Robert Epstein
{{Short description|American psychologist and journalist (born 1953)}}
{{Other people|Robert or Rob Epstein|Robert Epstein (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Robert Epstein
| image = Dr.Robert Epstein CeBIT Conference.jpg
| caption = Epstein speaking at the ceBIT conference in Hanover, Germany
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|6|19}}
| birth_place = Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
| nationality = American
| fields = Psychology
Behavioural sciences
| workplaces = Boston University
Harvard University
University of the South Pacific
University of California, San Diego
San Diego State University
| education = Trinity College (BA)
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Harvard University (PhD)
| thesis_title = Columban stimulations of complex human behavior
| thesis_url = https://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990038303200203941/catalog
| thesis_year = 1981
| thesis_advisor =
| known_for = Generativity Theory
Love Contract
Search engine manipulation effect
Sexual Continuum Theory
}}
Robert Epstein (born June 19, 1953) is an American psychologist, professor, author, and journalist. He was awarded a Ph.D. in psychology by Harvard University in 1981, was editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, and has held positions at several universities including Boston University, University of California, San Diego, and Harvard University. He is also the founder and director emeritus of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in Concord, MA. In 2012, he founded the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology (AIBRT), a nonprofit organization that conducts research to promote the well-being and functioning of people worldwide.
Epstein has been a commentator for National Public Radio's Marketplace, the Voice of America, and Disney Online. His popular writings have appeared in Reader's Digest, The Washington Post, The Sunday Times (London), Good Housekeeping, The New York Times, Parenting, and other magazines and newspapers. Epstein is a public figure in the world of psychology.{{Cite web|date=4 September 2015|title=PoliticKING with Larry King: Dr. Robert Epstein on Whether Google Can Rig the Presidential Election|url=http://www.ora.tv/politicking/2015/9/4/dr-robert-epstein-joins-larry-king-on-politicking-0_1ob8qlms800h|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Ora TV|archive-date=January 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118063702/http://www.ora.tv/politicking/2015/9/4/dr-robert-epstein-joins-larry-king-on-politicking-0_1ob8qlms800h|url-status=dead}}{{Cite book|last=Ramaswamy|first=Vivek|title=Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam|publisher=Center Street|year=2021|isbn=978-1546059820|pages=150}}{{Cite news|last=Resnick|first=Elliot|date=4 April 2018|title='Adolescence Is An Invention Of The West': An Interview With Noted Psychologist Dr. Robert Epstein|work=Jewish Press|url=https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/interviews-and-profiles/adolescence-is-an-invention-of-the-west-an-interview-with-noted-psychologist-dr-robert-epstein/2018/04/04/|access-date=13 January 2022}}{{Cite web|title=Introduction: Is Your Brain a Computer?|url=https://criticalthinkeracademy.com/courses/104524/lectures/1525924|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Critical Thinker Academy}} He has published more than 350 articles and 15 books. His online competency tests are taken by more than a million people a year.
Early life
Epstein was born on June 19, 1953, in Hartford, Connecticut, into a Jewish family. He went to Conard High School in West Hartford where he was first introduced to computer programming and hacking through the school's IBM 1620, one of the first computers owned by a US High School.{{cite web|title=Episode 89: Robert E pstein reflects on his career and the threat big tech poses to privacy and democracy|url=https://www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode-89/|website=STEM-Talk|publisher=Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition}}
Epstein went to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he majored in Psychology and also took classes in dance. After receiving his B.A., Epstein moved to Israel to pursue his 'calling' to become a rabbi, where he worked on a kibbutz and studied at a yeshiva. After six months, he decided to instead turn his attention back to psychology, after becoming enamored with the works of B. F. Skinner.{{cite journal |last1=Epstein |first1=Robert |title=Giving Psychology Away |journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science |date=2006 |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=389–400 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00023.x |pmid=26151802 |s2cid=43182301 |url=https://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/Epstein-Giving_Psychology_Away-PPS-12-06.pdf |access-date=12 January 2022}}
Graduate work
File:B.F. Skinner and Robert Epstein.jpg and Epstein photographed in the Harvard Pigeon Laboratory in the 1980s]]
