Change, Technically Thu, 07 May 2026 11:37:56 -0700 https://www.changetechnically.fyi en-us © 2026 Change, Technically yes 7a210594-df64-5a5f-994f-2f21fa10e47e Dr. Ashley Juavinett and Dr. Cat Hicks episodic false Ashley Juavinett, PhD and Cat Hicks, PhD explore technical skills, the science of innovation, STEM pathways, and our beliefs about who gets to be technical—so you can be a better leader and we can all build a better future.

Ashley, a neuroscientist, and Cat, a psychologist for software teams, tell stories of change from classrooms to workplaces.

Also, they're married.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Dr. Ashley Juavinett and Dr. Cat Hicks https://storage.buzzsprout.com/4rxjl89b5xk1yg8shx687df1eorz?.jpg Change, Technically Ashley Juavinett, PhD Cat Hicks, PhD Danilo Campos You have bad mental models of learning You have bad mental models of learning You can find the talk Cat gave about learning and its citations here: https://github.com/DrCatHicks/tailscale_talk 

On beliefs about humans being more genetically dissimilar than they are, work primarily done by Brian Donovan: Donovan et al. (2024). "Humane genomics education can reduce racism." Science, 383(6685), 818–822. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi7895 

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> You can find the talk Cat gave about learning and its citations here: https://github.com/DrCatHicks/tailscale_talk 

On beliefs about humans being more genetically dissimilar than they are, work primarily done by Brian Donovan: Donovan et al. (2024). "Humane genomics education can reduce racism." Science, 383(6685), 818–822. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi7895 

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Danilo C Buzzsprout-19131922 Thu, 07 May 2026 11:00:00 -0700 3593 learning full false You can write a book You can write a book 📚 PREVIEW CAT'S BOOK, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SOFTWARE TEAMS! Pre-orders will be available in June.

 https://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-Software-Teams/Hicks/p/book/9781032963389   

📝 EPISODE NOTES

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> 📚 PREVIEW CAT'S BOOK, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SOFTWARE TEAMS! Pre-orders will be available in June.

 https://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-Software-Teams/Hicks/p/book/9781032963389   

📝 EPISODE NOTES

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-18924869 Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0700 3076 2 5 full false You can learn with AI You can learn with AI Can people learn in the AI era? Ashley and Cat think so. We talk about Ashley's experiences teaching programming and co-designing WITH students (not against them) to create shared classroom norms around AI, and about the metacognitive skills that Cat is sharing with the software teams and developers she works with to bring a "dynamic textbook" approach to using AI to build understanding, not degrade it. 

Cat's Learning Opportunities Claude Skill, with a scientific reference list to the effects we also talk about in this episode, can be found here:

https://github.com/DrCatHicks/learning-opportunities

Cat also wrote a recent piece about the complexity of measuring the impact of AI in Software Organizations: https://www.fightforthehuman.com/how-not-to-measure-the-roi-from-ai-in-your-software-organization/

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Can people learn in the AI era? Ashley and Cat think so. We talk about Ashley's experiences teaching programming and co-designing WITH students (not against them) to create shared classroom norms around AI, and about the metacognitive skills that Cat is sharing with the software teams and developers she works with to bring a "dynamic textbook" approach to using AI to build understanding, not degrade it. 

Cat's Learning Opportunities Claude Skill, with a scientific reference list to the effects we also talk about in this episode, can be found here:

https://github.com/DrCatHicks/learning-opportunities

Cat also wrote a recent piece about the complexity of measuring the impact of AI in Software Organizations: https://www.fightforthehuman.com/how-not-to-measure-the-roi-from-ai-in-your-software-organization/

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-18692591 Mon, 16 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0800 2197 2 4 full false Know your neighbors Know your neighbors This isn't the episode we planned, but it's what is on our minds right now. We talk about the power of knowing your neighbors and a few ways in which we've found solace and meaning in building our local community. Here's a glimpse into our playbook -- tell us about yours in the comments.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> This isn't the episode we planned, but it's what is on our minds right now. We talk about the power of knowing your neighbors and a few ways in which we've found solace and meaning in building our local community. Here's a glimpse into our playbook -- tell us about yours in the comments.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-18649488 Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:00:00 -0800 920 2 3 full true Math is for girls Math is for girls The story from Janet Hyde about her motivations to get a grant and "fight with data" can be found here: 

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/janet-shibley-hyde-sinks-stereotypes-with-data 

Cat summarizes a ton of research for this episode. Key citations, most of which contain large literature reviews themselves: 

Adamecz-Völgyi, A., Jerrim, J., Pingault, J. B., & Shure, N. (2023). Overconfident boys: The gender gap in mathematics self-assessment.

Brescoll, V. L., Dawson, E., & Uhlmann, E. L. (2010). Hard won and easily lost: The fragile status of leaders in gender-stereotype-incongruent occupations. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1640-1642.

Carr, M., Jessup, D. L., & Fuller, D. (1999). Gender differences in first-grade mathematics strategy use: Parent and teacher contributions. Journal for research in mathematics education, 30(1), 20-46.

Del Toro, J., Legette, K., Christophe, N. K., Pasco, M., Miller-Cotto, D., & Wang, M. T. (2024). When ethnic–racial discrimination from math teachers spills over and predicts the math adjustment of nondiscriminated adolescents: The mediating role of math classroom climate perceptions. Developmental psychology.

