Top all-time · #713
Jeremy Dean
Personal blog · spring.org.uksciencehealth
Jeremy Dean writes PsyBlog, a personal blog at spring.org.uk about science and health. Since 2007, 92 different Hacker News readers have linked it 141 times, most often “When rewards backfire: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-11-01, and you can follow it by feed.
Rarely recommended · 4 of 33 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
HN readers link Richard Stephens' blog for its psychology posts on rewards, habits, persuasion and cognitive biases, which commenters cite as evidence in arguments.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 33 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
PsyBlog covers the science of how the mind works, self-improvement, mental health and more. It is written by psychologist Dr Jeremy Dean.
Most-linked posts?
- When rewards backfire: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2011-03-01
- Boost Creativity: 14 Unusual Psychological Techniques 3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2010-07-17
- How Newcomers Can Influence Established Groups2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2009-07-10
- To look when preparing to pitch: The Psychology of Persuasion2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2011-02-07
- How Meditation Improves Attention2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2009-05-18
- Why We do Dumb or Irrational Things: 10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2007-11-14
- Reconstructing the Past: How Recalling Memories Alters Them2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2013-02-21
- How long does it take to form a habit?2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2009-09-21
- Email’s Dark Side: 10 Psychology Studies2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2010-09-01
- 8 studies demonstrating the power of simplicity2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2010-03-21
What Hacker News says?
I feel similarly sometimes myself. It's like those studies on giving money to little kids when they draw. You're doing something for the intrinsic reward, the joy of playing, and now they've slapped on some extrinsic reward you didn't ask for. So the game makes you feel, on some level, that you're doing it for the extrinsic reward, and it saps some of the intrinsic joy you felt earlier. https://www.spring.org.uk/202…
Comment linking /2021/07/intrinsic-motivation.php
on “DarkPattern.games: Find Healthy Mobile Games”Submitted Goal Hacks: How to Achieve Anything as a story · 123 points
HN discussionYeah, something that most people don't know is that extrinsic motivation dissolves intrinsic motivation. see http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/10/how-rewards-can-backfire-an... This means that fitbit will leave you as either a fitbit addict (if you stick with it), or as someone who's less healthy than you would have been otherwise (if you don't, because now you'll exercise less on your own).
Comment linking /2009/10/how-rewards-can-backfire-and-reduce-motivation.php
on “Do you really need 10,000 steps a day?”Submitted How money restricts life's pleasures as a story · 46 points
HN discussion> Lies require censorship of truth to survive. No they don't. Lies spread faster than truth[1] and repetition legitimizes[2]. The marketplace of ideas is the just world fallacy for people who like to think a lot. [1] https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1114.8.full [2] https://www.spring.org.uk/2010/12/the-illusion-of-truth.php
Comment linking /2010/12/the-illusion-of-truth.php
on “Voat Is Shutting Down”Submitted Publicly committing to a personal goal considered harmful as a story · 40 points
HN discussionYou can check out http://www.spring.org.uk/making-habits-breaking-habits A good book on habits. The book covers on habits are formed, how they can affect you and how you can change them.
Comment linking /making-habits-breaking-habits
on “Ask HN: Are there any systematic and scientific ways to develop a habit?”Submitted How long does it take to form a habit? as a story · 38 points
HN discussionA very interesting take on the perceptions of blind people. I don't think I am acquainted with anyone who has been entirely blind from birth (which is a rare condition of life). I know a professor of psychology (who indeed does much of his research on human visual perception)[1] who has very limited vision, and thus is "legally blind." He began life, I think, with a bit more vision than he has now, but has long been…
Comment linking /2008/03/50-of-college-students-think-we-see.php
on “What Do Blind People Actually See?”Submitted Psychological techniques for boosting creativity as a story · 26 points
HN discussionAll true stories become distorted through repeated retelling. So the true stories are the one that is told the earliest. Better is the one that is told on camera since computers do not have mechanisms for distortion. That's not our fault, but simply how our memories work. Here's one article on memory distortion. http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/02/how-memories-are-distorted-...
