Cognitive Science

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

Compassion and prosocial behavior: response to Vaish and Grossmann

In their recent Letter in TiCS [1], Vaish and Grossmann offer some thoughtful comments on our recent article, ‘A pattern theory of compassion’ [2]. They argue that the distinction we draw between compassion and sympathy is not as sharp as the distinction between compassion and empathy, and neither is it supported by empirical evidence. They […]

Published on October 26, 2024

How sharp is the compassion–sympathy distinction?

Theorists and empiricists have long been concerned with the nature of empathy and its relatives, sympathy and compassion, which are all thought to have important roles in human (pro)sociality. Yet, the field continues to lack clear and distinct conceptualizations of these phenomena. In their recent thought-provoking article in TiCS [1], Gallagher et al. seek to […]

Published on October 26, 2024

Can individual differences explain brain plasticity in blindness?

Explaining brain plasticity in blindness is challenging because the early visual cortex (EVC) responds to many different tasks, each type supporting a different explanation. Can individual differences help unify the experimental findings into a coherent theory and clarify the nature of brain plasticity? Read Full Article (External Site) Dr. David LowemannDr. David Lowemann, M.Sc, Ph.D., […]

Published on October 24, 2024