What This Blog is About

This blog is a space where I share thoughts on a variety of topics. I have several research interests and often find it difficult to focus on just one. While this can sometimes feel like a disadvantage, it also allows me to explore diverse fields and ideas.

History of Science Through Personal Stories

One of my main interests is the history of science, particularly through the personal stories of scientists. As a social scientist, I’m curious about how people become scientists and what helps them succeed. Although I wouldn’t call myself a historian of science, this is a topic I’ve explored as a “side interest.”

For some time, I’ve been running a Telegram channel titled "Myths About Science and Scientists," where I share some interesting facts and stories about scientists’ lives (past and present), based on autobiographies, books, and research articles. I also post reviews of papers on scientific traditions and culture. Since the channel is in Russian, I plan to translate some of that content here, alongside new material.

 Two research traditions in psychology

The second topic, which is partly related to the first, concerns the relationship between two research traditions in psychology: experimental and correlational. The latter is often referred to as psychometrics or the study of individual differences.

In 1957, the renowned psychologist and statistician Lee Cronbach published a seminal paper titled “The Two Disciplines of Scientific Psychology.” In this paper, he highlighted a divide between these two approaches, noting their lack of interaction: “The personality, social, and child psychologists went one way; the perception and learning psychologists went the other; and the country between them turned into desert.” Cronbach was not the first to observe this division. For example, Dalbir Bindra remarked earlier: “If the psychometric researcher and the experimentalist agree on anything, and there is some doubt about this, it is that the other kind of psychologist plays in the other league (class B)” (Bindra & Scheier, 1954).

For reasons I can’t entirely explain, this division in psychology (it remains relevant today) has intrigued me. For two years, I led a small research group called "Cognitive Psychometrics," and we discuss this topic and organized own Telegram channel. We posted extensively about the relationship between cognitive research (an experimental discipline) and psychometrics (a correlational discipline). I plan to repost some of those earlier entries here and create new content on the subject.

This topic is also tied to ongoing discussions about the statistical and replication crises in psychology. Accordingly, some of my posts will focus on these issues as well.

Immigrant adaptation and education

The third topic is about immigrant adaptation and education. In 2024, I was awarded a small research grant by Scholars Without Borders for a project titled "Educational Achievement and Academic Motivation of Immigrants in Balkan and Eastern European Countries: Analysis of PISA Data." This project examines factors influencing the educational achievement, motivation, and well-being of immigrant students by analyzing PISA 2018 and 2022 data.

As an immigrant myself, raising three children in Serbian schools, this topic is deeply personal. As my former supervisor said: "If you find yourself at a dead end, try to investigate it!" So, I’m doing just that—investigating immigration through the lens of education. Immigration poses unique challenges for parents and children, teachers and educational sysyem, and I hope my research will provide useful perspectives for those involved in immigration and education.

 This blog is not limited to the topics listed above and may expand to include other areas of interest.

I hope the content will be informative and useful.