Tempering the tension between science and intuition
Cognition. 2023 Dec 8;243:105680. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105680. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTScientific ideas can be difficult to access if they contradict earlier-developed intuitive theories; counterintuitive scientific statements like "bubbles have weight" are verified more slowly and less accurately than closely-matched intuitive statements like "bricks have weight" (Shtulman & Valcarcel, 2012). Here, we investigate how context and instruction influences this conflict. In Study 1, college undergraduates (n = 100) verified scientific statements interspersed with images intended to prime either a scientific ...
Source: Cognition - December 9, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Andrew Shtulman Andrew G Young Source Type: research

Debiasing thinking among non-WEIRD reasoners
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105681. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105681. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTHuman reasoning has been shown to be biased in a variety of situations. While most studies have focused on samples of WEIRD participants (from Western Educated Industrialized Rich and Democratic societies), the sparse non-WEIRD data on the topic suggest an even stronger propensity for biased reasoning. This could be explained by a competence issue (people lack the ability to integrate logical knowledge into their reasoning) or a performance issue (people possess the logical knowledge but do not know it is relevant). We add...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Esther Boissin Mathilde Josserand Wim De Neys Serge Caparos Source Type: research

Ensemble coding of facial identity is robust, but may not contribute to face learning
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105668. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105668. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEnsemble coding - the rapid extraction of a perceptual average - has been proposed as a potential mechanism underlying face learning. We tested this proposal across five pre-registered experiments in which four ambient images of an identity were presented in the study phase. In Experiments 1 and 2a-c, participants were asked whether a test image was in the study array; these experiments examined the robustness of ensemble coding. Experiment 1 replicated ensemble coding in an online sample; participants recognize images fro...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Emily E Davis Claire M Matthews Catherine J Mondloch Source Type: research

Debiasing thinking among non-WEIRD reasoners
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105681. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105681. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTHuman reasoning has been shown to be biased in a variety of situations. While most studies have focused on samples of WEIRD participants (from Western Educated Industrialized Rich and Democratic societies), the sparse non-WEIRD data on the topic suggest an even stronger propensity for biased reasoning. This could be explained by a competence issue (people lack the ability to integrate logical knowledge into their reasoning) or a performance issue (people possess the logical knowledge but do not know it is relevant). We add...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Esther Boissin Mathilde Josserand Wim De Neys Serge Caparos Source Type: research

Ensemble coding of facial identity is robust, but may not contribute to face learning
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105668. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105668. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEnsemble coding - the rapid extraction of a perceptual average - has been proposed as a potential mechanism underlying face learning. We tested this proposal across five pre-registered experiments in which four ambient images of an identity were presented in the study phase. In Experiments 1 and 2a-c, participants were asked whether a test image was in the study array; these experiments examined the robustness of ensemble coding. Experiment 1 replicated ensemble coding in an online sample; participants recognize images fro...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Emily E Davis Claire M Matthews Catherine J Mondloch Source Type: research

Debiasing thinking among non-WEIRD reasoners
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105681. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105681. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTHuman reasoning has been shown to be biased in a variety of situations. While most studies have focused on samples of WEIRD participants (from Western Educated Industrialized Rich and Democratic societies), the sparse non-WEIRD data on the topic suggest an even stronger propensity for biased reasoning. This could be explained by a competence issue (people lack the ability to integrate logical knowledge into their reasoning) or a performance issue (people possess the logical knowledge but do not know it is relevant). We add...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Esther Boissin Mathilde Josserand Wim De Neys Serge Caparos Source Type: research

Ensemble coding of facial identity is robust, but may not contribute to face learning
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105668. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105668. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEnsemble coding - the rapid extraction of a perceptual average - has been proposed as a potential mechanism underlying face learning. We tested this proposal across five pre-registered experiments in which four ambient images of an identity were presented in the study phase. In Experiments 1 and 2a-c, participants were asked whether a test image was in the study array; these experiments examined the robustness of ensemble coding. Experiment 1 replicated ensemble coding in an online sample; participants recognize images fro...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Emily E Davis Claire M Matthews Catherine J Mondloch Source Type: research

Debiasing thinking among non-WEIRD reasoners
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105681. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105681. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTHuman reasoning has been shown to be biased in a variety of situations. While most studies have focused on samples of WEIRD participants (from Western Educated Industrialized Rich and Democratic societies), the sparse non-WEIRD data on the topic suggest an even stronger propensity for biased reasoning. This could be explained by a competence issue (people lack the ability to integrate logical knowledge into their reasoning) or a performance issue (people possess the logical knowledge but do not know it is relevant). We add...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Esther Boissin Mathilde Josserand Wim De Neys Serge Caparos Source Type: research

