Jay A Olson
Biographic Data
| ID | 1941954 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jay A Olson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jay A |
| FAMILY NAME | Olson |
| SIGNATURE | OLSON J A |
| AFFILIATIONS | McGill University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1161-5209 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Sas-1
The digital age has brought increasing concern about the negative effects of smartphones, which has led to dozens of measures of problematic smartphone use. Almost all of these measures, however, may be too long for contexts such as large-scale surveys. Here, we introduce a single-item measure that probes agreement with the statement: ‘I am addicted to my smartphone’. Across 10,786 participants aged 5 to 89 from 149 countries, 37% agreed or stron…
Are first responders interested in psychedelics? Assessing previous use, interest, and willingness to participate in psychedelic-assisted therapy
Background and aimsFirst responders such as firefighters and police officers often experience traumatic events as part of their work. As a result, they are more likely to have mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety compared to the general population. Psychedelic-assisted therapy has emerged as a promising avenue to alleviate these issues, but little is currently known about first responders' interest …
Emulating future neurotechnology using magic
Recent developments in neuroscience and artificial intelligence have allowed machines to decode mental processes with growing accuracy. Neuroethicists have speculated that perfecting these technologies may result in reactions ranging from an invasion of privacy to an increase in self-understanding. Yet, evaluating these predictions is difficult given that people are poor at forecasting their reactions. To address this, we developed a paradigm usi…
Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms
Exercise is an evidence-based treatment for depressive symptoms, yet it often requires specialised knowledge, equipment, or professional supervision. Lay people in certain contexts, for example in remote locations or under pandemic restrictions, often lack these resources and thus cannot use exercise to manage their depressive symptoms. We developed a two-week home exercise program that bypasses these barriers and tested it in university students…
Sex, Age, and Smartphone Addiction Across 41 Countries
A Nudge-Based Intervention to Reduce Problematic Smartphone Use
Smartphone addiction is increasing across the world
Super Placebos
Background: Ample evidence demonstrates that placebo effects are modulated by contextual factors. Few interventions, however, attempt to combine a broad range of these factors. Here, we explore the therapeutic power of placebos by leveraging factors including social proof, positive suggestion, and social learning. This study aimed to test the feasibility of an elaborate "super placebo" intervention to reduce symptoms of various disorders in a ped…
Hypnotised by Your Phone? Smartphone Addiction Correlates With Hypnotisability
Hypnosis and heavy smartphone use are both characterised by absorbed states in which one loses track of time and responds automatically to stimuli. In this pre-registered study, we tested whether there was a relationship between smartphone addiction and hypnotisability: one's tendency to follow suggestions under hypnosis. Over 11 public lectures, we hypnotised 641 student-aged participants; after the hypnosis session, participants completed the S…
Applying insights from magic to improve deception in research
Simulated thought insertion
Influencing choice without awareness
Influencing choice without awareness
Simulated thought insertion
Hypnotised by Your Phone? Smartphone Addiction Correlates With Hypnotisability
Hypnosis and heavy smartphone use are both characterised by absorbed states in which one loses track of time and responds automatically to stimuli. In this pre-registered study, we tested whether there was a relationship between smartphone addiction and hypnotisability: one's tendency to follow suggestions under hypnosis. Over 11 public lectures, we hypnotised 641 student-aged participants; after the hypnosis session, participants completed the S…
Applying insights from magic to improve deception in research
Smartphone addiction is increasing across the world
Super Placebos
Background: Ample evidence demonstrates that placebo effects are modulated by contextual factors. Few interventions, however, attempt to combine a broad range of these factors. Here, we explore the therapeutic power of placebos by leveraging factors including social proof, positive suggestion, and social learning. This study aimed to test the feasibility of an elaborate "super placebo" intervention to reduce symptoms of various disorders in a ped…
A Nudge-Based Intervention to Reduce Problematic Smartphone Use
Emulating future neurotechnology using magic
Recent developments in neuroscience and artificial intelligence have allowed machines to decode mental processes with growing accuracy. Neuroethicists have speculated that perfecting these technologies may result in reactions ranging from an invasion of privacy to an increase in self-understanding. Yet, evaluating these predictions is difficult given that people are poor at forecasting their reactions. To address this, we developed a paradigm usi…
Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms
Exercise is an evidence-based treatment for depressive symptoms, yet it often requires specialised knowledge, equipment, or professional supervision. Lay people in certain contexts, for example in remote locations or under pandemic restrictions, often lack these resources and thus cannot use exercise to manage their depressive symptoms. We developed a two-week home exercise program that bypasses these barriers and tested it in university students…
Sex, Age, and Smartphone Addiction Across 41 Countries
Are first responders interested in psychedelics? Assessing previous use, interest, and willingness to participate in psychedelic-assisted therapy
Background and aimsFirst responders such as firefighters and police officers often experience traumatic events as part of their work. As a result, they are more likely to have mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety compared to the general population. Psychedelic-assisted therapy has emerged as a promising avenue to alleviate these issues, but little is currently known about first responders' interest …
Sas-1
The digital age has brought increasing concern about the negative effects of smartphones, which has led to dozens of measures of problematic smartphone use. Almost all of these measures, however, may be too long for contexts such as large-scale surveys. Here, we introduce a single-item measure that probes agreement with the statement: ‘I am addicted to my smartphone’. Across 10,786 participants aged 5 to 89 from 149 countries, 37% agreed or stron…
Psychology (11 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Psychiatry (6 works) · Impact of Technology on Adolescents (5 works) · Addiction (4 works) · Smartphone addiction (4 works) · Child Development and Digital Technology (3 works) · Clinical Psychology (3 works) · Clinical Psychology (3 works) · Cognitive psychology (3 works)