Recent and Upcoming

• An AI surprise! To hear two bots talking about Dr. Epstein's career, click HERE (15-min. audio). And this conversation was made by an A.I.!
• Are you addicted? Confused about addictions? Complete our new questionnaire at https://AmIAddicted.org. It will help you determine whether you need professional help for a genuine addiction, or whether you have fallen prey to many of the new "pop" addictions that are spreading online - like "shopping addiction" and "chocolate addiction"! Thanks to research intern Sara Parsons for helping to develop and implement this innovative new questionnaire.
• To protect our elections and our children, please sponsor one of our Field Agents! Please consider making a tax-deductible donation of $25 per month to sponsor one of our Field Agents - also known as our "Internet Watchdogs." This is a politically-balanced group of more than 16,000 registered voters in all 50 U.S. states who allow us to preserve online content being sent to them by Google, Facebook, and other platforms. We have so far preserved more than 109 million "personalized ephemeral experiences" - content that these companies use to manipulate our elections and our kids and that are normally lost forever, leaving no paper trail for authorities to trace. Our Digital Shield (see https://AmericasDigitalShield.com) preserves and analyzes this content, thus making Big Tech companies accountable to the public for the first time. The data we are collecting will soon be used by the courts, attorneys general, members of Congress, the Federal Election Commission, and other authorities, as well as by election integrity, parenting, and other advocacy groups to force Big Tech companies to stop manipulating our elections and our children. To view Dr. Epstein's December, 2023 Congressional testimony about our Digital Shield, visit https://2023EpsteinTestimony.com (6-min. video). Visit https://2023WrittenTestimony.com to download Dr. Epstein's written testimony (480 pages). To sponsor one of our Field Agents, visit https://FeedTheWatchdogs.com. Thanks for your help in protecting our democracy and our children!
• Presented in April 2024: Six empirical papers by AIBRT researchers were recently presented at the 104th annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association: (1) Quantitative Explorations of Generativity Theory: Conducting Real-Time Simulations of Novel Human Behavior in Problem-Solving Contexts, (2) Expanding an Investigation of Sexual Orientation To Non-English-Speaking Countries: How Predictive Is Social Pressure Theory?, (3) The Differential Demographics Effect (DDE): Post Hoc Analyses of Multiple Datasets Show the Power of a New and Invisible Form of Manipulation Made Possible by the Internet, (4) The Digital Personalization Effect (DPE): How Personalization of Online Content Can Dramatically Increase The Impact of Biased Online Content, (5) The Ultimate Mind Control Machine: Summary of a Decade of Empirical Research on Online Search Engines, and (6) America’s “Digital Shield”: How We Are Making Big Tech Companies Accountable to the Public by Continually Preserving Tens of Millions of Online Ephemeral Experiences – Content That Can Impact Users Dramatically and That Is Normally Lost Forever. 
• Presented in April 2023:  AIBRT researchers recently presented four empirical papers at the 103rd annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association: (1) A Quantification of Morality: Preliminary Findings from the Moral Standards Project, (2) It’s Complicated: The Relationship Between COVID-19 and Mental Health Problems, (3) How We Preserved More Than 2.5 Million Online Ephemeral Experiences in the 2022 Midterm Elections, and What This Content Revealed About Online Election Bias, (4) Social Pressure Theory (SPT): A New and Predictive Theory of Sexual Orientation, with Mathematical and Computational Models.
• Online questionnaires updated:  Thanks to the expertise and effort of AIBRT data analyst Li Yu Tang, all of AIBRT's online questionnaires - more than 40 psychological tests in multiple languages - are now responsive to a wide range of devices, including Apple phones and tablets. For an example, see AIBRT's informative new test of morality at https://MyMorals.org. Remaining tests will be upgraded over the next few weeks.
• Book donations sought:  AIBRT now has a library! If you would like to donate books on topics related to our research, please box them up and send them to: Donations, AIBRT, 1035 E. Vista Way Ste. 120, Vista, CA 92084-4606 USA. All donations are tax-deductible. Hardcover books in the English language are preferred. 
• Rogan interviews:  Two long interviews by Joe Rogan with AIBRT researcher Dr. Robert Epstein are now available online. The interviews can be streamed at: (1) first appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience (160-min. video recorded in January, 2022) and (2) second appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience (158-min. video recorded in September 2024). 
• New studies presented:  AIBRT researchers recently presented five empirical papers at the 102nd annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association. Click on a link for more information: (1) How we preserved more than 1.5 million online “ephemeral experiences” in the recent US elections, and what this content revealed about online election bias. (2) The Opinion Matching Effect (OME): A subtle but powerful new form of influence that is being widely used on the internet without user awareness. (3) The YouTube Manipulation Effect (YME): The power that bias in YouTube’s up-next algorithm has to shift votes and opinions, and preliminary evidence that such bias exists. (4) The Answer Bot Effect (ABE): A powerful new form of influence made possible by intelligent personal assistants and search engines. (5) Support for Freud’s assertion that bisexuality is the natural human norm: A formal theory of sexual orientation, with supporting data from more than a million people worldwide.
• Internship award:  AIBRT research intern Thomas Bate, a graduating English major at Arizona State University, was recently awarded his department's 2022 High Impact Internship Award, "a recognition given to students who take on internship work toward the greater social good." To read about Tom's internship experience at AIBRT, click here.
• How moral are you?  After a decade of planning, AIBRT has released an innovative new questionnaire that will allow people to see how their personal morals measure up to those of distinguished moral leaders: ministers, priests, imams, rabbis, divinity school professors, a Catholic archbishop, and many others. To see how your morals measure up, visit https://MyMorals.org. For more information about our Moral Standards Project, click here.
• Privacy tips updated:  Interested in getting some of your online privacy back, or in protecting the privacy of your children? Read Dr. Epstein's essay, "Seven Simple Steps Toward Online Privacy." A lot has changed since the article was originally published in 2017, and it has now been updated as of February 7, 2022. For a direct link, remember https://MyPrivacyTips.com.
• In memoriam: We mourn the passing of one of the founding members of AIBRT's Scientific Advisory Board, eminent psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the father of "flow." Click here to read a lively and informative exchange about creativity between Csikszentmihalyi and AIBRT's Robert Epstein, published in Psychology Today in 1999.  