In 1976, Epstein enrolled in the Master's program of Community and Clinical Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. There he studied the experimental analysis of behavior under Professor A. Charles Catania. While at graduate school, Epstein personally reached out to the then-retired B.F. Skinner, and convinced him to begin pigeon research again at the Psychology Department at Harvard University. Epstein and Skinner began collaborating on several new research projects,{{Cite web|title=Drs. Robert Epstein & BF Skinner with Pigeons-Part 1| website=YouTube | date=September 28, 2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKSvu3mj-14|language=en|access-date=2022-01-14}} and in the summer of 1977 Epstein was invited to become a full-time graduate student at Harvard. In 1981, he earned a PhD in Experimental Psychology from Harvard without having to write a dissertation, owing to the number of publications he had.{{cite journal |last1=Epstein |first1=Robert |title=Giving Psychology Away |journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science |date=2006 |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=389–400 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00023.x |pmid=26151802 |s2cid=43182301 |url=https://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/Epstein-Giving_Psychology_Away-PPS-12-06.pdf |access-date=12 January 2022}}
Career
After receiving his PhD, Epstein founded the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in 1981. For nine years, he served as the center's executive director while conducting research and teaching at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Northeastern University, Simmons College (Massachusetts), the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Boston University.{{cite book|last1=Psikologi|first1=Tim Redaksi|title=Kisi-Kisi Lulus CPNS 2013: Soal dan pembahasan lengkap|date=June 12, 2013|publisher=GUEPEDIA|isbn=9786029688115|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g7c-DAAAQBAJ&dq=Kisi-Kisi+Lulus+CPNS+2013:+Soal+dan+pembahasan+lengkap&pg=PA83|page=23|access-date=}}{{cite web |title=Epstein, Robert |url=https://behavioranalysishistory.pbworks.com/w/page/35362906/Epstein%2C%20Robert |website=History of Behavior Analysis |publisher=PBWorks |access-date=12 January 2022}}
After leaving the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in 1990, he began to write for national magazines, such as Reader's Digest{{cite news |last1=Epstein |first1=Robert |title=Change your bad habits to good |url=https://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/EPSTEIN_1998-Change_Your_Bad_Habits_To_Good-Readers_Digest-October_1998-Treatment_Today_version.pdf |access-date=12 January 2022 |publisher=Reader's Digest |date=October 1998}} and Psychology Today,{{Cite web|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=1 November 2000|title=Ha, Ha|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200011/ha-ha|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Psychology Today}} and he also began to talk about psychological research in segments of Voice of America{{cite web |title=Robert Epstein |url=https://thebillwaltonshow.com/guests/robert-epstein/#about_guest |website=The Bill Walton Show |access-date=12 January 2022}} and National Public Radio.{{Cite web|last=Downing|first=Suzanne|date=24 November 2018|title=Try the 'The Creepy Line' experiment yourself|url=https://mustreadalaska.com/try-the-creepy-line-experiment-yourself/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Must Read Alaska}} From 1998 to 2001 he hosted the national radio show Psychology Today Live.{{cite journal |last1=Epstein |first1=Robert |title=Giving Psychology Away |journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science |date=2006 |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=389–400 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00023.x |pmid=26151802 |s2cid=43182301 |url=https://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/Epstein-Giving_Psychology_Away-PPS-12-06.pdf |access-date=12 January 2022}}
During this time, he also held visiting posts at Keio University, Tokyo,{{Cite web|title=Teen 2.0 {{!}} Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescent|url=https://teen20.com/|access-date=12 January 2022|website=Teen 2.0 {{!}} Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescent}} and the HAL College of Technology and Design, at their Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo campuses in Japan.{{cite web |last1=Hargadon |first1=Steve |title=Dr. Robert Epstein on Teen 2.0, Live Tonight |url=http://blog.infinitethinking.org/2010/04/dr-robert-epstein-on-teen-20-live.html |website=Infinite Thinking Machine Blog |access-date=12 January 2022}} For six years, he was also a researcher and Associate Investigator at the Center for Behavioral Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University.{{cite journal |last1=Epstein |first1=Robert |title=Skinner as Self-Manager |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |date=Fall 1997 |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=545–568 |doi=10.1901/jaba.1997.30-545 |pmc=1284070 |url=http://people.whitman.edu/~herbrawt/classes/390/Epstein.pdf |access-date=12 January 2022}}
Epstein also served as Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department of Psychology at National University (California).{{cite web |title=Working Mother |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mf1wNS2CKXUC&dq=robert+epstein+chair+of+psychology+national+university&pg=PA60 |website=Google Books |date = September 1993|publisher=Working Mother Media |access-date=12 January 2022}} From 1990 to 1995, he directed the Loebner Prize Competition in Artificial Intelligence, an annual contest in which human intelligence is pitted against machine intelligence.{{cite web |last1=Christian |first1=Brian |title=Man or Computer? Can You Tell the Difference? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/man-or-computer-can-you-tell-the-difference-132577533/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian |access-date=12 January 2022}}
