Cognitive Science[JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
The Agent Preference in Ontogeny: Predictability of Agent and Patient Roles in Child-Directed Utterances Across Languages.
Huber E, Küntay AC, Bickel B … +1 more , Stoll S
Cogn Sci · 2026 Jan · PMID 41525291 · Full text
Language comprehension unfolds incrementally, requiring listeners to continually predict and revise interpretations. Comprehenders across very diverse languages show a consistent preference for agents, anticipating the a...
Language comprehension unfolds incrementally, requiring listeners to continually predict and revise interpretations. Comprehenders across very diverse languages show a consistent preference for agents, anticipating the agent ("the doer" of an action) more strongly than the patient ("the undergoer"). An unresolved question is how the preference develops in children given incomplete utterances and argument omission in their input. Here, we approach this question by quantifying the incremental predictability of semantic roles (agents vs. patients), probing specifically what kind of contextual information impacts ease of learning. We use transcribed utterances from child-directed speech in three languages, differing in critical conditions of word order and argument omission: Tagalog (verb-initial), English (verb-medial), and Turkish (verb-final). To quantify incremental predictability at each position in the sentence, we use a computational model trained on naturalistic child-directed speech, which is first validated against experimental data in each language. Our results show that agents are highly predictable irrespective of sentence position or language, requiring barely any contextual information. In contrast, patient prediction requires additional information, varying by language. These findings suggest that the assignment of agent roles in child-directed speech is an easier task across typologically distinct languages, possibly reflecting the more general preference for agents outside language. Patients, by contrast, appear to be contextually induced roles that develop in ways that are largely shaped by the affordances of each language.
Reflections on Reductionist Clinical Psychological and Neuroscience Education: Putting the "Me" Back in Mental Disorders.
Ney LJ
Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci · 2026 · PMID 41490798 · Publisher ↗
The public perception of clinical psychology has been heavily influenced by neuroscientific methods over the past several decades. However, we have seldom stopped to consider to what extent neuroscience can contribute to...
The public perception of clinical psychology has been heavily influenced by neuroscientific methods over the past several decades. However, we have seldom stopped to consider to what extent neuroscience can contribute to our understanding of how human psychology-including our experience of our psychological self-operates. This article reviews the progress and weaknesses of an extant psychopharmacological approach to psychological disorders. A psychological model is developed, which positions current neuroscientific research as describing symptoms, rather than causes, of mental disorders. This model relates closely to network theories of psychological disorders, with a strong emphasis on the Pattern Theory of the Self, where disruptions to the psychological self are a central etiological factor in mental disorders. In doing so, this article argues that the philosophical underpinnings of clinical psychological and neuroscientific research should be reconsidered if we intend to develop effective interventions for mental disorders. This article is contextualized in the author's experience of psychological and neuroscientific training, as well as subsequent research experience as a neuroscientist. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Theory and Methods Philosophy > Foundations of Cognitive Science Neuroscience > Clinical.
Neuroimaging Evidence of Hyperarousal in Insomnia: An Advanced Review.
Ye X, Wang X, Xu G … +1 more , Ma X
Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci · 2026 · PMID 41478629 · Publisher ↗
Insomnia has become the most prevalent sleep disorder in the world. The hyperarousal model is one of the main theories to explain the pathogenesis of insomnia disorder, and neuroimaging studies have provided important ev...
Insomnia has become the most prevalent sleep disorder in the world. The hyperarousal model is one of the main theories to explain the pathogenesis of insomnia disorder, and neuroimaging studies have provided important evidence to support this model. Although the findings vary, the overall results indicate that insomnia patients experience a condition of hyperarousal. We reviewed and summarized the related evidence from previous functional and structural neuroimaging studies of hyperarousal, which mainly showed enhanced local activity and interregional functional connectivity, increased metabolism, structural changes in gray matter, and altered white matter connectivity. Future research should further focus on cortical hyperarousal in different insomnia subtypes, unify the treatment criteria based on a sleep-staging interpretation, strictly control for the effects of age and gender, and advance the application of neuroimaging in the diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of insomnia. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Brain Function and Dysfunction Neuroscience > Clinical Neuroscience > Computation.
Replicate Me if You Can: Assessing Measurement Reliability of Individual Differences in Reading Across Measurement Occasions and Methods.
Haller P, Ding C, Stegenwallner-Schütz M … +4 more , Reich DR, Koncic I, Makowski S, Jäger LA
Cogn Sci · 2026 Jan · PMID 41467950 · Full text
Psycholinguistic theories traditionally assume similar cognitive mechanisms across different speakers. However, more recently, researchers have begun to recognize the need to consider individual differences when explaini...