Else-Quest, N. M., Hyde, J. S., & Linn, M. C. (2010). Cross-national patterns of gender differences in mathematics: a meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 136(1), 103.

Gesuelli, K. A., Miller-Cotto, D., & Barbieri, C. A. (2025). Variability in math achievement growth among students with early math learning difficulties and the role of school supports. Journal of Educational Psychology.

Hyde, J. S., & Linn, M. C. (2006). Gender similarities in mathematics and science. Science, 314(5799), 599-600.

Hyde, J. S., Lindberg, S. M., Linn, M. C., Ellis, A. B., & Williams, C. C. (2008). Gender similarities characterize math performance. Science, 321(5888), 494-495.

Hyde, J. S., & Mertz, J. E. (2009). Gender, culture, and mathematics performance. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 106(22), 8801-8807.  

Hyde, J. S., & Mertz, J. E. (2009). Reply to Crespi: Gender similarities, culture, and mathematics performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), E103-E103.

Hyde, J. S., Bigler, R. S., Joel, D., Tate, C. C., & van Anders, S. M. (2019). The future of sex and gender in psychology: Five challenges to the gender binary. American Psychologist, 74(2), 171.

Kane, J. M., & Mertz, J. E. (2012). Debunking myths about gender and mathematics performance. Notices of the AMS, 59(1), 10-21.

Lindberg, S. M., Hyde, J. S., Petersen, J. L., & Linn, M. C. (2010). New trends in gender and mathematics performance: a meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> The story from Janet Hyde about her motivations to get a grant and "fight with data" can be found here: 

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/janet-shibley-hyde-sinks-stereotypes-with-data 

Cat summarizes a ton of research for this episode. Key citations, most of which contain large literature reviews themselves: 

Adamecz-Völgyi, A., Jerrim, J., Pingault, J. B., & Shure, N. (2023). Overconfident boys: The gender gap in mathematics self-assessment.

Brescoll, V. L., Dawson, E., & Uhlmann, E. L. (2010). Hard won and easily lost: The fragile status of leaders in gender-stereotype-incongruent occupations. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1640-1642.

Carr, M., Jessup, D. L., & Fuller, D. (1999). Gender differences in first-grade mathematics strategy use: Parent and teacher contributions. Journal for research in mathematics education, 30(1), 20-46.

Del Toro, J., Legette, K., Christophe, N. K., Pasco, M., Miller-Cotto, D., & Wang, M. T. (2024). When ethnic–racial discrimination from math teachers spills over and predicts the math adjustment of nondiscriminated adolescents: The mediating role of math classroom climate perceptions. Developmental psychology.

Else-Quest, N. M., Hyde, J. S., & Linn, M. C. (2010). Cross-national patterns of gender differences in mathematics: a meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 136(1), 103.

Gesuelli, K. A., Miller-Cotto, D., & Barbieri, C. A. (2025). Variability in math achievement growth among students with early math learning difficulties and the role of school supports. Journal of Educational Psychology.

Hyde, J. S., & Linn, M. C. (2006). Gender similarities in mathematics and science. Science, 314(5799), 599-600.

Hyde, J. S., Lindberg, S. M., Linn, M. C., Ellis, A. B., & Williams, C. C. (2008). Gender similarities characterize math performance. Science, 321(5888), 494-495.

Hyde, J. S., & Mertz, J. E. (2009). Gender, culture, and mathematics performance. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 106(22), 8801-8807.  

Hyde, J. S., & Mertz, J. E. (2009). Reply to Crespi: Gender similarities, culture, and mathematics performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), E103-E103.

Hyde, J. S., Bigler, R. S., Joel, D., Tate, C. C., & van Anders, S. M. (2019). The future of sex and gender in psychology: Five challenges to the gender binary. American Psychologist, 74(2), 171.

Kane, J. M., & Mertz, J. E. (2012). Debunking myths about gender and mathematics performance. Notices of the AMS, 59(1), 10-21.

Lindberg, S. M., Hyde, J. S., Petersen, J. L., & Linn, M. C. (2010). New trends in gender and mathematics performance: a meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-18400124 Mon, 22 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0800 3076 2 2 full false Science deserves stories Science deserves stories First of all, in this episode you'll learn why Ashley has shipped ONE THOUSAND COCKROACHES through the mail. Second of all, Ashley shares about getting scientists to tell stories, taking risks to share knowledge, and doing science communication in places that don't look like a university campus. 

We talk about work with the following amazing organizations:

If you want more science storytelling in your life, please check out The Story Collider. 

The recording kits we sent to students were made by Backyard Brains.

If you're curious about Ashley's neurobiology lab class, you can learn more about it here.

Ashley also wants to give a shout out to the amazing UC San Diego staff who made shipping cockroaches during a global pandemic possible, and who still maintain the ongoing roach colony, occasionally even feeding them donuts.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> First of all, in this episode you'll learn why Ashley has shipped ONE THOUSAND COCKROACHES through the mail. Second of all, Ashley shares about getting scientists to tell stories, taking risks to share knowledge, and doing science communication in places that don't look like a university campus. 

We talk about work with the following amazing organizations:

If you want more science storytelling in your life, please check out The Story Collider. 

The recording kits we sent to students were made by Backyard Brains.