In 1999, he became the editor-in-chief of Psychology Today magazine, a position he held until 2003. He then hosted the Sirius XM radio show Psyched!{{cite web |title=33rd Annual Convention; San Diego, CA; 2007 |url=https://www.abainternational.org/events/program-details/event-detail.aspx?&sid=23468&by=Invited |website=Association for Behavior Analysis International |access-date=12 January 2022}} and contributed to media outlets such as Scientific American{{cite web |last1=Epstein |first1=Robert |title=Stories by Robert Epstein |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/robert-epstein/ |website=Scientific American |access-date=12 January 2022}} and Huffington Post.{{cite web |last1=Epstein |first1=Robert |title=Robert Epstein, Ph.D. |url=https://www.huffpost.com/author/re-974 |website=Huffington Post |access-date=12 January 2022}} During this time, he was also a Research Professor at Alliant International University{{cite web |title=Robert Epstein |url=https://neurotree.org/neurotree/peopleinfo.php?pid=582743 |website=Neurotree |access-date=12 January 2022}} and was a visiting scholar at the University of California San Diego.{{cite web |last1=Novotney |first1=Amy |title=The science of creativity |url=https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2009/01/creativity |website=American Psychological Association |access-date=12 January 2022}} In 2013, he moved to the Fiji Islands to serve as the first full Professor of Psychology at the University of the South Pacific, a position he held until 2015.{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=Robert|last2=Robertson|first2=Ronald E.|date=2014-07-03|title=How to Measure Sexual Orientation Range and Why It's Worth Measuring|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15299716.2014.933378|journal=Journal of Bisexuality|language=en|volume=14|issue=3–4|pages=391–403|doi=10.1080/15299716.2014.933378|s2cid=52060932|issn=1529-9716}}{{cite web |last1=Rubio |first1=David |title=The Digital Side-Hug: Dr. Robert Epstein |url=https://ottercreek.org/sermon/the-digital-side-hug-buster-clemens/ |website=Otter Creek Church |access-date=12 January 2022}}
An autobiographical essay documenting his long involvement with the media was published in 2006 in the academic journal Perspectives on Psychological Science."Giving psychology away: A personal journey". Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2006, 1(4), 389-400
In 2012, he co-founded the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology (AIBRT) in Vista, California, where he is currently Senior Research Psychologist.{{cite web|title=People|url=https://aibrt.org/index.php/people|access-date=12 January 2022|website=AIBRT}}
Contributions to behavioral science
= Generativity Theory =
While at Harvard in the 1980s, Epstein introduced the idea of "Generativity Theory", a quantitative, predictive theory of creativity in both animals and people, derived from research he had conducted with pigeons, children, and adults.{{Cite journal|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=2014-10-01|title=On the orderliness of behavioral variability: Insights from generativity theory|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144714000702|journal=Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science|language=en|volume=3|issue=4|pages=279–290|doi=10.1016/j.jcbs.2014.08.004|bibcode=2014JCBS....3..279E |issn=2212-1447}}{{Cite journal|last=Epstein|first=Robert|title=Chapter 13 - Of Course Animals Are Creative: Insights from Generativity Theory|date=2015-01-01|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128006481000139|journal=Animal Creativity and Innovation|pages=375–393|editor-last=Kaufman|editor-first=Allison B.|series=Explorations in Creativity Research|place=San Diego|publisher=Academic Press|language=en|doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-800648-1.00013-9|isbn=978-0-12-800648-1|access-date=2022-01-12|editor2-last=Kaufman|editor2-first=James C.}}{{Cite book|last=Pritzker|first=Steven|title=Encyclopedia of Creativity|publisher=Academic Press|year=1999|isbn=9780122270765}} His 2000 book, The Big Book of Creativity Games, includes exercises for increasing creativity.{{Cite book|last=Epstein|first=Robert|title=The Big Book Of Creativity Games|publisher=McGraw Hill|year=2004|isbn=0070597030}}
= Vulnerability Theory of Emotional Bonding (VTEB) =
In various writings, Epstein has been a strong advocate of the view that people can deliberately learn to love each other, and he has proposed a formal, predictive theory of how love grows in couples.{{Cite web|date=1 January 2003|title=The Love Project|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200301/the-love-project|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Psychology Today}} His theory is based in part on research he has conducted on how love arises in arranged marriages in multiple cultures worldwide. In 2013, he published a study summarizing this research.{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=Robert|last2=Pandit|first2=Mayuri|last3=Thakar|first3=Mansi|date=2013-05-01|title=How Love Emerges in Arranged Marriages: Two Cross-cultural Studies|url=https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/jcfs.44.3.341|journal=Journal of Comparative Family Studies|volume=44|issue=3|pages=341–360|doi=10.3138/jcfs.44.3.341|issn=0047-2328}} At a class on intimate relationships he taught at University of California, San Diego, he gave extra credit to students for taking part in affection building exercises, and that class attracted national news coverage.