• Update on election monitoring:  For an update on findings from AIBRT's 2020 and 2021 election monitoring projects, view the 15-minute video here (talk presented at the 24th annual meeting of the American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences). We preserved more than 1.5 million ephemeral experiences - content that is normally lost forever - on Google, Facebook, Bing, Yahoo, and YouTube, and we apparently got Google to back down on two powerful vote manipulations.
• Recent studies: AIBRT researchers recently presented five empirical studies at the 101st annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association (April 2021). A 15-minute video of each talk can be viewed by clicking on one of the following links: “How SARS-Cov-2 and comparable pathogens can be defeated in a single day: Description and mathematical model of the Carrier Separation Plan (CSP),” “How is stress best managed?,” “For parents of teens, which parenting skills predict the best outcomes?,” “Which parenting skills count most?,” “How adult competence varies across the lifespan.”
• Peer-reviewed coronavirus plan: AIBRT's solution to the coronavirus pandemic was published in Frontiers in Public Health on March 5, 2021. To access the article, click this link: "How SARS-CoV-2 and Comparable Pathogens Can Be Defeated in a Single Day: Description and Mathematical Model of the Carrier Separation Plan (CSP)." Implementing CSP will stop or dramatically slow the spread of the virus, while also allowing the entire economy to reopen without the need for masks or social distancing.
• 2020 election monitoring: AIBRT researchers aggressively monitored online content for possible political bias in the weeks leading up to the November 2020 Presidential election and the January 2021 Senate runoff elections in Georgia. Overall, we preserved more than 1.5 million ephemeral experiences on Google, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube, and Facebook, and the data are now being analyzed. For a summary of preliminary results, click here. More detailed results will be presented at scientific conferences and submitted for publication in 2021.
• New scientific advisor: Dr. John E. R. Staddon, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University, has recently joined AIBRT's Scientific Advisory Board. After a long and distinguished career conducting laboratory research on learning and adaptive behavior, Professor Staddon has continued to publish cutting-edge essays on basic research issues in the behavioral sciences, as well as on a wide variety of public-policy issues. He is the author of more than 200 research papers and six books.
• New research psychologists: Dr. Ayanna R. Cummings and Dr. Beth Coke have joined AIBRT as Research Psychologists. Dr. Cummings is the founding director and chief executive officer of Tapestry Consulting in Atlanta, Georgia, and Dr. Coke is Primary Therapist at A Mission for Michael in San Juan Capistrano, California.
• Coronavirus:  AIBRT is reviewing the latest research and statistical data on SARS-CoV-2 on an ongoing basis. We have also proposed a plan for quickly halting the transmission of the virus, eradicating it from the population, and reopening the entire economy without the need for social distancing. For details about our Carrier Separation Plan, click here.
• New research fellow: Dr. P. Scott Richards recently joined AIBRT as its second Distinguished Research Fellow. In 2019, Dr. Richards retired as a full professor of counseling psychology at Brigham Young University, and he currently serves as the Director of Research for the Center for Change in Orem, Utah. His research encompasses spirituality, eating disorders, online assessment, and mental health. 
• In memoriam: Misti Vaughn, longtime assistant director of AIBRT and the wife of AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein, died on December 26, 2019, from injuries sustained in a car accident a few days before. We all mourn her passing. Dr. Epstein briefly memorialized his partner of eight years here. To view a related television news story, click here. 
• New translation: AIBRT's popular mental health screening test, accessible at DoYouNeedTherapy.com, is now in Russian at DoYouNeedTherapy.com/Russian or DoYouNeedTherapy.ru. We are grateful to Ekaterina Davydova, a PhD student in clinical psychology at St. Petersburg State University, for providing this excellent translation.
• Congressional testimony: AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein testified before Congress in a session on "Google and Censorship" on July 16, 2019. His oral testimony can be viewed here (7-min. video), and a Q&A regarding his testimony can be viewed here (15-min. audio). The full written testimony can be accessed here. The full testimony incorporates a July 15th article from Bloomberg Businessweek which offers a plan for ending Google's worldwide monopoly on search. For updates on AIBRT's research on internet influence, click here.
• 2018 election monitoring: For a summary of AIBRT's findings from its 2018 election monitoring project, click here. 47,294 searches conducted on Google, Bing, and Yahoo by a diverse network of American voters were preserved, along with the 392,274 web pages to which the search results linked. Significant pro-liberal bias was found in Google search results, sufficient to have shifted upwards of 78.2 million votes to Democratic candidates (spread across hundreds of state and regional elections) without user awareness. 
• New scientific advisor: Dr. Bruce A. Thyer, former Dean of Social Work and current Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University, has joined AIBRT's Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Thyer has published more than 280 articles in peer reviewed journals, more than 120 book chapters, and more than 30 books (including Finding Solutions to Social Problems: Behavioral Strategies for Change).
• Upgrades to tests: The more than 50 free online tests that AIBRT maintains have now been upgraded, with improved security and other features. We apologize for any inconvenience users may have experienced during the upgrade process. Coming soon: Mobile versions of the tests will be released over the next few months. If you would like to offer any feedback about the tests, please contact us at tests@aibrt.org. 
• U.S. Congress takes note: AIBRT's research on online manipulation was discussed in a hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee on December 11, 2018. AIBRT's discovery of the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME) was noted by the chair of the committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R, VA) in his opening remarks (1-min. video here), and AIBRT's 2016 election monitoring project was discussed in an exchange between Rep. Lamar Smith (R, TX) and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who was testifying before the committee (4-min. video here).  
• New translations of creativity inventory: Our free online inventory that measures four core competencies of creative expression (the ECCI-i), is now available in Arabic and can be accessed here. Our thanks to Mohammed Alharthi, a doctoral candidate at Concordia University (Chicago) for the translation. We also have a new version in Thai, provided by Vipavee Vorawutvitayarak of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. The inventory is also available in Chinese, English, German, and Spanish. 
  