If you're curious about Ashley's neurobiology lab class, you can learn more about it here.

Ashley also wants to give a shout out to the amazing UC San Diego staff who made shipping cockroaches during a global pandemic possible, and who still maintain the ongoing roach colony, occasionally even feeding them donuts.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-18326982 Tue, 09 Dec 2025 14:00:00 -0800 2236 2 1 full false The Change, Technically anniversary special The Change, Technically anniversary special Ashley, Cat, and Danilo reflect on the major themes after one year of Change, Technically.

For more information on consulting with Cat, please visit https://www.catharsisinsight.com/ 

---

SHOW NOTES:

On women’s loss of status in gender incongruent professions: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610384744 

On links between self-compassion and prosocial behavior: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4026714/ 

On psychological essentialism: https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/abstract/S1364-6613(04)00183-4 

On Shigeru Miyamoto's development of Donkey Kong (Note the line in this article, "Yamauchi [Nintendo's President] assured him [Miyamoto] his lack of technical skills would not be a problem."): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-secret-history-of-i-donkey-kong-i-

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Ashley, Cat, and Danilo reflect on the major themes after one year of Change, Technically.

For more information on consulting with Cat, please visit https://www.catharsisinsight.com/ 

---

SHOW NOTES:

On women’s loss of status in gender incongruent professions: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610384744 

On links between self-compassion and prosocial behavior: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4026714/ 

On psychological essentialism: https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/abstract/S1364-6613(04)00183-4 

On Shigeru Miyamoto's development of Donkey Kong (Note the line in this article, "Yamauchi [Nintendo's President] assured him [Miyamoto] his lack of technical skills would not be a problem."): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-secret-history-of-i-donkey-kong-i-

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-17819442 Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0700 2008 1 13 full false Andor and the psychology of resistance Andor and the psychology of resistance SHOW NOTES

Dominic Packer’s Normative Conflict Model of Dissent is described in this paper as well as his other work: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1088868307309606 

Cat also mentions Mina Cikara’s work on coalitional cognition. This is a good representation of that: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0065260121000137 

Cat also mentions The Power of Us, which is by Dominic Packer and Jay Van Bavel, and a book she enjoyed! https://www.powerofus.online/ 

From the same authors, this piece talks about intergroup bias: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315735160-23/dynamic-nature-identity-brain-behavior-dominic-packer-jay-van-bavel 

Cat mentions a study about socially shared retrieval induced forgetting, that’s here: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-18938-001 

James Baldwin: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/5853-you-think-your-pain-and-your-heartbreak-are-unprecedented-in 

https://www.pbs.org/video/james-baldwin-suffering-bridge-of7cq3/ 

Asch’s research on conformity has been reexamined in work such as this: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1976-24067-001 and this: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327957pspr1001_1 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.2420200104 

Babies attending to prosocial actions: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61517-3

The research that we discuss about the targeted-universal message can be found here: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/1/pgae588/7942411 

Further work on this is here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0009.12651 

Podcast we mention with Tressie McMillan Cottom is this one: https://moneywithkatie.com/status-power-economy 


Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> SHOW NOTES

Dominic Packer’s Normative Conflict Model of Dissent is described in this paper as well as his other work: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1088868307309606 

Cat also mentions Mina Cikara’s work on coalitional cognition. This is a good representation of that: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0065260121000137 

Cat also mentions The Power of Us, which is by Dominic Packer and Jay Van Bavel, and a book she enjoyed! https://www.powerofus.online/ 

From the same authors, this piece talks about intergroup bias: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315735160-23/dynamic-nature-identity-brain-behavior-dominic-packer-jay-van-bavel 

Cat mentions a study about socially shared retrieval induced forgetting, that’s here: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-18938-001 

James Baldwin: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/5853-you-think-your-pain-and-your-heartbreak-are-unprecedented-in 

https://www.pbs.org/video/james-baldwin-suffering-bridge-of7cq3/ 

Asch’s research on conformity has been reexamined in work such as this: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1976-24067-001 and this: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327957pspr1001_1 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.2420200104 

Babies attending to prosocial actions: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61517-3

The research that we discuss about the targeted-universal message can be found here: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/1/pgae588/7942411 

Further work on this is here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0009.12651 

Podcast we mention with Tressie McMillan Cottom is this one: https://moneywithkatie.com/status-power-economy 


Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-17541876 Tue, 22 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0700 2935 1 12 full false You deserve better brain research You deserve better brain research SHOW NOTES:

For an example of a consideration of learning with information searching, a paper by Saskia Giebl and co-authors explored students learning basic programming concepts aided with a search engine and how active problem-solving before the search helps encourage stronger learning. This paper draws from a lot of the classic learning science/memory effects that Cat references:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1475725720961593 

“Cognitive offloading” is a concept with a lot of interesting work behind it, and cognitive offloading can be as broad as just making a grocery list. Exploring task performance, and the mixed costs and benefits associated with cognitive offloading, can be started with this review and its citations: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44159-025-00432-2 

Andrew Hogan wrote a nice post for parents concerned about their children's learning and brain health here, centering on helping people understand the limitations of study methodology: https://www.parent.tech/p/should-your-kids-use-chatgpt-for-homework-c028

Robert and Elizabeth Bjork and colleagues have published many relevant papers on the generation effect and other aspects of learning and metacognition about learning. Here are a few references Cat recommends: 

