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Future Blog Post
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Blog Post number 4
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Blog Post number 3
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Blog Post number 1
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press
Allie Sinclair Soars Through University as U of T’s Top Student
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Allie Sinclair finished at the University of Toronto with a 4.0 GPA and the highest marks of thousands of graduating undergraduate students.
The Power of Prediction
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In educational settings we are more likely to think about retrieving relevant prior knowledge prior to acquiring new information. […] this line of research can advance our understanding of the intricacies of the learning process, and enrich our ability to both evaluate and formulate effective approaches for teaching.
Right-Wing Authoritarians are Less Likely to Update False Beliefs after Corrective Feedback
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New research has found that right-wing authoritarians tend to be less successful at correcting erroneous beliefs than others. The study, published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, provides evidence that cognitive factors, such as a general aversion to new information, are related authoritarian attitudes.
Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Reduced Updating
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If you have high right-wing authoritarian attitudes, then you will be less likely to change your answers when asked again even after being told the right answers.
Memory, Belief Updating, and Learning from Error
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I talk with Allie Sinclair, Ph.D. candidate at Duke University, about memory, belief updating, and learning from error.
When Grandma’s optimism bias gets in the way of perceiving COVID-19 risks
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The profound impact of COVID-19 on all our lives brought the concept of risk front and center. For older adults especially, the risks are literally about life and death.
Risks, Real and Imagined
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Older adults are at high risk of suffering debilitating health effects from COVID-19. Effective communication of associated risks is therefore paramount. A new study finds that imagining a personalized disease transmission event amplifies perceived risk and bolsters risk-related information seeking in older age.
Imagination Exercise Helps People Get a Grip on Real Pandemic Risks
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Putting risk data into context of everyday activities leads to more realistic appraisals.
Why It’s So Hard to Predict Where the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Headed Next
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Models still have some function, Sinclair says, so long as they are presented in a way that’s relevant to people’s actual lives— showing how the pandemic can be expected to unfold locally, and soon.
What are your chances of being exposed to COVID-19 at an event? These tools can help you find out
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Individuals can use the mapping tool like a weather app. Check the risk they might face and then make the decision on how that will affect them. We cannot control that external risk but we can control our own behavior, Sinclair said.
Researchers reveal how our brains update memories when we discover they’re wrong
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Understanding how our memories are preserved, how they are updated, how this allows us to adaptively function in the world — I think that is a fascinating question.
An element of surprise is the recipe for creating false memories
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It turns out that human memory can be edited on the fly, creating memories that are nowhere near set in stone. A team of researchers has figured out how that happens and proved it by making people misremember.
How trying to predict the future can transform your memories
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Whenever you’re surprised, there’s a good chance that your brain is busy tweaking your memories.
Survey Finds Americans Still Don’t Know They’re Eligible for Updated COVID-19 Booster Shot
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Just 18% of Americans have gotten the updated COVID-19 booster shot, according to CDC data.
Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder, U.S. News & World Report, 01/19/23
Why Aren’t People Getting the Bivalent COVID Booster?
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Survey shows lack of awareness on eligibility, availability, and some just think they are immune.
This One Simple Brain Hack Might Boost Learning and Improve Mental Health
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A simple shift from a high-pressure mindset to a curious one improves people’s memory.
How a Curious Mind can Improve Your Learning
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A recent study discovers that an urgent mentality is useful in short-term problems, but an inquisitive mindset improves long-term memory and behavior.
What Are the Most Effective Strategies To Inspire Action on Climate Change?
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The Communication Neuroscience Lab is conducting an intervention tournament, testing strategies to change beliefs and intentions regarding climate change.