• New documentary film: AIBRT's cutting-edge research on internet influence and manipulation is featured prominently in a new documentary film called "The Creepy Line." The 90-minute film can be viewed free of charge at https://CreepyLine.org.
• Search Suggestion Effect (SSE): For journalists, data scientists, policy makers and others interested in our new research on SSE - on the power that autocomplete search suggestions have to manipulate people's opinions and votes without their knowledge - click here for a 12-page summary of the research findings.
• Recent presentations: Studies presented by AIBRT researchers at an April 2018 scientific conference include (a) "Bisexuality Might Be the Human Norm," the largest sexual orientation study ever conducted (606,821 participants in 219 countries and territories), (b) "Extended Childhood Disorder (ECD): New Empirical Support for a Proposed Diagnostic Category," (c) "Which Resilience Skills Count Most?," (d) Infantilization Across the Life Span: A Large-Scale Internet Study Suggests That Emotional Abuse Is Especially Damaging," (e)  "The Search Suggestion Effect (SSE): How Search Suggestions Can Be Used To Shift Opinions and Voting Preferences Dramatically," (f) "Which Assertiveness Skills Count Most?," and (g) "The Answer Bot Effect (ABE): Another Surprising Way Search Engines Can Impact Opinions."
• Recent publications: Recent publications by AIBRT researchers include (a) an essay on "Ten Ways Big Tech Can Shift Millions of Votes in the Midterm Election - Without People Knowing," which appeared in the Epoch Times; (b) a study on online mental health screening with 201,625 participants from 184 countries, which appeared in the Journal of Technology in Human Services; and (c) a study suggesting that non-heterosexual prevalence in the U.S. has been underestimated by between 50 and 414%, which appeared in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.
  
