Cognitive Science

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

Why Do Children From Age 4 Fail True Belief Tasks? A Decision Experiment Testing Competence Versus Performance Limitation Accounts

Abstract The standard view on Theory of Mind (ToM) is that the mastery of the false belief (FB) task around age 4 marks the ontogenetic emergence of full-fledged meta-representational ToM. Recently, a puzzling finding has emerged: Once children master the FB task, they begin to fail true belief (TB) control tasks. This finding threatens the validity of […]

Published on June 6, 2025

Co‐Represented Statistical Regularities Facilitate the Processing of Partner‐Related Words During a Joint Memory Task

Abstract Previous research suggests that statistical learning enhances memory for self-related information at the individual level and that individuals exhibit better memory for partner-related items than they do for irrelevant items in joint contexts (i.e., the joint memory effect, JME). However, whether statistical learning improves memory for partner-related information in joint contexts remains unclear. This […]

Published on June 6, 2025

Aphantasia as a functional disconnection

When your mind’s eye feels disconnected, it can be like trying to picture a landscape through a fog—what you see in your mind’s eye might be faint or absent, yet your brain still lights up with activity. If you’ve ever wondered why some people seem to conjure vivid images effortlessly while others can’t summon visual […]

Published on June 5, 2025