Cognitive Science

The latest breakthroughs, innovations, and cool happenings at the cutting edge of the world of cognitive science. Updated daily.

Information density as a predictor of communication dynamics

In a recent paper, Aceves and Evans computed information and semantic density measures for hundreds of languages, and showed that these measures predict the pace and breadth of ideas in communication. Here, we summarize their key findings and situate them in a broader debate about the adaptive nature of language. Read Full Article (External Site) […]

Published on April 17, 2024

Abstract social interaction representations along the lateral pathway

Recent work in vision science and visual neuroscience has moved away from focusing on single people or objects to understanding the relations between them. Based on converging behavioral, computational, and neuroscience evidence, we recently argued that the visual system contains rich, abstract representations of social interactions between others [1]. We also outlined a framework for […]

Published on April 17, 2024

What is abstract about seeing social interactions?

Social vision is a branch of vision science investigating the visual processing of socially relevant stimuli, primarily people. The focus of this research has recently moved from individuals (faces/bodies and their actions) to groups (two faces/bodies and their interactions). This new focus has revealed that the visual system is particularly sensitive to information that signals […]

Published on April 17, 2024