• New scientific advisor: AIBRT welcomes distinguished psychologist Stephen W. Porges as a new member of its Scientific Advisory Board. Widely known for his Polyvagal Theory of human behavior and emotion, Dr. Porges is a Distinguished University Scientist at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University Bloomington and Research Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Stanford lecture: A lecture given in June 2017 by AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein at Stanford University - "Unethical Algorithms of Massive Scale: New Data, a New Discovery, a New Tracking System, and a New Organization" - can be accessed here (1 hr. 23 min.).
  
• Recent presentations: In March 2017, AIBRT researchers presented a study on the newly discovered Search Suggestion Effect (SSE). The research demontrates the surprising impact that the differential suppression of negative search suggestions has on people's opinions and votes. This study and another on new findings on the Search Engine Manipulate Effect (SEME) were presented at the International Convention of Psychological Science in Vienna, Austria. Other recent presentations include: (1) a study showing that multiple searches increase the impact of the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME); (2) a study showing that biased search rankings impact a wide range of opinions, not just voting preferences; (3) a study showing how difficult it is for people to distinguish computers from people; (4) evidence that search rankings shown to American internet users were biased toward Hillary Clinton for nearly 6 months before the November 2016 election.
  
• New translations of parenting test: Thanks to a dedicated effort by the Romanian nonprofit anti-addiction organization, ALIAT, AIBRT's parenting competencies inventory (http://MyParentingSkills.com) is now available in six new translations: Croatian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, and Turkish.
• New version of Chinese test: AIBRT's sexual orientation inventory is now available in a new Chinese version provided by Wei Yun-Chin of Taiwan. It can be accessed at http://我的性取向.com/traditional. The previous version, accessible at http://我的性取向.com/simplified, has  been improved and updated. Both can be accessed at http://MySexualOrientation.com/chinese or http://我的性取向.com. In 2019, AIBRT researchers plan to publish the largest sexual orientation study ever conducted, with more than 600,000 participants in more than 200 countries and territories.
• Landmark study on relationship skills:  The Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy recently published a new study of relationship skills conducted by AIBRT researchers - the largest assessment of relationship skills ever conducted, with more than 25,000 participants in 58 countries. Among the study's findings: (1) How well you keep track of your partner's likes and dislikes is one of the best predictors of relationship satisfaction. (2) Males and females are now roughly equal overall in the number of skills they bring to relationships, but they have very different skills sets. (3) The relationship skills of gays and lesbians are equal or superior to those of straights. To take the test employed in the study, visit http://MyLoveSkills.com. 
  
• Talk at session on frontiers of science: In May 2016, AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein was one of three speakers at a session on the frontiers of science sponsored by the Council of Scientific Society Presidents in Washington, DC. The other speakers were Nobel laureate James P. Allison, former head of the Cancer Research Center at UC Berkeley, and physicist David Shoemaker of MIT, head of the team that discovered gravity waves in 2015.
• New research psychologists: Victor N. Karandeshev and Barry H. Schneider have been appointed Research Psychologists at AIBRT. A researcher on romantic love and former Fullbright Fellow, Dr. Karandeshev is on the faculty of Aquinas College in Michigan. A noted expert on child psychopathology, Dr. Schneider is on the faculty of Boston College.
• New white paper series: Laura E. Pasquale has been appointed editor of AIBRT's new white paper series, which will publish articles by AIBRT-affiliated scholars and scientists. A research psychologist at AIBRT, Dr. Pasquale has had a long and distinguished career in academe, government, and the private sector, and she is currently editing a book series on care management and palliative care.
• Essays go viral on Facebook: "The New Mind Control," a recent article in Aeon magazine about invisible forms of influence on the Internet by AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein, has been viewed more than 250,000 times and has generated more than 25,000 shares on Facebook. "The Empty Brain," a subsequent article in Aeon that challenges the popular belief that the human brain works like a computer, has been viewed more than a million times and has generated more then 250,000 shares on Facebook. Both articles were also featured selections of The Atlantic's Online Reading Club.
  
