mask-wearing and staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic was not just about ineffective messaging, but also about their prior philosophical commitments. As with all of my writing, a free preprint can be found on my CV at byrdnick.com/cv under "Publications". This episode was sponsored by Pluralsight's courses in coding, design, cloud-based solutions, and more. You can find out more about Pluralsight and sign up for a free trial at pluralsight.pxf.io/byrd. You can find the Upon Reflection podcast here or in your podcast app. You can also find out more about me and my research on Twitter via @byrd_nick, or on Facebook via @byrdnick. If you end up enjoying the Upon Reflection podcast, then feel free to tell people about it, online, in person, or in your review. Related posts * New paper: “Your Health vs. My Liberty”* 4 Free DIY Data Analysis & Statistics Tools* The meaning of 'statistical significance' and of p-values* 15+ Podcasts about Cognitive Science* 40+ Podcasts about Philosophy

    47 min
  5. 10/08/2020

    Ep. 5 - Reflective Reasoning For Real People (Dissertation Defense Overview)

    Welcome to Upon Reflection. In this episode, I review the major take-aways and findings from my dissertation titled, "Reflective Reasoning For Real People". I explain what cognitive scientists mean by terms like "reflective reasoning", how reflection is measured empirically, how reflection can either help or hinder our reasoning, how more reflective philosophers tend toward certain philosophical beliefs, and how reflection may help us retrain our implicit biases. The recording is from my remote dissertation defense on May 29, 2020. You can find video of this dissertation overview (complete with the slideshow) below or on my YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjOF8puPvIY As the chapters of the dissertation are accepted for publication in academic journals, the free preprints will become available on my CV at byrdnick.com/cv under "Publications". This podcast is brought to you by the scientists who put up with philosophers like me and the philosophers who put up with scientists like me. Long live natural philosophy. More seriously, if you want to support the podcast, my ongoing research, or my other projects, then you can do so at byrdnick.com/support. You can subscribe wherever you find podcasts and you can find out more about me at byrdnick.com, on Twitter (@byrd_nick), or on Facebook (@byrdnick). Comments and questions can be submitted at byrdnick.com/contact. And, of course, if you end up enjoying the Upon Reflection podcast, then feel free to tell people about it, online, in person, or in your review. Related * A Dissertation About Reflective Reasoning in Philosophy, Morality, & Bias* Debiasing in Administration, Advising, & Teaching* Is post-fact reasoning redeemable?* Fact-checking is not enough: We need argument-checking* The Base Rate Fallacy

    16 min

About

Welcome to the Upon Reflection podcast with Nick Byrd, a podcast about what we think as well as how and why we think it. Nick studies the philosophy of cognitive science and the cognitive science of philosophy. This podcast will share Nick's and others' research. For instance, the podcast will discuss the differences between intuition and reflection as well as the ways in which intuitive reasoning predicts different philosophical, moral, and religious judgments than reflective reasoning. The podcast will also discuss topics like implicit bias—e.g., contrary to what you may have heard, implicit bias may not be entirely unconscious and involuntary. If you want to hear more about this research, you can subscribe wherever you find podcasts. And if you end up enjoying the Upon Reflection podcast, then feel free to tell people about it, online, in person, or in your review.

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