Cognitive & evolutionary science of imagination & religious, secular, conspiracy belief // #CovidIsNotOver 😷
Joined November 2009
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Mar 13
Tomorrow is #WorldImaginationDay! This year, consider what use imagination is - to be creative in arts & crafts? to daydream?
Read my article in the Psychologist (@BPSOfficial) to learn about imagination's central role in human evolution!
bps.org.uk/psychologist/use-…
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Apr 10
New article in @ConversationUK about finding flow through hobbies 🎻🎾🎮 and how this can help with your focus in a highly distracting world:
theconversation.com/feeling-…
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Mar 13
Tomorrow is #WorldImaginationDay! This year, consider what use imagination is - to be creative in arts & crafts? to daydream?
Read my article in the Psychologist (@BPSOfficial) to learn about imagination's central role in human evolution!
bps.org.uk/psychologist/use-…
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Mar 13
The article covers my recent publication w/ @MathiasClasen, describing four main functions of imagination: Supporting..
(1) planning and future thought 📝
(2) coping and emotion regulation 😖
(3) bonding and social needs 🫂
(4) identity and worldviews🌍
doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000397
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Mar 13
Far from an idle & frivolous pursuit, imagination is one of our most fundamental evolutionary tools✨
If you are interested in this research, consider participating in our ongoing, anonymous fiction & coping mechanisms survey (10-15 minutes):
brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com…
Happy WID!
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Here Be Humans retweeted
Mar 13
Use your imagination! The unreal in everyday life…
On the eve of World Imagination Day, @herebehumans showcases a framework for understanding the importance of fiction and imagination.
bps.org.uk/psychologist/use-…
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Jan 19
For yesterday's #WorldReligionDay, consider our research showing what religion can tell us about human nature.
Religious rituals may seem like either stifled Sunday mornings or exotic events in lands far away, but neither capture the reality of these events 🧵
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Jan 19
..And recently for art performances. Like religious rituals, experiencing art together reduced people's self-boundaries, sometimes to the point of feeling merged with the other. 🤝 This increased self-other overlap was associated w/ increased bonding.🫂
doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/6atk…
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Jan 19
So, next time you consider components of religion as separate from major aspects of human nature, think also of the broad picture!
I hope you enjoyed this thread. Follow me for more research updates throughout the year!
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15 Dec 2025
Do you like listening to rock music?🎸Have you got 5-10 minutes?
brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com…
Participate in this BSc psychology research, which involves listening to a rock song & noting your emotional responses, to help us understand the emotional impact.
Thanks for your time!
ALT An image of Led Zeppelin in concert in orange hues, with above it "The Emotional Impact of Rock Music", the Oxford Brookes University logo, and the text: "This study has been approved by the Psychology Research Ethics Committee at Oxford Brookes University."
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20 Nov 2025
For when the argument comes up again that the humanities and female or "diverse" university staff "brainwash" students into becoming 'woke' and leftwing, I present for your attention: Albert Einstein's essay "Why socialism" (1949): monthlyreview.org/articles/w…
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Here Be Humans retweeted
10 Nov 2025
Every winter, the NHS literally CHOOSES this situation.
It’s a choice.
There are many simple measures they could implement to reduce all infectious disease, eg respirators, air filters, ventilation, testing, separate waiting rooms, etc.
But they won’t do it.
It’s a choice.
We have declared a Critical Incident due to sustained pressures across the Trust, in particular in A&E. Please only use our A&E in a life-threatening accident or emergency, using other services such as GPs, NHS111 and pharmacies in all other cases.
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Here Be Humans retweeted
9 Nov 2025
It can’t make any sense to tax electric car drivers for not burning fossil fuels while allowing people that fly to pay no tax for burning fossil fuels. The answer is simple, extend the charging per mile to the airline industry. Fair, climate effective and tax raising - all at the same time.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0mx…
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Here Be Humans retweeted
2 Nov 2025
The cost of winter fuel payments is £3bn a year. The profits of the big four gas supply giants in 2023 were £65bn. It's hard to see any obvious policy conclusions here, but I'm sure top economists are working on the problem.
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26 Oct 2025
COVID rages war on your immune system:
24 Oct 2025
A study from Krakow followed hospitalized COVID-19 patients for five years to see if their initial immune profiles - T, B, and NK cells - could predict who would
die in the following years, or develop long COVID.🧵
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Here Be Humans retweeted
22 Oct 2025
When Britain "cuts back the red tape" for Private businesses:
21 Oct 2025
We are investing in Britain’s future by cutting the red tape that holds businesses back.
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20 Oct 2025
Very cool study on a very cool theory:
17 Oct 2025
This study took us years and years, and it's finally out! 🥳 Here's years of our life in 60 seconds. 🚨 bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wil… @BPSOfficial @AlexEngPsych @liuqing_wei @Tongrongtian
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Here Be Humans retweeted
17 Oct 2025
Other studies have also shown how HEPA filters can really help reduce the spread of airborne viruses.
The UK CLASS-ACT study showed that Covid-related illness absence in schools was reduced by >20% when HEPA air filters were used in classrooms.
newscientist.com/article/239…
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