{{Cite web|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=2010|title=How Science Can Help You Fall in Love|url=https://www.academia.edu/12089851|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Academia}}{{Cite web|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=January 2010|title=Fall in Love and Stay That Way|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-science-can-help-love/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Psychology Today}}{{Cite web|title=How To Fall In Love 101| website=YouTube | date=April 21, 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CnrRVqjyBY|language=en|access-date=2022-01-14}}{{Cite web|title=Finding Romance With Matchmakers| website=YouTube | date=February 12, 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4rTP3RLQ4E|language=en|access-date=2022-01-14}} At one time, he used himself as an experimental subject to investigate this proposition, and he proposed that couples take control over their love lives by signing a Love Contract.{{Cite news|last=Hill|first=Amelia|date=16 February 2003|title=Love is... a scientific experiment|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/feb/16/ameliahill.theobserver|access-date=13 January 2022}}{{Cite web|date=3 March 2010|title=Can you learn to love anyone?|url=https://www.psychologies.co.uk/love/can-you-learn-to-love-anyone.html|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Psychologies}}{{Cite news|last=Leung|first=Rebecca|date=10 October 2003|title=What's Love Got To Do With It?|work=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it-10-10-2003/|access-date=13 January 2022}}{{Cite news|last=McCarthy|first=Ellen|date=29 December 2009|title=Psychologist: Falling in love leads to failing at it|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20091229_Psychologist__Falling_in_love_leads_to_failing_at_it.html|access-date=13 January 2022}}
= Sexual continuum =
Epstein has conducted large-scale studies on sexual orientation that confirm assertions made by Sigmund Freud, Alfred Kinsey, and others that (a) sexual orientation lies on a continuum, (b) bisexuality is the natural norm for human beings, and (c) most people claim to be straight because of social pressure.{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=Robert|last2=McKinney|first2=Paul|last3=Fox|first3=Shannon|last4=Garcia|first4=Carlos|date=2012-11-01|title=Support for a Fluid-Continuum Model of Sexual Orientation: A Large-Scale Internet Study|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2012.724634|journal=Journal of Homosexuality|volume=59|issue=10|pages=1356–1381|doi=10.1080/00918369.2012.724634|issn=0091-8369|pmid=23153024|s2cid=37966088}}{{Cite journal|last1=Robertson|first1=Ronald E.|last2=Tran|first2=Felix W.|last3=Lewark|first3=Lauren N.|last4=Epstein|first4=Robert|date=2018-05-01|title=Estimates of Non-Heterosexual Prevalence: The Roles of Anonymity and Privacy in Survey Methodology|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-1044-z|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|language=en|volume=47|issue=4|pages=1069–1084|doi=10.1007/s10508-017-1044-z|pmid=28785920|s2cid=4027290|issn=1573-2800}}{{Cite news|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=1 October 2007|title=Smooth Thinking about Sexuality|work=Scientific American Mind|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smooth-thinking-about-sex/|access-date=13 January 2022}}{{Cite news|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=11 September 2019|title=Sexual orientation is somewhere on a continuum|work=NewScientist|url=https://www.newscientist.com/letter/mg24332470-100-sexual-orientation-is-somewhere-on-a-continuum/|access-date=14 January 2022}} His psychometric test on sexual orientation is available in multiple languages online.{{Cite web|title=Straight, Gay, or in Between?|url=https://mysexualorientation.com/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Straight, Gay, or in Between?}}
= Adolescence =
Epstein is also a scholar in the field of psychological maturity, and has published an online maturity test.{{Cite journal|last1=Castro-Cedeno|first1=Mario|last2=Mazumder|first2=Quamrul|date=June 2010|title=Motivation And Maturity Level Of Engineering And Engineering Technology Students With And Without Coop Experience|url=http://peer.asee.org/15687|journal=2010 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings|location=Louisville, Kentucky|publisher=ASEE Conferences|pages=15.889.1–15.889.25|doi=10.18260/1-2--15687|doi-access=free}}{{Cite web|title=How Adult Are You|url=https://howadultareyou.com/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=How Adult Are You}} He is critical of what he sees as the "artificial extension of childhood" over the past century, arguing that what society views as the "teen brain" is often the result of Western cultural factors and infantilization, rather than a set of brain characteristics that are inherent in all humans throughout their teen years.[http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/Colour_Me_Adult-134477563.html Colour Me Adult], Trinidad Express, November 25, 2011.{{Cite web|title=Dr. Robert Epstein: Teen 2.0, Live Tonight| website=YouTube | date=May 16, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZFxMymLIpo|language=en|access-date=2022-01-14}} In certain essays, he has cited studies which found that some teenagers are in some ways more developmentally mature than most adults, and advocates giving young people more adult responsibility, as well as placing them in environments in which they will not be prone to socializing simply with other teenagers.{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishchronicle.org/2008/07/21/psychologist-says-teens-wont-grow-up-unless-treated-as-adults/ |title=Psychologist says teens won't grow up unless treated as adults|website=The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle|first=Andrew|last= Silow-Carroll |date= July 21, 2008}} He is the co-founder of National Youth Rights Day{{Cite web|title=National Youth Rights Day|url=https://drrobertepstein.com/NationalYouthRightsDay/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=National Youth Rights Day}} and is the author of The Case Against Adolescence, which was cited by the US Supreme Court in the 2010 case Graham v. Florida.{{Cite web|title=Graham Opinion, Thomas, J., dissenting, p. 23|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/pdf/08-7412P.ZD|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Cornell Law}}