• German translation of creativity test: Thanks to a dedicated team of students at the University of Zurich, a German translation of the ECCI-i (Epstein Creativity Competencies Inventory for Individuals) is now accessible at http://MyCreativitySkills.com/German.
• New resilience test:  Released in early 2016, AIBRT's new resilience test, accessible at http://HowResilientAreYou.org, breaks resilience down into nine measurable and trainable competencies that have been shown in empirical studies to be associated with the ability to bounce back from adversity or trauma.
• Recent presentations:  In the spring of 2016, AIBRT researchers presented a number of landmark studies at scientific meetings: (1) the largest parenting skills study ever conducted, with more than 10,000 parents in 120 countries, (2) new experiments on how to suppress SEME, conducted with nearly 5,000 participants in 39 countries, (3) a new study on motivation competencies, with more than 6,000 participants in 116 countries, (4) an experiment that suggests that a daily regimen of online operant conditioning might account for SEME's effectiveness, and (5) the largest sexual orientation study ever conducted, with more than 334,000 participants in 107 countries, which supports Freud's assertion that bisexuality is the human norm.
  
• Strong interest in the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME):Science magazine (the flagship publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest scientific association) has recognized AIBRT's research on the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME) as one of the top 10 science news stories of 2015. As of January 2018, the scientific report had been downloaded from the website of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) more than 90,000 times and was ranked by PNAS to be in the top 1 percent of all science reports tracked by the organization in all the sciences, both short-term and long-term.
  
• Korean translation: The Epstein Sexual Orientation Inventory (ESOI) is now available in 12 languages. The newest translation is available at http://MySexualOrientation.com/Korean. In 2015, AIBRT tests were taken by more than a million people in more than 100 countries.
  
• Creativity research in the Harvard Business Review: Recent AIBRT competency studies are summarized in a new article - Do You Have What It Takes to Help Your Team Be Creative? - on HBR.com.
  
• New research psychologists:Sébastien Montel, Harris L. Friedman, and Brooke Wilken were recently appointed research psychologists at AIBRT. Dr. Montel formerly served as Professor of Health Psychology, Psychopathology and Neuropsychology at the University of Paris Saint Denis. His main research area is the neuropsychology of addictive disorders. Dr. Friedman formerly served as Research Professor at the University of Florida, Gainsville.  His current research interests include the use of alternative medications in the treatment of anxiety-related cancer and the study of canine emotions. Dr. Wilken comes to us from Ball State University; her major research interest is in cultural differences in emotional experiences.
  
• Stanford University lecture on Internet influence:  A recent 1-hour lecture invited by Stanford University's electrical engineering department is now available to stream online by clicking here.  The lecture is entitled, "The Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME) and Its Unparalled Power to Alter the Way We Think."  The lecture by Robert Epstein looks at the power that search rankings have to change people's attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and behavior, and also presents preliminary data that may help to explain why SEME is such a powerful source of influence.
• New member of scientific advisory board:  AIBRT welcomes Andy Lattal, Centennial Professor of Psychology at West Virginia University, to its Scientific Advisory Board. A former editor of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Professor Lattal is the recipient of outstanding contribution awards from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis and the California Association for Behavior Analysis.  His research interests include behavioral history and a variety of topics related to the understanding of reinforcement, punishment, and extinction.
• In memory: Edmund J. Fantino, one of the founding members of AIBRT's Scientific Advisory Board, passed away on September 22, 2015. Dr. Fantino was the Distinguished Professor of Psychology and the Neurosciences Group at the University of California San Diego. A student of B.F. Skinner, Dr. Fantino's 48-year career set him apart as one of the most accomplished operant behavior researchers in the world. His 2007 book, Behaving Well, recounted his remarkably upbeat 18-year battle against cancer, a battle he waged successfully for nearly another decade, continuing his professional activities and leading an active lifestyle. He will be greatly missed.
• Landmark paper: A report entitled "The Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME) and Its Possible Impact on the Outcomes of Elections" was published as a 10-page feature research article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA in August 2015. The article summarizes recent experiments by AIBRT researchers which demonstrate the enormous power that search rankings have to alter the voting preferences of undecided voters - enough to determine the outcomes of upwards of 25 percent of the world's national elections. Discovered in 2013, SEME is one of the largest behavioral effects ever observed.  It also is almost entirely undetectable as a means of social influence, which makes it especially dangerous.
• First Arabic translation: An Arabic translation of AIBRT's popular sexual orientation test has now been posted online. The test is available in 11 languages and has been taken by more than 500,000 people in more than 90 countries. It quickly shows you where you are on the Sexual Orientation Continuum, and it also gives you a measure of your Sexual Orientation Range (SOR).  You can access the Arabic translation at http://MySexualOrientation.com/Arabic. Click here to access AIBRT's new study on how to measure SOR and why it's worth measuring.  
• Mental health screening:A recent article in VICE, one of the hottest magazines in the U.S., shines the light on AIBRT's unique mental health screening test- the only scientifically validated test of this sort on the internet. The article, "The Internet Is Not a Doctor," can be viewed here, and the test can be taken at http://DoYouNeedTherapy.com.
  