Because Ashley loves giving people an opportunity to play with the data for themselves, here’s an online interactive textbook with an introduction to EEG: https://neuraldatascience.io/7-eeg/introduction.html 

Research on the seductive power of putting a brain on it: 

Paper which nicely explains the dDTF technique step-by-step and applies it to understand motor imagery: https://braininformatics.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40708-022-00154-8 

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> SHOW NOTES:

For an example of a consideration of learning with information searching, a paper by Saskia Giebl and co-authors explored students learning basic programming concepts aided with a search engine and how active problem-solving before the search helps encourage stronger learning. This paper draws from a lot of the classic learning science/memory effects that Cat references:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1475725720961593 

“Cognitive offloading” is a concept with a lot of interesting work behind it, and cognitive offloading can be as broad as just making a grocery list. Exploring task performance, and the mixed costs and benefits associated with cognitive offloading, can be started with this review and its citations: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44159-025-00432-2 

Andrew Hogan wrote a nice post for parents concerned about their children's learning and brain health here, centering on helping people understand the limitations of study methodology: https://www.parent.tech/p/should-your-kids-use-chatgpt-for-homework-c028

Robert and Elizabeth Bjork and colleagues have published many relevant papers on the generation effect and other aspects of learning and metacognition about learning. Here are a few references Cat recommends: 

Because Ashley loves giving people an opportunity to play with the data for themselves, here’s an online interactive textbook with an introduction to EEG: https://neuraldatascience.io/7-eeg/introduction.html 

Research on the seductive power of putting a brain on it: 

Paper which nicely explains the dDTF technique step-by-step and applies it to understand motor imagery: https://braininformatics.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40708-022-00154-8 

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-17378968 Mon, 23 Jun 2025 12:00:00 -0700 3163 1 11 full false Dire wolves and bullshitters Dire wolves and bullshitters More reading & sources:

Notes:

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> More reading & sources:

Notes:

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-17040682 Fri, 25 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0700 2483 dire wolves, colossal, science, tech, technology 1 10 full false Who's afraid of math? Who's afraid of math? SHOW NOTES: 

Cat wants you to know she read a *lot* of research for this episode. Major highlights we specifically drew from, and quote sources, were aross three reviews: 

Cat found this one especially helpful and refers to it the most, and this review also proposes the Interpretation Account of math anxiety: 

Ramirez, G., Shaw, S. T., & Maloney, E. A. (2018). Math anxiety: Past research, promising interventions, and a new interpretation framework. Educational psychologist, 53(3), 145-164. 

Amland, T., Grande, G., Scherer, R., Lervåg, A., & Melby-Lervåg, M. (2024). Cognitive factors underlying mathematical skills: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin. 

Chang, H., & Beilock, S. L. (2016). The math anxiety-math performance link and its relation to individual and environmental factors: A review of current behavioral and psychophysiological research. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10, 33–38.

We briefly mentioned tDCS. An introduction to this technique (used both for therapeutic applications and in scientific studies) can be found here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5702643/ 

The specific study Cat & Ashley talk about, with math anxious adults, is this one: Sarkar, A., Dowker, A., & Cohen, K. R. (2014). Cognitive enhancement or cognitive cost: Trait-specific outcomes of brain stimulation in the case of mathematics anxiety. The Journal of Neuroscience, 34, 16605–16610. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3129-14.2014

Cat also mentions the connection between teachers’ gender stereotype endorsements and teachers’ math anxiety, and students’ math achievement. This study is here: Beilock, S. L., Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., & Levine, S. C. (2010). Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(5), 1860-1863. 

Further helpful reading & evidence about both parental and teachers’ impact on math attitudes and gender from the same authors: 

Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). The role of parents and teachers in the development of gender-related math attitudes. Sex roles, 66, 153-166.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> SHOW NOTES: 

Cat wants you to know she read a *lot* of research for this episode. Major highlights we specifically drew from, and quote sources, were aross three reviews: 

Cat found this one especially helpful and refers to it the most, and this review also proposes the Interpretation Account of math anxiety: 

Ramirez, G., Shaw, S. T., & Maloney, E. A. (2018). Math anxiety: Past research, promising interventions, and a new interpretation framework. Educational psychologist, 53(3), 145-164. 

Amland, T., Grande, G., Scherer, R., Lervåg, A., & Melby-Lervåg, M. (2024). Cognitive factors underlying mathematical skills: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin. 

Chang, H., & Beilock, S. L. (2016). The math anxiety-math performance link and its relation to individual and environmental factors: A review of current behavioral and psychophysiological research. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10, 33–38.

We briefly mentioned tDCS. An introduction to this technique (used both for therapeutic applications and in scientific studies) can be found here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5702643/ 

The specific study Cat & Ashley talk about, with math anxious adults, is this one: Sarkar, A., Dowker, A., & Cohen, K. R. (2014). Cognitive enhancement or cognitive cost: Trait-specific outcomes of brain stimulation in the case of mathematics anxiety. The Journal of Neuroscience, 34, 16605–16610. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3129-14.2014

Cat also mentions the connection between teachers’ gender stereotype endorsements and teachers’ math anxiety, and students’ math achievement. This study is here: Beilock, S. L., Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., & Levine, S. C. (2010). Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(5), 1860-1863. 

