Cognitive Science

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

The New‐Meaning Objection: A Reply to Nicolò D’Agruma

Abstract In our paper, “The reference of proper names” (2018), we raised and rebutted the “New-Meaning” objection to our methodology. Our rebuttal rested on theoretical considerations and experimental results. In “Do the Gödel vignettes involve a new descriptivist meaning?”, Nicolò D’Agruma provides an interesting argument against our theoretical considerations (but does not address the experimental […]

Published on January 25, 2025

Sensorimnemonic decisions: choosing memories versus sensory information

We highlight a fundamental psychological function that is central to many of our interactions in the environment – when to rely on memories versus sampling sensory information anew to guide behavior. By operationalizing sensorimnemonic decisions we aim to encourage and advance research into this pivotal process for understanding how memories serve adaptive cognition. Read Full […]

Published on January 24, 2025

Sad Art Gives Voice to Our Own Sadness

Abstract People tend to show greater liking for expressions of sadness when these expressions are described as art. Why does this effect arise? One obvious hypothesis would be that describing something as art makes people more likely to regard it as fictional, and people prefer expressions of sadness that are not real. We contrast this […]

Published on January 21, 2025