• Recent conference presentations: AIBRT researchers recently presented papers on a variety of topics at scientific meetings. Titles include: "Extended Childhood Disorder (ECD): Additional support for a new diagnostic category," "The frequency profile: An informative method for graphing the behavior of individuals post hoc or in real time," "The Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME): Large-scale replications in two countries," "A DSM-5-based online mental health screening inventory: Preliminary validation study," and "A vulnerability theory of emotional bonding: Preliminary experimental support for a new quantitative theory."
• Growing interest in the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME):  In March 2015, AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein spoke about SEME, an effect he discovered in 2013 with assistant Ronald Robertson, at three prestigious venues: CeBIT, the largest high-tech trade show in the world; the World Business Dialogue in Cologne; and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.  His keynote address at CeBIT generated more than 100 news stories in Europe.
  
• The myth of the teen brain.  Recently airing on a national radio program in Canada: an interview with Dr. Robert Epstein about what he says are fraudulent claims about the teen brain. The interview can be accessed here.
• First Distinguished Research Fellow. Recently appointed: Mark Runco, AIBRT's first Distinguished Research Fellow. Dr. Runco is a pioneer in the scientific study of creativity, the founder and editor of the Creativity Research Journal, and co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Creativity.
  
• New forms of internet influence.   Published in the Fall 2014 issue of EMMA Magazine, a publication of the European Magazine Media Association: a feature article by AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein entitled, "Democracy at Risk from New Forms of Internet Influence."
• New translations of creativity tests. The Epstein Creativity Competencies Inventory for Individuals (ECCI-i, http://MyCreativitySkills.com), which measures four core competencies of creative expression, is now available in Chinese at http://MyCreativitySkills.com/Chinese. The managerial version of this test, which measures 10 competencies managers need to elicit creativity in employees (http://MyCreativitySkills.com/managers/Malay), is now available in Malay.
• New translations of sexual orientation test. The Epstein Sexual Orientation Inventory (http://MySexualOrientation.com), which calculates one's position on the Sexual Orientation Continuum as well as one's Sexual Orientation Range, is now available in Italian (http://MioOrientamentoSessuale.com), Chinese (http://MySexualOrientation.com/chinese), and Malay (http://MySexualOrientation.com/malay).
  
• Democracy at risk: Preliminary results from AIBRT's new study in India attract media coverage worldwide.  In a replication of previous experiments conducted in the U.S., AIBRT researchers recently completed an experiment with more than 2,000 participants from throughout India, showing once again that biased search rankings have a significant impact on the opinions of undecided voters and verifying the power of the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME). The new study has drawn media attention worldwide, including coverage by the Washington Post, the Daily Mail (UK), Al Jazeera, BBC News, and the Times of India. A technical report summarizing the results of five experiments on this topic is under review.
• Protecting Internet privacy with a click requirement. AIBRT researchers recently reported the results of a study that looks at how likely people are to reveal personal informion online when they are informed beforehand about how that information might be used. Key finding: Warnings alone don't have much impact, but when you require people to click to acknowledge that they have read the warning, they withhold a great deal of personal information. Overall, internet users appear to be revealing nearly 40 percent more personal information than they would if they knew the risks.
  