= Carrier Separation Plan =
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Epstein developed a plan for quickly stopping the transmission of the virus, eradicating it from the population, and reopening the economy without the need for social distancing or a vaccine, named the Carrier Separation Plan (CSP). It was based on a mathematical model he developed, and was accepted for publication by Frontiers in Public Health. The model called for a three-stage approach, "(a) nearly simultaneous self-testing for the pathogen by an entire population, followed rapidly by (b) nearly simultaneous self-isolation of carriers, and (c) secondary screening at entrances to facilities where people congregate". Evidence collated in the paper suggested that the implementation of CSP would dramatically slow the spread of the virus even if compliance with the plan was only moderate.{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=Robert|last2=Houser|first2=Connan|last3=Wang|first3=Ruixiao|date=2021-03-05|title=How SARS-CoV-2 and Comparable Pathogens Can Be Defeated in a Single Day: Description and Mathematical Model of the Carrier Separation Plan (CSP)|journal=Frontiers in Public Health|volume=9|pages=640009|doi=10.3389/fpubh.2021.640009|issn=2296-2565|pmc=7986559|pmid=33768086|doi-access=free}} Epstein called on both the Trump and Biden Administrations to implement the plan in the face of emerging variants.{{Cite web|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=8 June 2020|title=How You Can Unite the Country, Kill the Virus, and Safely Reopen the Entire Economy in a Single Day: An Open Letter to President Trump|url=https://medium.com/@re_53711/how-we-can-safely-reopen-the-entire-economy-in-a-single-day-an-open-letter-to-president-trump-c613c0ddcd4a|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Medium}}{{Cite news|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=14 April 2020|title=Critiques of Joe Biden's Coronavirus Plan|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/opinion/letters/coronavirus-joe-biden-plan.html|access-date=13 January 2022}}{{Cite web|date=30 April 2020|title=Ep. 310 - Guest: Dr. Robert Epstein {{!}} The Michael Medved Show|url=https://soundcloud.com/michaelmedved/ep-310-guest-dr-robert-epstein|access-date=14 January 2022|website=SoundCloud}}{{Cite news|date=14 April 2020|title=Dr. Robert Epstein says coronavirus can be stopped by mass testing and self-isolating carriers|work=Fox News|url=https://video.foxnews.com/v/6149175272001?playlist_id=5198073478001#sp=show-clips|access-date=14 January 2022}}
= Psychometric tests =
Since the 1990s, Epstein has developed a number of psychological tests that people can take online without charge.{{Cite web|title=COMPETENCY INVENTORIES|url=https://drrobertepstein.com/index.php/tests|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Dr Epstein.com}} Some measure competencies in areas such as creativity,{{Cite journal|last1=Houtz|first1=John C.|last2=Krug|first2=Damon|date=1995|title=Assessment of Creativity: Resolving a Mid-Life Crisis|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23359351|journal=Educational Psychology Review|volume=7|issue=3|pages=269–300|doi=10.1007/BF02213374|jstor=23359351|s2cid=143657377|issn=1040-726X}}{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=R.|last2=Schmidt|first2=S.|last3=Warfel|first3=Regina M.|date=2008|title=Measuring and Training Creativity Competencies: Validation of a New Test|journal=Creativity Research Journal|volume=20|pages=7–12|doi=10.1080/10400410701839876|s2cid=56165561}}{{Cite web|title=Do You Have the Skills You Need to Express Your Creativity?|url=http://mycreativityskills.com/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Do You Have the Skills You Need to Express Your Creativity?}} love,{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=Robert|last2=Robertson|first2=Ronald E.|last3=Smith|first3=Rachel|last4=Vasconcellos|first4=Tyler|last5=Lao|first5=Megan|date=2016-10-01|title=Which Relationship Skills Count Most? A Large-Scale Replication|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2016.1141136|journal=Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy|volume=15|issue=4|pages=341–356|doi=10.1080/15332691.2016.1141136|s2cid=151796738|issn=1533-2691}}{{Cite web|title=The two essential keys to a successful long-term relationship, according to a Harvard psychologist|url=https://nomads.com/the-two-essential-keys-to-a-successful-long-term-relationship-according-to-a-harvard-psychologist/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Nomadrs|date=6 December 2019}}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Cite web|title=Are You Ready for Love?|url=http://myloveskills.com/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Are You Ready for Love?}} stress management,{{Cite web|title=How to fight a frazzled mind|url=https://www.asiaresearchnews.com/html/article.php/aid/6444/cid/2/research/medicine/nature_publishing_group/how_to_fight_a_frazzled_mind.html|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Asia Research News|date=25 August 2011}}{{Cite web|title=Know How to Manage Stress?|url=https://mystressmanagementskills.com/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Know How to Manage Stress?}} and parenting.{{Cite journal|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=2010|title=What Makes a Good Parent?