Further helpful reading & evidence about both parental and teachers’ impact on math attitudes and gender from the same authors: 

Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). The role of parents and teachers in the development of gender-related math attitudes. Sex roles, 66, 153-166.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Danilo C Buzzsprout-16876929 Fri, 28 Mar 2025 10:00:00 -0700 3196 full false Stepping out of the silo Stepping out of the silo How do human beings work together and learn to be, well, human? Stepping out of our comfortable and cozy silos and learning to communicate our value in new contexts might just be the key to unlocking shared innovation.

In this episode, we explore this question with Cristine Legare, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin interested in the interplay of the universal human mind and the variations of culture, who studies cognitive and cultural evolution and the design of social and behavioral change interventions.

The Center for Applied Cognitive Science, which Cristine founded and directs: https://www.centerforappliedcogsci.com/
Her website, where you can keep up with more of her work as well as her upcoming book on ritual: https://cristinelegare.com/

Cat also mentions the book How Infrastructure Works, which is by Deb Chachra and can be found here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612711/how-infrastructure-works-by-deb-chachra/

Cat mentions an overlay journal she and her collaborators write to translate more scientific papers for software teams; it's called The Developer Science Review and you can read our issues here: https://dsl.pubpub.org/issues

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> How do human beings work together and learn to be, well, human? Stepping out of our comfortable and cozy silos and learning to communicate our value in new contexts might just be the key to unlocking shared innovation.

In this episode, we explore this question with Cristine Legare, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin interested in the interplay of the universal human mind and the variations of culture, who studies cognitive and cultural evolution and the design of social and behavioral change interventions.

The Center for Applied Cognitive Science, which Cristine founded and directs: https://www.centerforappliedcogsci.com/
Her website, where you can keep up with more of her work as well as her upcoming book on ritual: https://cristinelegare.com/

Cat also mentions the book How Infrastructure Works, which is by Deb Chachra and can be found here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612711/how-infrastructure-works-by-deb-chachra/

Cat mentions an overlay journal she and her collaborators write to translate more scientific papers for software teams; it's called The Developer Science Review and you can read our issues here: https://dsl.pubpub.org/issues

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Danilo C Buzzsprout-16592513 Mon, 10 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0800 2600 full false The NIH pays off beyond our dreams The NIH pays off beyond our dreams In a special edition of Change, Technically, Ashley and Cat get into the facts of the NIH: what it does, how it works, and the consequences of disrupting its essential work. The NIH creates enormous economic impact, 400,000 jobs across the US, and sets science in motion that touches all of us.

How to contact your representatives:

  1. Dial (202) 224-3121
  2. Tell autoresponder your representative name or zip code when prompted
  3. Speak directly to staffer or leave voicemail: “My name is ___, I’m a constituent in [town]. (If clinician/scientist, say so) The NIH freeze harms research and patients and must be lifted immediately. I also believe that it is important to maintain funding mechanisms that improve and diversify the NIH workforce, including those labeled as 'diversity or DEI efforts'”

Relevant executive orders:

Study on new drugs and NIH funding:

E. Galkina Cleary, J.M. Beierlein, N.S. Khanuja, L.M. McNamee, F.D. Ledley, Contribution of NIH funding to new drug approvals 2010–2016, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 115 (10) 2329-2334, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1715368115 (2018).

United for Medical Research resource where you can look up NIH impact for your state along with many resources about NIH impact: https://www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/ 

News articles on pausing of NIH meetings and travel:

Information about STARTneuro:

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> In a special edition of Change, Technically, Ashley and Cat get into the facts of the NIH: what it does, how it works, and the consequences of disrupting its essential work. The NIH creates enormous economic impact, 400,000 jobs across the US, and sets science in motion that touches all of us.

How to contact your representatives:

  1. Dial (202) 224-3121
  2. Tell autoresponder your representative name or zip code when prompted
  3. Speak directly to staffer or leave voicemail: “My name is ___, I’m a constituent in [town]. (If clinician/scientist, say so) The NIH freeze harms research and patients and must be lifted immediately. I also believe that it is important to maintain funding mechanisms that improve and diversify the NIH workforce, including those labeled as 'diversity or DEI efforts'”

Relevant executive orders:

Study on new drugs and NIH funding:

E. Galkina Cleary, J.M. Beierlein, N.S. Khanuja, L.M. McNamee, F.D. Ledley, Contribution of NIH funding to new drug approvals 2010–2016, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 115 (10) 2329-2334, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1715368115 (2018).

United for Medical Research resource where you can look up NIH impact for your state along with many resources about NIH impact: https://www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/ 

News articles on pausing of NIH meetings and travel:

Information about STARTneuro:

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-16501906 Sat, 25 Jan 2025 12:00:00 -0800 2092 1 7 full false The magic of little boxes The magic of little boxes In this special 'Change, Technically: Holidays On The Couch' edition of the podcast, Ashley & Cat discuss their philosophies of measurement and goal tracking, debate the value of data, and ponder the behavioral science of doing the stuff we resolve to do.