Comment linking /2008/02/how-memories-are-distorted-and-invented.php
on “I Was a Political Prisoner at Birth in North Korea”Submitted How Newcomers Can Influence Established Groups as a story · 22 points
HN discussionThat is a very interesting anti-pattern, and I see it a lot in non engineering/tech companies (because I think people are insecure about the rapid technical changes they see about them). It's called the Dunning-Kruger effect [1]. “One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision.” - Bertrand Rus…
Comment linking /2012/06/the-dunning-kruger-effect-why-the-incompetent-dont-know-theyre-incompetent.php
on “Hacker School banning “feigned surprise” is absolutely brilliant”Submitted How to improve your self-control as a story · 22 points
HN discussionI've read almost every popular book on the subject of (pscho/socio)pathy. I think "Wisdom of Psychopaths" [1] would be one that you might enjoy. > ...are there millions of Ted Bundys out there who never actually killed anyone and even lead productive lives? I think the answer to this is probably yes-ish. The thing about people like Ted Bundy is that he wasn't JUST a psychopath. He was also sadistic, and probably som…
Comment linking /2013/07/which-professions-have-the-most-psychopaths.php
on “The Neuroscientist Who Discovered He Was a Psychopath”Submitted Why We Love Narcissists (At First) as a story · 20 points
HN discussionbut there is also this: http://www.spring.org.uk/2014/07/the-10000-hours-myth-practi...
Comment linking /2014/07/the-10000-hours-myth-practice-predicts-only-12-of-performance.php
on “Your high IQ might kill your startup (2010)”Submitted Gain Self-Insight Through Abstract Thinking as a story · 17 points
HN discussionA woman is twice as likely to give you her number if you touch her on her shoulder or arm when you first meet her. Touch is a powerful social lubricant[1]. Is that psychology experiment now a hatefact that we must unlearn? Perhaps we should fire the psychologist who did the experiment. [1] http://www.spring.org.uk/2011/04/10-psychological-effects-of...
Comment linking /2011/04/10-psychological-effects-of-nonsexual-touch.php
on “We were wrong”Submitted Myths of Crowd Psychology as a story · 16 points
HN discussion> I loved poker until I played it professionally. Probably a combination of intrinsic to extrinsic motivation ( http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/10/how-rewards-can-backfire-an... and https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-trust/201403/new-... ) and a sudden lack of control. > The only job I truly loved was working with children There's gotta be SOMEthing you can do there, maybe volunteer, tutor, whatever? I mentor'…
Comment linking /2009/10/how-rewards-can-backfire-and-reduce-motivation.php
on “Apple at 40: The forgotten founder who gave it all away”Submitted How Attention Goes Wrong as a story · 15 points
HN discussionresearch shows that there is some psychological attachment to the concept of "free" that bypasses people's usual cost/benefit thinking. see this article [ http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/04/free-but-at-what-price.php ] for instance.
Comment linking /2008/04/free-but-at-what-price.php
on “This is why I sell beer.”Submitted Self control is bolstered by abstract thinking as a story · 9 points
HN discussionthe problem of too much choice: http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/09/barry-schwartz-on-why-too-m...
Comment linking /2007/09/barry-schwartz-on-why-too-much-choice.php
on “Rails and Merb Merge”Submitted 50% of college studends think we see like superman as a story · 9 points
HN discussionIt may be a contributing factor. But reading that I remembered something about NSAIDs (most 'over the counter' pain killers) reducing empathy. First hit (from 2018) for 'NSAID' +'empathy' was https://www.spring.org.uk/2018/02/painkillers-emotions.php Hey! Maybe microplastics and PFAS/PFOA/BPA do too? Whoo hoo hoo!
Comment linking /2018/02/painkillers-emotions.php
on “Estimated concentrations of atrazine in agricultural groundwater”Submitted 10 Simple Postures That Boost Performance — PsyBlog as a story · 6 points
HN discussionWhat about highly intelligent psychopaths? https://www.spring.org.uk/2022/12/high-functioning-psychopat... Maybe some of those highly intelligent people are good at pretending to be generous, thoughtful, and kind because it helps achieve their goals.
Comment linking /2022/12/high-functioning-psychopaths.php
on “Being generous, thoughtful, and kind is a sign of high intelligence”Submitted The Zeigarnik Effect as a story · 6 points
HN discussion
