Ryan McKay
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View article: Belief in belief: Even atheists in secular countries show intuitive preferences favoring religious belief
Belief in belief: Even atheists in secular countries show intuitive preferences favoring religious belief Open
We find evidence of belief in belief —intuitive preferences for religious belief over atheism, even among atheist participants—across eight comparatively secular countries. Religion is a cross-cultural human universal, yet explicit markers…
View article: Belief in Belief: Even Atheists in Secular Countries Show Intuitive Preferences Favoring Religious Belief
Belief in Belief: Even Atheists in Secular Countries Show Intuitive Preferences Favoring Religious Belief Open
We find evidence of belief in belief – intuitive preferences for religious belief over atheism, even among atheist participants – across 8 comparatively secular countries. Religion is a cross-cultural human universal, yet explicit markers …
View article: Posterior Parietal Cortex Modulates Perceptual Decisions Depending On Psychotic Phenotype
Posterior Parietal Cortex Modulates Perceptual Decisions Depending On Psychotic Phenotype Open
BACKGROUND Reduced data-gathering and altered sensory precision are associated with psychotic phenotypes in tasks engaging the posterior parietal cortex (PPC). We investigated whether PPC excitability - modulated via 1 Hz repetitive transc…
View article: Using creative methodology to explore LGBTQ+ love and relationship experiences across the lifespan: Developing inclusive and healthy spaces through positive intergenerational exchange
Using creative methodology to explore LGBTQ+ love and relationship experiences across the lifespan: Developing inclusive and healthy spaces through positive intergenerational exchange Open
Introduction: Important lessons can be learned from the intergenerational sharing of lifetime love and relationship stories between multigenerational LGBTQ + people, to inform education, healthcare, and policy. However, such exploratory st…
View article: Participants use a mixture of strategies to solve sequential decision problems
Participants use a mixture of strategies to solve sequential decision problems Open
Full-information best choice problems typify many real-world decisions. Participants face a sequence of decision options and must accept or reject each option at the time it is encountered. The challenge is to use prior knowledge of the di…
View article: Signal detection in the psychotic phenotype: Increased sensory precision and reduced decision threshold associated with psychotic-like experiences
Signal detection in the psychotic phenotype: Increased sensory precision and reduced decision threshold associated with psychotic-like experiences Open
BACKGROUND Psychotic-like experiences may reflect disrupted signal detection, whereby individuals detect signals in noisy input that are unlikely to be present. Drawing on predictive coding accounts, we investigated whether increased senso…
View article: Belief in Belief: Even Atheists in Secular Countries Show Intuitive Preferences Favoring Religious Belief
Belief in Belief: Even Atheists in Secular Countries Show Intuitive Preferences Favoring Religious Belief Open
We find evidence of belief in belief – intuitive preferences for religious belief over atheism, even among atheist participants – across 8 comparatively secular countries. Religion is a cross-cultural human universal, yet explicit markers …
View article: Belief in Belief: Even Atheists in Secular Countries Show Intuitive Preferences Favoring Religious Belief
Belief in Belief: Even Atheists in Secular Countries Show Intuitive Preferences Favoring Religious Belief Open
Religion is a cross-cultural human universal, yet explicit markers of religiosity have rapidly waned in large parts of the world in recent decades. In this paper, we explore whether intuitive religious influence lingers, even among nonbeli…
View article: Correction: The Open Anchoring Quest Dataset: Anchored Estimates from 96 Studies on Anchoring Effects
Correction: The Open Anchoring Quest Dataset: Anchored Estimates from 96 Studies on Anchoring Effects Open
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.5334/jopd.67.].
View article: The emotional consequences of novel political identities: Brexit and mental health in the United Kingdom
The emotional consequences of novel political identities: Brexit and mental health in the United Kingdom Open
Following the 2016 EU referendum on Britain's membership in the European Union, many people described themselves as “Leavers” or “Remainers.” Here, we examine the emotional responses associated with Brexit identities using survey data coll…
View article: Understanding patch foraging strategies across development
Understanding patch foraging strategies across development Open
Patch foraging is a near-ubiquitous behaviour across the animal kingdom and characterises many decision-making domains encountered by humans. We review how a disposition to explore in adolescence may reflect the evolutionary conditions und…
View article: Delusion-like beliefs and data quality: Are classic cognitive biases artifacts of carelessness?