publications
Surprise and Destabilize: Prediction Error Influences Episodic Memory Reconsolidation
Published in Learning & Memory, 2018
Sinclair, A.H., & Barense, M.D. (2018). Surprise and destabilize: Prediction error influences episodic memory reconsolidation. Learning and Memory, 25(8), 369–381. https://doi.org/10.1101/lm.046912.117
Prediction Error and Memory Reactivation: How Incomplete Reminders Drive Reconsolidation
Published in Trends in Neurosciences, 2019
Sinclair, A.H., & Barense, M.D. (2019). Prediction Error and Memory Reactivation: How Incomplete Reminders Drive Reconsolidation. Trends in Neurosciences, 42(10), 727–739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2019.08.007
Intellectual Humility and Perceptions of Political Opponents
Published in Journal of Personality, 2020
Stanley, M.L., Sinclair, A.H., & Seli, P. (2020). Intellectual humility and perceptions of political opponents. Journal of Personality, 88(6), 1196–1216. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12566
Closed-Minded Cognition: Right-Wing Authoritarianism is Negatively Related to Belief Updating Following Prediction Error
Published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2020
Sinclair, A.H., Stanley, M.L., & Seli, P. (2020). Closed-minded cognition: Right-wing authoritarianism is negatively related to belief updating following prediction error. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-020-01767-y
Imagining a Personalized Scenario Selectively Increases Perceived Risk of Viral Transmission for Older Adults
Published in Nature Aging, 2021
Sinclair, A.H., Stanley, M.L., Hakimi, S., Adcock, R.A., & Samanez-Larkin, G.R. (2021). Imagining a Personalized Scenario Selectively Increases Perceived Risk of Viral Transmission for Older Adults. Nature Aging. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00095-7
Pairing Facts with Imagined Consequences Improves Pandemic-Related Risk Perception
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2021
Sinclair, A.H.*, Hakimi, S.*, Stanley, M.L., Adcock, R.A., & Samanez-Larkin, G.R. (2021). Pairing Facts with Imagined Consequences Improves Pandemic-Related Risk Perception. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 118 (32) e2100970118. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100970118
Prediction Errors Disrupt Hippocampal Representations and Update Episodic Memories
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2021
Sinclair, A.H., Manalili, G.M., Brunec, I.K., Adcock, R.A., & Barense, M.D. (2021). Prediction Errors Disrupt Hippocampal Representations and Update Episodic Memories. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 118(51), e2117625118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117625118
Reasons for Receiving or Not Receiving Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Vaccinations Among Adults — United States, November 1–December 10, 2022
Published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2023
Sinclair, A.H., Taylor, M.K., Weitz, J.S., Beckett, S.J., & Samanez-Larkin, G.R. (2023). Reasons for Receiving or Not Receiving Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Vaccinations Among Adults — United States, November 1–December 10, 2022. MMWR 72(3), 73-75. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7203a5
Scenario-Based Messages on Social Media Motivate COVID-19 Information Seeking
Published in Journal of Applied Research in Memory & Cognition, 2023
Sinclair, A.H., Taylor, M.K., Davidson, A., Weitz, J.S., Beckett, S.J., & Samanez-Larkin, G.R. (2023). Scenario-Based Messages on Social Media Motivate COVID-19 Information Seeking. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/mac0000114
Instructed Motivational States Bias Reinforcement Learning and Memory Formation
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2023
Sinclair, A.H., Wang, Y.C., & Adcock, R.A. (2023). Instructed Motivational States Bias Reinforcement Learning and Memory Formation. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 120(31), e2304881120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2304881120
Communicating COVID-19 Exposure Risk with an Interactive Website Counteracts Risk Misestimation
Published in PLOS ONE, 2023
Sinclair, A.H., Taylor, M.K., Brandel-Tanis, F., Davidson, A., Chande, A.T., Rishishwar, L., Andris, C., Adcock, R.A., Weitz, J.S., Samanez-Larkin, G.R., and Beckett, S.J. (2023). Communicating COVID-19 Exposure Risk with an Interactive Website Counteracts Risk Misestimation. PLOS ONE. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290708
Memory and Belief Updating Following Complete and Partial Reminders of Fake News
Published in Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 2024
*Kemp, P.L., *Sinclair, A.H., Adcock, R.A., and Wahlheim, C.N. Memory and belief updating following complete and partial reminders of fake news. Cogn. Research 9, 28 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-024-00546-w
First Impressions or Good Endings? Preferences Depend on When You Ask
Published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2024
Sinclair, A.H., Wang, Y.C., & Adcock, R.A. First Impressions or Good Endings? Preferences Depend on When You Ask. J. Exp. Psych. General, 153, 10 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001638
talks
Surprise & destabilize: Prediction error influences episodic memory reconsolidation
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Prediction error influences episodic memory reconsolidation
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Surprise drives episodic memory updating and distortion
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Past meets present: Prediction error drives episodic memory updating
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Pairing facts with imagined consequences improves pandemic-related risk perception
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Lab and real-world interventions to correct pandemic-related risk perception
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Instructed motivational states bias reinforcement learning and memory formation
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Scenario-based messages on social media motivate COVID-19 information seeking
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Lab and real-world interventions for communicating health risks
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Reframing the value of errors mitigates anxiety-related learning deficits
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Reframing the value of errors mitigates anxiety-related learning deficits
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Motivational states bias learning and memory
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Cognitive interventions for real-world challenges
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Cognitive interventions for real-world challenges.
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Crafting impactful environmental narratives: Leveraging communication science, visuals, and technology in storytelling
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Psychological interventions to motivate preventative health behaviors
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Behavioral interventions motivate action to address climate change
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