Notes:

Cat & Ashley mention this essay: https://issues.org/limits-of-data-nguyen/

Show correction: Ashley wrongly said the Nguyen essay above had reminded her about Goodhart’s Law (the idea that as soon as we measure something, it loses meaning). Rather, she re-discovered it in Calling Bullshit by Carl Bergstrom and Jevin D. West. Ashley’s error explains why Cat was so confused about her comments on the essay, oops. :)

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> In this special 'Change, Technically: Holidays On The Couch' edition of the podcast, Ashley & Cat discuss their philosophies of measurement and goal tracking, debate the value of data, and ponder the behavioral science of doing the stuff we resolve to do.

Notes:

Cat & Ashley mention this essay: https://issues.org/limits-of-data-nguyen/

Show correction: Ashley wrongly said the Nguyen essay above had reminded her about Goodhart’s Law (the idea that as soon as we measure something, it loses meaning). Rather, she re-discovered it in Calling Bullshit by Carl Bergstrom and Jevin D. West. Ashley’s error explains why Cat was so confused about her comments on the essay, oops. :)

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-16381126 Sat, 04 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0800 1301 1 6 full false Open science: hope is other people Open science: hope is other people Much like open source software, open science is a path to distributed collaboration. By sharing the data from experiments and investigations open and available, scientists can multiply impact and discovery for teams they've never even met.

Our guest, Saskia de Vries, talks to us about her work at the Allen Institute, including accelerating the pace of discovery by making scientific data available to everyone who wants it.

Credits
Saskia de Vries, guest
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

You can learn more about the Allen Institute on their website: https://alleninstitute.org/

Read some of Saskia's recent thoughts on sharing data in neuroscience here: https://elifesciences.org/articles/85550

The CRCNS open data repository that Saskia mentions: https://crcns.org/

Read about the FAIR principles for scientific data management and stewardship: https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata201618 

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Much like open source software, open science is a path to distributed collaboration. By sharing the data from experiments and investigations open and available, scientists can multiply impact and discovery for teams they've never even met.

Our guest, Saskia de Vries, talks to us about her work at the Allen Institute, including accelerating the pace of discovery by making scientific data available to everyone who wants it.

Credits
Saskia de Vries, guest
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

You can learn more about the Allen Institute on their website: https://alleninstitute.org/

Read some of Saskia's recent thoughts on sharing data in neuroscience here: https://elifesciences.org/articles/85550

The CRCNS open data repository that Saskia mentions: https://crcns.org/

Read about the FAIR principles for scientific data management and stewardship: https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata201618 

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-16247801 Tue, 10 Dec 2024 09:00:00 -0800 2217 1 5 full false What really matters in software? What really matters in software? Can creativity mean more for software than productivity? Do we need to let go of “hardcore developer stuff”? Will getting more people to major in computer science fix everything? Ashley and Cat chat with Change, Technically’s first guest star SUE SMITH about developer learning and the future of software teams as technology changes.

Credits
Sue Smith, guest
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

While not mentioned in the episode, we would be remiss if we did not link you to Sue's illustrated collections of HTTP status codes:

- Golden Girls variant
- Keanu Reeves variant

Cat mentioned this paper by Dr. Natasha Quadlin as an example of how the same achievement information can be interpreted very differently by biased viewers during hiring:

Quadlin, N. (2018). The mark of a woman’s record: Gender and academic performance in hiring. American sociological review, 83(2), 331-360.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0003122418762291

Dr. Quadlin has many fascinating projects on inequality and a book with Brian Powell tackling questions about inequality and college: https://www.russellsage.org/publications/who-should-pay

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Can creativity mean more for software than productivity? Do we need to let go of “hardcore developer stuff”? Will getting more people to major in computer science fix everything? Ashley and Cat chat with Change, Technically’s first guest star SUE SMITH about developer learning and the future of software teams as technology changes.

Credits
Sue Smith, guest
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

While not mentioned in the episode, we would be remiss if we did not link you to Sue's illustrated collections of HTTP status codes:

- Golden Girls variant
- Keanu Reeves variant

Cat mentioned this paper by Dr. Natasha Quadlin as an example of how the same achievement information can be interpreted very differently by biased viewers during hiring:

Quadlin, N. (2018). The mark of a woman’s record: Gender and academic performance in hiring. American sociological review, 83(2), 331-360.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0003122418762291

Dr. Quadlin has many fascinating projects on inequality and a book with Brian Powell tackling questions about inequality and college: https://www.russellsage.org/publications/who-should-pay

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-16081177 Mon, 11 Nov 2024 09:00:00 -0800 2781 1 4 full false Sue Smith Ashley Juavinett, PhD Cat Hicks, PhD Danilo Campos What’s neuroscience got to do with it? What’s neuroscience got to do with it? Neuroscience is the hottest STEM field. Why? What does a neuroscientist actually do? Is the brain some mechanically deterministic box configured at birth? Cat knows Ashley has the answers, and now you will, too.

Credits
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

For an incisive breakdown of “the crimes against dopamine” please read the piece of that title by Mark Humphries.

The myth of mental illness book that Ashley mentioned was written in 1961 and we don’t really think it’s worth reading.

The longitudinal fMRI study that Ashley contributed to while in graduate school: Stewart JL, Juavinett AL, May AC, Davenport PW, Paulus MP (2015) Do you feel alright? Attenuated neural processing of aversive interoceptive stimuli in current stimulant users. Psychophysiology 52:249–262.