• How best to fight stress. AIBRT researchers recently reported the results of a major new study with 10,745 subjects in 42 countries which compared the effectiveness of four important ways of fighting stress.  Key findings: proactive, preventative methods are better than reactive methods, and, contrary to popular belief, low stress has clear advantages over moderate stress. 
• Maturity across the life span. AIBRT researchers recently reported the results of a major new study with 55,761 subjects in 59 countries which looked at how adult competencies change from childhood to old age. Key findings: 30 percent of teens appear to be more competent than the median adult across a wide range of adult abilities.  Teens in general appear to be nearly as competent as adults, but adults greatly underestimate the abiliies of teens.
  
• New insights on sexual orientation.  In November 2013, AIBRT researchers presented three papers at the 56th annual meeting of "Quad-S," the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.  Among issues being addressed:  How can researchers survey a population without underestimating the proportion of non-heterosexuals?  In many societies, after all, people are under enormous pressure to represent themselves as straight, no matter what their actual inclincations.
• Do you need therapy?  Released in May 2013, the new version of our mental health referral test was updated to meet the standards of the DSM-5, the latest diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The new version of the test is also jargon-free and easy to read. It quickly screens for 21 of the most prevalent mental and behavioral disorders and helps people get the help they need. For more information, visit http://DoYouNeedTherapy.com.
• Manipulating elections. AIBRT researchers presented a landmark study on this topic at the May 2013 meeting of the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, D.C.  The new study showed that the preferences of undecided voters can be shifted dramatically toward one candidate or another by manipulating online search rankings associated with each candidate.
  
• The problem with sexual orientation labels. In April 2013, AIBRT researchers presented a study with more than 54,000 people in 57 countries that quantifies the mismatch between the sexual orientation labels people use and their actual sexual fantasies, attractions, and behaviors. For many people, the mismatch is substantial. One surprising finding: Self-labeled straights feel distress when they don't behave straight, but self-labeled bisexuals and gays don't care much about behaving in ways that are inconsistent with their labels.
  
• Commentary on "emerging adulthood."  Released in the January 2013 issue of Scientific American Mind, a critique by AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein of the idea that a new stage of life now exists between ages 18 and 25.  The article is called, "Yet Another Stage of Life?"
  
• Love in arranged marriages.  Released in the Journal of Comparative Family Studies in 2013, a study by AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein, Mayuri Pandit of Loma Linda University, and Mansi Thakar of the University of Southern California that explored how love is sometimes deliberately built over time in arranged marriages in diferent cultures around the world. The study prioritized 36 different factors that can lead to the growth of love. The most important factors? Sacrifice and commitment.  
  
• Predicting America's future.  In the October 2012 issue of Discover magazine, AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein used Sex Ratio Theory to predict America's social and political future over the next 25 years.  His prediction?  An increasingly moderate social and political climate.
• Landmark study on sexual orientation. Published in the Journal of Homosexuality, a study with nearly 18,000 people in 48 countries supporting Kinsey's assertion that sexual orientation lies on a continuum.  Other major findings: (1) Few people - possibly even less than 10 percent of the population - are exclusively straight or gay throughout their lives. (2)  People differ not only in where their interests anchor on the Sexual Orientation Continuum - their "Mean Sexual Orientation" (MSO) - but also in their "Sexual Orientation Range" (SOR) - roughly, how much flexibility they have in expressing their sexual orientation. You can find out where you are on the continuum and how large your range is at http://MySexualOrientation.com.
  
• Competency test for parents of teens.  The new Epstein Teen Parenting Inventory (ETPI), developed with AIBRT intern Gina Kirkish of the University of California San Diego, is now accessible at http://TeenParentingSkills.com.  The test measures twelve different parenting skills that are important for raising healthy, happy, productive, cooperative teens.
  
• The aging brain.  From the October 2012 issue of Discover magazine, a new feature article by AIBRT researcher Robert Epstein entitled, "Brutal Truths About the Aging Brain."  Dr. Epstein advises: "Don't read it if you're over 35."
• Which creativity skills count most? Published in the Creativity Research Journal, a study conducted with AIBRT intern Victoria Phan of the University of California San Diego that compares the effectiveness of four basic creativity competencies.  The most important proves to be:  capturing new ideas as they occur to you.
• What to do about crying babies.  Published in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Sciences, an article that solves the crying baby problem once and for all.  Should you ignore a crying baby, or should you soothe it?  The answer is surprising.