Delusion-like beliefs and data quality: Are classic cognitive biases artifacts of carelessness? Open
There is widespread agreement that delusions in clinical populations and delusion-like beliefs in the general population are, in part, caused by cognitive biases. Much of the evidence comes from two influential tasks: the Beads Task and th…
View article: The emotional consequences of novel political identities: Brexit and mental health in the United Kingdom
The emotional consequences of novel political identities: Brexit and mental health in the United Kingdom Open
Following the 2016 EU Referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union, many people described themselves as ‘Leavers’ or ‘Remainers’. Here, we examine the emotional responses associated with Brexit identities using survey data coll…
View article: Predicting resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom: Cross-sectional and longitudinal results
Predicting resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom: Cross-sectional and longitudinal results Open
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the psychological wellbeing of some people, there is evidence that many have been much less affected. The Ecological Model of Resilience (EMR) may explain why some individuals are not resilient w…
View article: ‘So Help Me God’? Does oath swearing in courtroom scenarios impact trial outcomes?
‘So Help Me God’? Does oath swearing in courtroom scenarios impact trial outcomes? Open
In countries such as Britain and the US, court witnesses must declare they will provide truthful evidence and are often compelled to publicly choose between religious (“oath”) and secular (“affirmation”) versions of this declaration. Might…
View article: Delusions as Epistemic Hypervigilance
Delusions as Epistemic Hypervigilance Open
Delusions are distressing and disabling symptoms of various clinical disorders. Delusions are associated with an aberrant and apparently contradictory treatment of evidence, characterized by both excessive credulity (adopting unusual belie…
View article: Does she still love and feel hungry? Afterlife continuity beliefs and religion across 24 countries
Does she still love and feel hungry? Afterlife continuity beliefs and religion across 24 countries Open
Many people believe that certain mental states, such as love, continue after physical death. However, the prevalence of such ``continuity beliefs'' and their relationship with culture and religious belief remains unclear. In the current pr…
View article: The sound of swearing: Are there universal patterns in profanity?
The sound of swearing: Are there universal patterns in profanity? Open
Why do swear words sound the way they do? Swear words are often thought to have sounds that render them especially fit for purpose, facilitating the expression of emotion and attitude. To date, however, there has been no systematic cross-l…
View article: An 18‐month follow‐up of the Covid‐19 psychology research consortium study panel: Survey design and fieldwork procedures for Wave 6
An 18‐month follow‐up of the Covid‐19 psychology research consortium study panel: Survey design and fieldwork procedures for Wave 6 Open
Objectives Established in March 2020, the C19PRC Study monitors the psychological and socio‐economic impact of the pandemic in the UK and other countries. This paper describes the protocol for Wave 6 (August–September 2021). Methods The su…
View article: Stochastic Decisions Support Optimal Foraging of Volatile Environments, and are Disrupted by Anxiety
Stochastic Decisions Support Optimal Foraging of Volatile Environments, and are Disrupted by Anxiety Open
When the availability of rewards change unpredictably (i.e., are volatile), exploration may be a critical behaviour for tracking such changes. With the expectation that adolescents (aged 16-17; N=91) would be more adept than adults (24+; N…
View article: Study: Predicting Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Results.
Study: Predicting Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Results. Open
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the psychological wellbeing of some people, there is evidence that many have been much less affected. The Ecological Model of Resilience (EMR) may explain why some individuals are not resilient w…
View article: Tracking the psychological and socio‐economic impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic in the UK: A methodological report from Wave 5 of the COVID‐19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study
Tracking the psychological and socio‐economic impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic in the UK: A methodological report from Wave 5 of the COVID‐19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study Open
Objectives The COVID‐19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study was established in March 2020 to monitor the psychological and socio‐economic impact of the pandemic in the UK and other countries. This paper describes the protocol …
View article: Explaining human sampling rates across different decision domains
Explaining human sampling rates across different decision domains Open
Undersampling biases are common in the optimal stopping literature, especially for economic full choice problems. Among these kinds of number-based studies, the moments of the distribution of values that generates the options (i.e., the ge…
View article: What is the extent of a frequency-dependent social learning strategy space?
What is the extent of a frequency-dependent social learning strategy space? Open
Models of frequency-dependent social learning posit that individuals respond to the commonality of behaviours without additional variables modifying this. Such strategies bring important trade-offs e.g., conformity is beneficial when obser…