|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24943178|journal=Scientific American Mind|volume=21|issue=5|pages=46–51|doi=10.1038/scientificamericanmind1110-46|jstor=24943178|issn=1555-2284}}{{Cite web|date=23 June 2021|title=Be the Best Parent You Can Be: Building Your Parenting Skills|url=https://prowellness.childrens.pennstatehealth.org/be-the-best-parent-you-can-be-building-your-parenting-skills/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Penn State PRO Wellness}}{{Cite web|title=Are You a Good Parent?|url=https://myparentingskills.com/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Are You a Good Parent?}} He has also developed a mental health screening test that is consistent with the DSM-5.{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=Robert|last2=Muzzatti|first2=Laura|date=October 2011|title=Preliminary Validation of an Online DSM-Based Mental Health Referral Inventory|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15228835.2011.638421|journal=Journal of Technology in Human Services|language=en|volume=29|issue=4|pages=284–295|doi=10.1080/15228835.2011.638421|s2cid=72644321|issn=1522-8835}}{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=Robert|last2=Ho|first2=Megan|last3=Hyun|first3=Seojin|last4=Le|first4=Christopher|last5=Robertson|first5=Ronald E.|last6=Stout|first6=Dayna|date=2017-07-03|title=A DSM-5-Based Online Mental Health Referral Inventory: A Large-Scale Validation Study|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2017.1356800|journal=Journal of Technology in Human Services|volume=35|issue=3|pages=231–246|doi=10.1080/15228835.2017.1356800|s2cid=149179442|issn=1522-8835}}{{Cite web|title=Do You Need Therapy?|url=https://doyouneedtherapy.com/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Do You Need Therapy?}} Many of the tests are available in foreign translations.
Contributions to internet studies
= Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME) =
In 2013, Epstein discovered a phenomenon he termed the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME), an internet-influence effect that could give a dominant search engine company the power to determine the outcome of close elections.{{Cite news|last=Timberg|first=Craig|date=29 March 2013|title=Could Google tilt a close election?|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/could-google-tilt-a-close-election/2013/03/29/c8d7f4e6-9587-11e2-b6f0-a5150a247b6a_story.html|access-date=14 January 2022}}{{Cite news|last=Timberg|first=Craig|date=14 March 2017|title=Group targets bias in search engines|work=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/blue-sky/ct-bias-in-search-engines-20170314-story.html|access-date=14 January 2022}}{{Cite web|title=Could Search Engines Determine Elections?| website=YouTube | date=April 2, 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8byMg4C25c|language=en|access-date=2022-01-14}} He presented his theory in seminars at Stanford University,{{Cite web|title=Stanford Seminar - The Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME) and Its Unparalleled Power| website=YouTube | date=October 29, 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSN6LE06J54|language=en|access-date=2022-01-14}} the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the International Convention of Psychological Science in Vienna, Austria.{{Cite web|title=Friday 24 March Daily Highlights|url=https://www.psychologicalscience.org/convention/pdf/3_ICPS_Friday-2017-AAs.pdf|access-date=14 January 2022|website=International Convention of Psychological Science}}https://aibrt.org/downloads/EPSTEIN_2017-The_Search_Suggestion_Effect-SSE-ICPS_Vienna-March_2017.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}} He published these findings in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=Robert|last2=Robertson|first2=Ronald E.|date=2015-08-18|title=The search engine manipulation effect (SEME) and its possible impact on the outcomes of elections|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=112|issue=33|pages=E4512–E4521|doi=10.1073/pnas.1419828112|issn=0027-8424|pmc=4547273|pmid=26243876|bibcode=2015PNAS..112E4512E|doi-access=free}} and continues to research this phenomenon.{{Cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=Robert|last2=Robertson|first2=Ronald E.|last3=Lazer|first3=David|last4=Wilson|first4=Christo|date=2017-12-06|title=Suppressing the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME)|url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3134677|journal=Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction|language=en|volume=1|issue=CSCW|pages=1–22|doi=10.1145/3134677|s2cid=1681379|issn=2573-0142}}{{Cite web|title=Internet search engines may be influencing elections|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/internet-search-engines-may-be-influencing-elections|access-date=2022-01-15|website=www.science.org|language=en}} His research led to him being invited to testify before the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, hearing on Google and Censorship, in June 2019.{{Cite web|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=16 June 2019|title=Why Google Poses a Serious Threat to Democracy, and How to End That Threat|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Epstein%20Testimony.pdf|access-date=13 January 2022}}{{cite web|title=Senate Judiciary Testimony by Dr. Robert Epstein|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4807816/congressionalhearing-16july2019-testimonybydrrobertepstein|website=C-SPAN}}
= Search Suggestion Effect (SSE) =