This is the Twitter/X account that highlights when a study happens IN MICE: https://x.com/justsaysinmice. And here’s the creator’s motivation: https://jamesheathers.medium.com/in-mice-explained-77b61b598218 

The study that recorded from someone’s brain while they died is Vicente et al. (2022) Enhanced Interplay of Neuronal Coherence and Coupling in the Dying Human Brain. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 14. See also this commentary about their claims.

We once again mentioned field-specific ability beliefs. Here’s Cat’s blogpost on her own research.

This study explores the basic dynamics of field-specific ability beliefs and shows their connection to gender inequities in academic disciplines: Leslie, S. J., Cimpian, A., Meyer, M., & Freeland, E. (2015). Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines. Science, 347(6219), 262-265.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Neuroscience is the hottest STEM field. Why? What does a neuroscientist actually do? Is the brain some mechanically deterministic box configured at birth? Cat knows Ashley has the answers, and now you will, too.

Credits
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

For an incisive breakdown of “the crimes against dopamine” please read the piece of that title by Mark Humphries.

The myth of mental illness book that Ashley mentioned was written in 1961 and we don’t really think it’s worth reading.

The longitudinal fMRI study that Ashley contributed to while in graduate school: Stewart JL, Juavinett AL, May AC, Davenport PW, Paulus MP (2015) Do you feel alright? Attenuated neural processing of aversive interoceptive stimuli in current stimulant users. Psychophysiology 52:249–262.

This is the Twitter/X account that highlights when a study happens IN MICE: https://x.com/justsaysinmice. And here’s the creator’s motivation: https://jamesheathers.medium.com/in-mice-explained-77b61b598218 

The study that recorded from someone’s brain while they died is Vicente et al. (2022) Enhanced Interplay of Neuronal Coherence and Coupling in the Dying Human Brain. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 14. See also this commentary about their claims.

We once again mentioned field-specific ability beliefs. Here’s Cat’s blogpost on her own research.

This study explores the basic dynamics of field-specific ability beliefs and shows their connection to gender inequities in academic disciplines: Leslie, S. J., Cimpian, A., Meyer, M., & Freeland, E. (2015). Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines. Science, 347(6219), 262-265.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-15707241 Fri, 06 Sep 2024 12:00:00 -0700 2195 1 3 full false Who's technical? Who's technical? What makes someone technical? What are our preconceptions about "technical" skills? How do those beliefs influence outcomes, and the success of who we include? Ashley and Cat dig in.

Credits
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

On Communities of Practice, Ashley has published a paper on the impact of the program she co-directs:

Zuckerman, A. L., Juavinett, A. L., Macagno, E. R., Bloodgood, B. L., Gaasterland, T., Artis, D., & Lo, S. M. (2022). A case study of a novel summer bridge program to prepare transfer students for research in biological sciences. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 4(1), 27. Available here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s43031-022-00067-w

On Ambient Belonging, here is a great representative article that includes the evidence Ashley was sharing about the impact that stereotypical cues can have for women in technical spaces:

Cheryan, S., Plaut, V. C., Davies, P. G., & Steele, C. M. (2009). Ambient belonging: how stereotypical cues impact gender participation in computer science. Journal of personality and social psychology, 97(6), 1045. PDF here:

https://sparq.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj19021/files/media/file/cheryan_et_al._2009_-_ambient_belonging.pdf

The cogsci paper Cat mentioned is this one: Fendinger, N. J., Dietze, P., & Knowles, E. D. (2023). Beyond cognitive deficits: how social class shapes social cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27(6), 528-538.

Here's an article that's a good introduction to Alison Gopnik's Child as Scientist work:
Gopnik, A. (2012). Scientific thinking in young children: Theoretical advances, empirical research, and policy implications. Science, 337(6102), 1623-1627.
https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1223416

Cat mentioned Contest Cultures in tech and Field-specific ability beliefs. Here’s Cat’s blogpost on her own research.

This is a study that explores how Contest Cultures lead to exclusion: Vial, A. C., Muradoglu, M., Newman, G. E., & Cimpian, A. (2022). An emphasis on brilliance fosters masculinity-contest cultures. Psychological Science, 33(4), 595-612.

And this study explores the basic dynamics of field-specific ability beliefs and shows their connection to gender inequities in academic disciplines: Leslie, S. J., Cimpian, A., Meyer, M., & Freeland, E. (2015). Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines. Science, 347(6219), 262-265.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> What makes someone technical? What are our preconceptions about "technical" skills? How do those beliefs influence outcomes, and the success of who we include? Ashley and Cat dig in.

Credits
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

On Communities of Practice, Ashley has published a paper on the impact of the program she co-directs:

Zuckerman, A. L., Juavinett, A. L., Macagno, E. R., Bloodgood, B. L., Gaasterland, T., Artis, D., & Lo, S. M. (2022). A case study of a novel summer bridge program to prepare transfer students for research in biological sciences. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 4(1), 27. Available here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s43031-022-00067-w

On Ambient Belonging, here is a great representative article that includes the evidence Ashley was sharing about the impact that stereotypical cues can have for women in technical spaces:

Cheryan, S., Plaut, V. C., Davies, P. G., & Steele, C. M. (2009). Ambient belonging: how stereotypical cues impact gender participation in computer science. Journal of personality and social psychology, 97(6), 1045. PDF here:

https://sparq.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj19021/files/media/file/cheryan_et_al._2009_-_ambient_belonging.pdf

The cogsci paper Cat mentioned is this one: Fendinger, N. J., Dietze, P., & Knowles, E. D. (2023). Beyond cognitive deficits: how social class shapes social cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27(6), 528-538.