Ensemble coding of facial identity is robust, but may not contribute to face learning
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105668. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105668. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEnsemble coding - the rapid extraction of a perceptual average - has been proposed as a potential mechanism underlying face learning. We tested this proposal across five pre-registered experiments in which four ambient images of an identity were presented in the study phase. In Experiments 1 and 2a-c, participants were asked whether a test image was in the study array; these experiments examined the robustness of ensemble coding. Experiment 1 replicated ensemble coding in an online sample; participants recognize images fro...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Emily E Davis Claire M Matthews Catherine J Mondloch Source Type: research

Debiasing thinking among non-WEIRD reasoners
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105681. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105681. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTHuman reasoning has been shown to be biased in a variety of situations. While most studies have focused on samples of WEIRD participants (from Western Educated Industrialized Rich and Democratic societies), the sparse non-WEIRD data on the topic suggest an even stronger propensity for biased reasoning. This could be explained by a competence issue (people lack the ability to integrate logical knowledge into their reasoning) or a performance issue (people possess the logical knowledge but do not know it is relevant). We add...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Esther Boissin Mathilde Josserand Wim De Neys Serge Caparos Source Type: research

Ensemble coding of facial identity is robust, but may not contribute to face learning
Cognition. 2023 Dec 2;243:105668. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105668. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEnsemble coding - the rapid extraction of a perceptual average - has been proposed as a potential mechanism underlying face learning. We tested this proposal across five pre-registered experiments in which four ambient images of an identity were presented in the study phase. In Experiments 1 and 2a-c, participants were asked whether a test image was in the study array; these experiments examined the robustness of ensemble coding. Experiment 1 replicated ensemble coding in an online sample; participants recognize images fro...
Source: Cognition - December 3, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Emily E Davis Claire M Matthews Catherine J Mondloch Source Type: research

People's thinking plans adapt to the problem they're trying to solve
Cognition. 2023 Nov 30;243:105669. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105669. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMuch of our thinking focuses on deciding what to do in situations where the space of possible options is too large to evaluate exhaustively. Previous work has found that people do this by learning the general value of different behaviors, and prioritizing thinking about high-value options in new situations. Is this good-action bias always the best strategy, or can thinking about low-value options sometimes become more beneficial? Can people adapt their thinking accordingly based on the situation? And how do we know what t...
Source: Cognition - December 1, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Joan Danielle K Ongchoco Joshua Knobe Julian Jara-Ettinger Source Type: research

Language systematizes attention: How relational language enhances relational representation by guiding attention
Cognition. 2023 Nov 30;243:105671. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105671. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTLanguage can affect cognition, but through what mechanism? Substantial past research has focused on how labeling can elicit categorical representation during online processing. We focus here on a particularly powerful type of language-relational language-and show that relational language can enhance relational representation in children through an embodied attention mechanism. Four-year-old children were given a color-location conjunction task, in which they were asked to encode a two-color square, split either vertically...
Source: Cognition - December 1, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Lei Yuan Miriam Novack David Uttal Steven Franconeri Source Type: research

People's thinking plans adapt to the problem they're trying to solve
Cognition. 2023 Nov 30;243:105669. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105669. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMuch of our thinking focuses on deciding what to do in situations where the space of possible options is too large to evaluate exhaustively. Previous work has found that people do this by learning the general value of different behaviors, and prioritizing thinking about high-value options in new situations. Is this good-action bias always the best strategy, or can thinking about low-value options sometimes become more beneficial? Can people adapt their thinking accordingly based on the situation? And how do we know what t...
Source: Cognition - December 1, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Joan Danielle K Ongchoco Joshua Knobe Julian Jara-Ettinger Source Type: research

Language systematizes attention: How relational language enhances relational representation by guiding attention
Cognition. 2023 Nov 30;243:105671. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105671. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTLanguage can affect cognition, but through what mechanism? Substantial past research has focused on how labeling can elicit categorical representation during online processing. We focus here on a particularly powerful type of language-relational language-and show that relational language can enhance relational representation in children through an embodied attention mechanism. Four-year-old children were given a color-location conjunction task, in which they were asked to encode a two-color square, split either vertically...
Source: Cognition - December 1, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Lei Yuan Miriam Novack David Uttal Steven Franconeri Source Type: research