In experiments begun in 2016, Epstein determined that search suggestions—and the suppression of negative search suggestions—can also be used to manipulate votes and opinions, a phenomenon he termed the Search Suggestion Effect (SSE).{{Cite web|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=26 April 2018|title=The Search Suggestion Effect (SSE): How Search Suggestions Can Be Used to Shift Opinions and Voting Preferences Dramatically and Without People's Awareness|url=https://aibrt.org/downloads/EPSTEIN_MOHR_%26_MARTINEZ_2018-WPA-The_Search_Suggestion_Effect-SSE-WP-17-03.pdf|access-date=13 January 2022}}{{Cite web|title=99th Annual Convention of the Western Psychological Association|url=https://westernpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WPA-Program-2019-4Web.pdf|access-date=5 March 2024|website=Western Psychological Association}} He has expressed concern that this effect could be used by Big Tech companies to influence peoples' opinions with impunity.{{Cite web|title=Surprising Ways in Which the Internet Can Be Used to Alter People's Beliefs, Opinions and Attitudes – Even Our Votes|url=https://www.asist.org/meetings-events/webinars/surprising-ways-in-which-the-internet-can-be-used-to-alter-peoples-beliefs-opinions-and-attitudes-even-our-votes/|access-date=13 January 2022|website=Association for Information Science and Technology}}{{Cite news|last=Glaser|first=April|date=20 August 2019|title=2.6 Million Reasons to Keep Yelling About "Bias"|work=Slate|url=https://slate.com/technology/2019/08/robert-epstein-google-bias-conservative-bogus-trump.html|access-date=13 January 2022}}{{Cite web|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=18 February 2016|title=The new mind control|url=https://aeon.co/essays/how-the-internet-flips-elections-and-alters-our-thoughts|access-date=13 January 2022|website=AEON}} He described this theory in detail during a 2017 seminar at the Stanford School of Engineering.{{Cite web|title=Stanford Seminar - Unethical Algorithms of Massive Scale| website=YouTube | date=June 8, 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7qT_38iRSc|language=en|access-date=2022-01-14}}
= Criticism of Google =
{{See also|Criticism of Google|Web search engine#Search engine bias}}
Epstein has been an outspoken critic of Google and has proposed methods for reducing the threat that Big Tech poses to free-and-fair elections.{{Cite news|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=15 July 2019|title=To Break Google's Monopoly on Search, Make Its Index Public|work=Bloomberg News|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-15/to-break-google-s-monopoly-on-search-make-its-index-public|access-date=13 January 2022}}{{Cite web|title=Big Tech and Political Manipulation {{!}} Robert Epstein| website=YouTube | date=November 17, 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqtKQgTps_g|language=en|access-date=2022-01-14}} In 2012, he said that Google could rig the 2016 United States presidential election and that search engine manipulation was "a serious threat to the democratic system of government".Epstein, Robert. [http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/how-google-could-rig-the-2016-election-121548 How Google Could Rig the 2016 Election] In 2016, he wrote in Huffington Post magazine that Google had "a fundamentally deceptive business model".{{Cite news|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=6 October 2016|title=Google's Hypocrisy|work=Huffington Post|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/googles-hypocrisy_b_8253332|access-date=13 January 2022}} In a 2017 article, Epstein criticized efforts by companies such as Google and Facebook to suppress fake news through algorithms, noting "the dangers in allowing big technology companies to decide which news stories are legitimate".{{cite web|last=Epstein|first=Robert|date=April 10, 2017|title=Fake News Is a Fake Problem|url=https://medium.com/@re_53711/fake-news-is-a-fake-problem-914d7ffc7a91|website=Medium.com|accessdate=April 19, 2017}} In 2019, Epstein compiled data that showed Google suggesting more positive terms when users searched for Hillary Clinton compared to when searching for Donald Trump.{{cite news |date=2019-06-08 |access-date=2022-06-26 |title=Google rewards reputable reporting, not left-wing politics |url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/06/08/google-rewards-reputable-reporting-not-left-wing-politics |newspaper=The Economist |quote=Robert Epstein, an academic, has compiled data that show Google suggesting more positive terms when users type "Hillary Clinton" than when they look up Mr Trump.}}
Other journalists and researchers have expressed concerns similar to Epstein's. Safiya Noble cited Epstein's research about search engine bias in her 2018 book Algorithms of Oppression,{{cite book|last=Noble|first=Safiya Umoja|url=https://nyupress.org/books/9781479837243/|title=Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism|date=2018|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=9781479849949|location=New York|pages=52–53|oclc=987591529|authorlink=Safiya Noble}} although she has expressed doubt that search engines ought to counter-balance the content of large, well-resourced and highly trained newsrooms with what she called "disinformation sites" and "propaganda outlets".{{cite news|last1=Halper|first1=Evan|date=24 March 2019|title=This psychologist claims Google search results unfairly steer voters to the left. Conservatives love him|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-google-search-bias-elections-20190322-story.html|accessdate=25 March 2019}} Ramesh Srinivasan, a professor of information studies at UCLA focusing on "the relationships between technology and politics", agreed with Epstein that "the larger issue" of how search engines can shape users' views is "extremely important", but questioned how many undecided voters are using Google to help them decide whom to vote for.