Here's an article that's a good introduction to Alison Gopnik's Child as Scientist work:
Gopnik, A. (2012). Scientific thinking in young children: Theoretical advances, empirical research, and policy implications. Science, 337(6102), 1623-1627.
https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1223416

Cat mentioned Contest Cultures in tech and Field-specific ability beliefs. Here’s Cat’s blogpost on her own research.

This is a study that explores how Contest Cultures lead to exclusion: Vial, A. C., Muradoglu, M., Newman, G. E., & Cimpian, A. (2022). An emphasis on brilliance fosters masculinity-contest cultures. Psychological Science, 33(4), 595-612.

And this study explores the basic dynamics of field-specific ability beliefs and shows their connection to gender inequities in academic disciplines: Leslie, S. J., Cimpian, A., Meyer, M., & Freeland, E. (2015). Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines. Science, 347(6219), 262-265.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-15666297 Fri, 30 Aug 2024 07:00:00 -0700 2427 1 2 full false You can do it, too You can do it, too What does it take to make STEM work more accessible and effective? Ashley and Cat introduce their work and their values by answering this question.

Credits
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

Ashley on teaching coding to neuroscientists:

Juavinett, A. L. (2022). The next generation of neuroscientists needs to learn how to code, and we need new ways to teach them. Neuron, 110(4), 576-578.

Zuckerman, A. L., & Juavinett, A. L. (2024, March). When Coding Meets Biology: The Tension Between Access and Authenticity in a Contextualized Coding Class. In Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1 (pp. 1491-1497). PDF here: https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3626252.3630966

Sense of Belonging is a widely-studied concept across the psychological sciences. Cat’s work on Developer Thriving includes a measure of Belonging on software teams:

Hicks, C. M., Lee, C. S., & Ramsey, M. (2024). Developer Thriving: four sociocognitive factors that create resilient productivity on software teams. IEEE Software. PDF here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10491133

This recent article provides a helpful commentary, summarizing an impressive collaboration across 22 campuses and 26k+ students: Walton, G. M., Murphy, M. C., Logel, C., Yeager, D. S., Goyer, J. P., Brady, S. T., ... & Krol, N. (2023). Where and with whom does a brief social-belonging intervention promote progress in college?. Science, 380(6644), 499-505. PDF here: https://www.greggmuragishi.com/uploads/5/7/1/5/57150559/walton_et_al_2023.pdf

Mark Appelbaum, Cat’s first stats teacher, had a positive impact on many, many students. You can read about his life here: https://psychology.ucsd.edu/people/profiles/mappelbaum-in-memoriam.html

Schools, Technology and Who gets to Play?

Rafalow, M. H. (2014). The digital divide in classroom technology use: A comparison of three schools. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 3(1), 67-100.

Rafalow, M. H., & Puckett, C. (2022). Sorting machines: digital technology and categorical inequality in Education. Educational researcher, 51(4), 274-278.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> What does it take to make STEM work more accessible and effective? Ashley and Cat introduce their work and their values by answering this question.

Credits
Ashley Juavinett, host + producer
Cat Hicks, host + producer
Danilo Campos, producer + editor

Ashley on teaching coding to neuroscientists:

Juavinett, A. L. (2022). The next generation of neuroscientists needs to learn how to code, and we need new ways to teach them. Neuron, 110(4), 576-578.

Zuckerman, A. L., & Juavinett, A. L. (2024, March). When Coding Meets Biology: The Tension Between Access and Authenticity in a Contextualized Coding Class. In Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1 (pp. 1491-1497). PDF here: https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3626252.3630966

Sense of Belonging is a widely-studied concept across the psychological sciences. Cat’s work on Developer Thriving includes a measure of Belonging on software teams:

Hicks, C. M., Lee, C. S., & Ramsey, M. (2024). Developer Thriving: four sociocognitive factors that create resilient productivity on software teams. IEEE Software. PDF here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10491133

This recent article provides a helpful commentary, summarizing an impressive collaboration across 22 campuses and 26k+ students: Walton, G. M., Murphy, M. C., Logel, C., Yeager, D. S., Goyer, J. P., Brady, S. T., ... & Krol, N. (2023). Where and with whom does a brief social-belonging intervention promote progress in college?. Science, 380(6644), 499-505. PDF here: https://www.greggmuragishi.com/uploads/5/7/1/5/57150559/walton_et_al_2023.pdf

Mark Appelbaum, Cat’s first stats teacher, had a positive impact on many, many students. You can read about his life here: https://psychology.ucsd.edu/people/profiles/mappelbaum-in-memoriam.html

Schools, Technology and Who gets to Play?

Rafalow, M. H. (2014). The digital divide in classroom technology use: A comparison of three schools. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 3(1), 67-100.

Rafalow, M. H., & Puckett, C. (2022). Sorting machines: digital technology and categorical inequality in Education. Educational researcher, 51(4), 274-278.

Learn more about Ashley:


Learn more about Cat:

]]> Buzzsprout-15626760 Fri, 23 Aug 2024 07:00:00 -0700 2259 1 1 full false