Education
- PhD (2020) Florida State University (Philosophy)
- Other (2019) Florida State University (Preparing Future Faculty – Graduate Certificate)
- MA (2014) University of Colorado, Boulder (Philosophy)
- Other (2013) University of Colorado at Boulder (Cognitive Science – Graduate Certificate)
- BA (2009) Palm Beach Atlantic University (Philosophy)
- Other (2009) Palm Beach Atlantic University (Biblical Studies – Minor)
Research
intuition, reflection, critical thinking, (de)polarization, belief systems, bias, ethics, religion, politics, decision science, judgment and decision-making, experimental philosophy, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, well-being, digital technology
General Information
Byrd’s research examines the mechanisms and measurement of reflective reasoning, the strategies and technology that may help people reason more reflectively, and the impacts that reflective reasoning can have on beliefs, judgments, decisions, and well-being over the lifespan.
Institutional Service
- Ad Hoc Research Presentation Group Member
Professional Service
- Ad Hoc Committee On Virtual Meetings Member
- Brains Co-managing Editor
- Archives of Sexual Behavior, Society for Philosophy and Psychology Reviewer
- American Philosophical Quarterly, Cognition, Ergo, Erkenntnis, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, Intelligence and National Security, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Oxford Studies in Experimental Philosophy, Palgrave Macmillan, Philosophy, Review of Philosophy and Psychology, Society for Judgment and Decision-making (student poster competition), Synthese, Theoria, WIRES Cognitive Science Reviewer
- Archives of Sexual Behavior, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Bloomsbury’s Experimental Philosophy of Medicine volume of Advances in Experimental Philosophy series, Educational Research and Reviews, Ergo, Erkenntnis, National Science Foundation, Philosophical Psychology, Philosophies, Review of Philosophy and Psychology, Synthese, WIRES Cognitive Science Reviewer
Consulting Service
2022 – 2024 | Testing the effectiveness of moving the American Philosophical Association's annual conferences online.
2022 | About using Entertainment Education to help children learn about well-being and cognitive science. Renée Crown Wellness Institute at University of Colorado, Boulder. PI: Samuel Hubley.
2021 | About how to encourage and measure reflective reasoning among research participants. John Templeton Funded project “Humble Self-reliance in Reasoning and Belief”. PIs James Beebe, Jonathan Matheson, and Joshua Wilt.
2021 | About testing whether philosophy coursework improves critical thinking abilities. Thomas Metcalf. Spring Hill College Philosophy Department.
2022 | About using Entertainment Education to help children learn about well-being and cognitive science. Renée Crown Wellness Institute at University of Colorado, Boulder. PI: Samuel Hubley.
2021 | About how to encourage and measure reflective reasoning among research participants. John Templeton Funded project “Humble Self-reliance in Reasoning and Belief”. PIs James Beebe, Jonathan Matheson, and Joshua Wilt.
2021 | About testing whether philosophy coursework improves critical thinking abilities. Thomas Metcalf. Spring Hill College Philosophy Department.
Appointments
2021 – Present | Assistant Professor & Intelligence Community Fellow, Stevens Institute of Technology
2020 – 2021 | Fellow, Intelligence Community Research Fellowship Program, Carnegie Mellon University
2020 – 2021 | Fellow, Intelligence Community Research Fellowship Program, Carnegie Mellon University
Honors and Awards
2021 | Summer Seminar in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) & Fellowship ($1000)
2020 | Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) Materials Grant ($250). Florida State University’s Center for Undergraduate Research & Academic Engagement.
2019 | 1st Place in Poster Competition ($150), Conference of Florida Graduate Schools.
2019 | Graduate Student Research and Creativity Award ($1,000), Florida State University
2017 | Dissertation Research Grant ($1000), Florida State University Graduate School
2009 | Outstanding Graduate of Philosophy, Palm Beach Atlantic University
2020 | Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) Materials Grant ($250). Florida State University’s Center for Undergraduate Research & Academic Engagement.
2019 | 1st Place in Poster Competition ($150), Conference of Florida Graduate Schools.