Some of his ideas have been criticized. Google dismissed Epstein's research as "nothing more than a poorly constructed conspiracy theory".{{cite news|title=Could Google rankings skew an election? New group aims to find out.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/03/14/could-google-rankings-skew-an-election-new-group-aims-to-find-out/|newspaper=Washington Post}} Panagiotis Metaxas, a Wellesley College computer science professor, said Epstein's paper on the search engine manipulation effect demonstrated a possibility of "what such an influence could have been if Google was manipulating its electoral search results", adding "I and other researchers who have been auditing search results for years know that this did not happen."{{cite news|author=Linda Qiu|date=August 19, 2019|title=Fact check: Trump falsely claims Google 'manipulated' millions of 2016 votes|website=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/us/politics/google-votes-election-trump.html|access-date=August 19, 2019}} The Los Angeles Times reported in March 2019 that Epstein's criticism of Google had been "warmly embraced" by some conservatives, a phenomenon that Epstein said "is driving me crazy".
Personal life
Epstein has five children and lives in Vista, California.{{Cite news|last=Adan|first=Melissa|date=30 December 2019|title=Wife of Google Whistleblower Killed In I-15 Crash|work=NBC San Diego|url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/wife-of-google-whistleblower-killed-in-i-15-crash/2236690/|access-date=13 January 2022}} His wife Misti was killed in a car accident in 2019, shortly after Epstein testified before Congress regarding Google Search, ending a marriage that began in 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/wife-of-google-whistleblower-killed-in-i-15-crash/2236690/|title = Wife of Google Whistleblower Killed in I-15 Crash| date=December 31, 2019 }}
Books
- Notebooks: B. F. Skinner (editor) (1980), {{ISBN|0-13-624106-9}}
- Skinner for the Classroom: Selected Papers (editor) (1982), {{ISBN|0-87822-261-8}}
- Cognition, Creativity, and Behavior: Selected Essays (1996), {{ISBN|0-275-94452-2}}
- Creativity Games for Trainers (1996), {{ISBN|0-07-021363-1}}
- Pure Fitness: Body Meets Mind (with Lori Fetrick) (1996), {{ISBN|1-57028-087-8}}
- Self-Help Without the Hype (1996), {{ISBN|0-937100-00-5}}
- Irrelativity (1997), {{ISBN|1-884470-13-0}}
- The New Psychology Today Reader (1999), {{ISBN|0-7872-5617-X}}
- Stress-Management and Relaxation Activities for Trainers (1999), {{ISBN|0-07-021762-9}}
- The Big Book of Creativity Games (2000), {{ISBN|0-07-136176-6}}
- The Big Book of Stress-Relief Games (2000), {{ISBN|0-07-021866-8}}
- The Big Book of Motivation Games (with Jessica Rogers) (2001), {{ISBN|0-07-137234-2}}
- The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen (2007), {{ISBN|0-7879-8737-9}}
- Parsing the Turing Test: Philosophical and Methodological Issues in the Quest for the Thinking Computer (co-editor) (2008), {{ISBN|978-1-4020-6708-2}}
- Teen 2.0: Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescence (2010), {{ISBN|1-884995-59-4}}
=Films=
Notes
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Scholia|author}}
- {{Official website}}
- [http://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/Epstein-ONE_DAY_OF_PEACE-Washington_Post-12-30-1990.pdf "How About One Day of Peace?"]
- [https://drrobertepstein.com/pdf/Epstein-THE_MYTH_OF_THE_TEEN_BRAIN-Scientific_American_Mind-4-07.pdf "The Myth of the Teen Brain"]
- [https://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/Epstein-Giving_Psychology_Away-PPS-12-06.pdf "Giving Psychology Away"]
- [http://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/Epstein-Editor_As_Guinea-Pig-PSYCHOLOGY_TODAY-6-02.pdf "Editor as Guinea Pig"]
- [https://aibrt.org/downloads/Epstein_2014-On_the_Orderliness_of_Behavioral_Variability-JCBS.pdf "Generativity Theory"]
- [http://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/Epstein-Insight_in_the_Pigeon-Nature-1984.pdf "Insight" in the Pigeon, Nature 1984]
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Robert}}
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