2019 | Graduate Student Research and Creativity Award ($1,000), Florida State University
2017 | Dissertation Research Grant ($1000), Florida State University Graduate School
2009 | Outstanding Graduate of Philosophy, Palm Beach Atlantic University
Professional Societies
- APA – American Philosophical Association Senior member
- APA – American Psychological Association Member
- SPSP – Society for Personality and Social Psychology Member
- SPP – Society for Philosophy and Psychology Member
- NRM – Network for Research on Morality Member
- SSPP – Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology Member
- APA – American Philosophical Association Member
- ASPP – Australasian Society for Philosophy & Psychology Member
Grants, Contracts and Funds
2022 – 2024 “Religiosity & Reflection Across Cultures”. Pre-registered replication and extension of reflection-philosophy correlations. Part of the Experimental Philosophy of Religion project funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Co-PIs: Steve Stich & Justin Sytsma. ($246,403)
2020 – 2023 “Reducing Belief-Driven Thinking”. Part of the Intelligence Community Research Program via US Office of the Director of National Intelligence and US Department of Energy. Advised by Simon Cullen, Ashley Lytle, and Steve Rieber. ($297,000)
2022 – 2023 "Conscious Reflection Under Stress: Mitigating distress’s impact on decisions". Part of the "Fund Consciousness Research!" project funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. Co-PI: Kalina Michalska ($22,287.48)
2021 – 2022 “A Beginner’s Guide to Neural Mechanism”. A free, online, introductory video series for teachers and students of philosophy, neuroscience, and their intersections via the Summer Seminar for Philosophy and Neuroscience funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. Co-PIs: Fabrizio Calzavarini, Zina Ward, Raphael Gerraty, Shadab Tabatabaeian. ($30,000)
2020 – 2023 “Reducing Belief-Driven Thinking”. Part of the Intelligence Community Research Program via US Office of the Director of National Intelligence and US Department of Energy. Advised by Simon Cullen, Ashley Lytle, and Steve Rieber. ($297,000)
2022 – 2023 "Conscious Reflection Under Stress: Mitigating distress’s impact on decisions". Part of the "Fund Consciousness Research!" project funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. Co-PI: Kalina Michalska ($22,287.48)
2021 – 2022 “A Beginner’s Guide to Neural Mechanism”. A free, online, introductory video series for teachers and students of philosophy, neuroscience, and their intersections via the Summer Seminar for Philosophy and Neuroscience funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. Co-PIs: Fabrizio Calzavarini, Zina Ward, Raphael Gerraty, Shadab Tabatabaeian. ($30,000)
Patents and Inventions
Cullen, S., Chapkovski, P., & Byrd, N. Experiments In Reflective Equilibrium Using The Socrates Platform.
Selected Publications
Book Chapter
- Byrd, N. (2021). Online Conferences: Some History, Methods, and Benefits. Right Research: Modelling Sustainable Research Practices in the Anthropocene (pp. 435-462). Open Book Publishers.
https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0213.28. - Byrd, N. (2020). Causal Network Accounts of Ill-Being: Depression & Digital Well-Being. Ethics of Digital Well-Being: A Multidisciplinary Approach (pp. 221-245).
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50585-1_11.
Journal Article
- Byrd, N.; Gongora, G.; Brianna, J.; Sirota, M. (2023). Tell Us What You Really Think: A think aloud protocol analysis of the verbal Cognitive Reflection Test. Journal of Intelligence (4 ed., vol. 11, pp. 1-17).
https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11040076. - Byrd, N.; Thompson, M. K. (2022). Testing for implicit bias: Values, psychometrics, and science communication. WIREs Cognitive Science.
https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1612. - Byrd, N. (2022). Great Minds Do Not Think Alike: Differences In Philosophers’ Views Predicted By Reflection, Education, Personality, And Other Demographic Differences. Review of Philosophy & Psychology.
http://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-022-00628-y. - Byrd, N. (2022). Bounded Reflectivism & Epistemic Identity. Metaphilosophy (1 ed., vol. 53).
https://doi.org/10.1111/meta.12534. - Schwenkler, J.; Byrd, N.; Lambert, E.; Taylor, M. (2021). One – But Not the Same. Philosophical Studies.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-021-01739-5. - Byrd, N. (2021). Reflective Reasoning & Philosophy. Philosophy Compass. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12786. - Byrd, N. (2021). On Second Thought, Libet-style Unreflective Intentions May Be Compatible With Free Will. Logoi (23 ed., vol. 39, pp. 17-28).
https://revistasenlinea.saber.ucab.edu.ve/index.php/logoi/article/view/5025. - Byrd, N.; Białek, M. (2021). Your Health vs. My Liberty: Philosophical beliefs dominated reflection and identifiable victim effects when predicting public health recommendation compliance. Cognition (vol. 212).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104649. - Byrd, N.; Conway, P. (2019). Not all who ponder count costs: Arithmetic reflection predicts utilitarian tendencies, but logical reflection predicts both deontological and utilitarian tendencies. Cognition (vol. 192).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2019.06.007. - Byrd, N. (2019). What we can (and can’t) infer about implicit bias from debiasing experiments. Synthese (2 ed., vol. 198, pp. 1427-1455).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-019-02128-6.
Courses
Philosophy of Mind
Ethical Issues in Science and Technology
Ethics of Business and Technology
Environmental Ethics
Introduction to Cognitive Science
Introduction to Philosophy
Logic
Ethical Issues in Science and Technology
Ethics of Business and Technology
Environmental Ethics
Introduction to Cognitive Science
Introduction to Philosophy
Logic