Psycholinguistic theories traditionally assume similar cognitive mechanisms across different speakers. However, more recently, researchers have begun to recognize the need to consider individual differences when explaining human cognition. An increasing number of studies have investigated how individual differences influence human sentence processing. Implicitly, these studies assume that individual-level effects can be replicated across experimental sessions and different assessment methods such as eye-tracking and self-paced reading. However, this assumption is challenged by the Reliability Paradox. Thus, a crucial first step for a principled investigation of individual differences in sentence processing is to establish their measurement reliability, that is, the correlation of individual-level effects across multiple measurement occasions and methods. In this work, we present the first naturalistic eye movement corpus of reading data with four experimental sessions from each participant (two eye-tracking sessions and two self-paced reading sessions). We deploy a two-task Bayesian hierarchical model to assess the measurement reliability of individual differences in a range of psycholinguistic phenomena that are well-established at the population level, namely, effects of word length, lexical frequency, surprisal, dependency length, and number of to-be-integrated dependents. While our results indicate high reliability across measurement occasions for the word length effect, it is only moderate for higher-level psycholinguistic predictors such as lexical frequency, dependency distance, and the number of to-be-integrated dependencies, and even low for surprisal. Moreover, even after accounting for spillover effects, we observe only low to moderate reliability at the individual level across methods (eye-tracking and self-paced reading) for most predictors, and poor reliability for predictors of syntactic integration. These findings underscore the importance of establishing measurement reliability before drawing inferences about individual differences in sentence processing.
Can Mimosa pudica Plants Enumerate Light Exposure Events?
Vishton PM, Bartosh PJ
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41457525 · Full text
Plants sense and respond to information present in their surrounding environment. Recent work has sought to characterize the limits of these information processing abilities. Here, we present evidence that the movements...
Plants sense and respond to information present in their surrounding environment. Recent work has sought to characterize the limits of these information processing abilities. Here, we present evidence that the movements of Mimosa pudica plants are mediated by the number of illumination events to which they have been exposed. The plants were repeatedly presented with 2 days in which light was provided for half of the day, followed by a third day in which light was not provided. The nyctinastic movements of the plants shifted to follow this light-light-dark pattern. During early, dark hours prior to light onset, the plants moved more on days in which light was likely to be provided and less on days in which light was unlikely. This movement tendency was not present during the initial weeks of the study. The plants altered their movement patterns over 15 days in a fashion that is well fit by a logarithmic function. To test whether plant movement was based on temporal factors, rather than event enumeration, we altered the lengths of day-night cycles in the second and third phases of the study. After accommodating their motion to follow a 3 × 24-h light-light-dark cycle, the plants immediately generalized their performance after an abrupt shift to a 3 × 20-h cycle. In Study Phase 3, the day length was randomly varied between 10 and 32 h after every light-light-dark cycle. The plants exhibited key movement patterns when randomly selected day durations were between 12 and 24 h. Although higher levels of variability were apparent, the movement levels of the plants seemed to be modulated by the number of light exposure events. The results provide evidence that plants, and perhaps other non-neuronal tissues, may be capable of processing enumeration-related information, although replication with additional controls is needed.
Cultural Transmission Promotes the Emergence of Statistical Properties That Support Language Learning.
Wolters L, Kirby S, Arnon I
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41456931 · Full text
Language is passed across generations through cultural transmission. Prior experimental work, where participants reproduced sets of non-linguistic sequences in transmission chains, shows that this process gives rise to t...
Language is passed across generations through cultural transmission. Prior experimental work, where participants reproduced sets of non-linguistic sequences in transmission chains, shows that this process gives rise to two characteristic statistical properties of language that enhance its learnability: the statistical coherence of words and the Zipfian distribution of word frequencies. In this study, we extend this work in three ways. First, we replicate and strengthen previous findings using a browser-based experimental procedure with a smaller dataset, demonstrating the robustness of these findings and creating a methodological platform for future research. Second, we show that learners are sensitive to the sequence information that emerges through cultural transmission by showing that reaction times are faster for higher transitional probabilities. These findings suggest that the learning of fine-grained sequence information drives the emergence of statistically coherent units with a Zipfian frequency distribution. Third, we ask whether another cross-linguistic property of language, Zipf's law of Abbreviation, emerges over cultural transmission. We find that the law is present in the sets produced by participants but that it does not evolve over transmission. We discuss how these findings support the proposal that production pressures alone may be sufficient to explain the consistently weak frequency-length correlation observed in natural language.
Using Eye Movements to Understand Sense of Control in Situated Action.
Heinrich NW, Österdiekhoff A, Kopp S … +1 more , Russwinkel N
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41456930 · Full text
This series of studies investigated the interplay between the Sense of Control, continuous action control, and eye-movement behavior in dynamic and uncertain environments. Across three experiments, we used a custom-desig...
This series of studies investigated the interplay between the Sense of Control, continuous action control, and eye-movement behavior in dynamic and uncertain environments. Across three experiments, we used a custom-designed environment combined with eye-tracking to examine how action goal pursuit and visual strategies were adapted to deal with motor perturbations of varying predictability. Participants steered a spaceship, avoiding walls and obstacles while contending with random input noise and predictable horizontal drift. We found that changes in fixation distances to a reference point, the spaceship, indicated the type of action control employed. Input noise was associated with decreasing distances in fixations already close to the spaceship, addressing immediate demands for maintaining the spaceship's trajectory. In contrast, fixations allocated within the outer vicinity of the spaceship featured even longer distances in response to drift, suggesting visual exploration and proactive planning. That is, reactive strategies of action control were characterized by immediate responses to unpredictable disturbances, whereas proactive strategies reflected anticipatory adjustments to predictable changes. Furthermore, judgments about the own Sense of Control were closely tied to participants' ability to anticipate and adapt to environmental features. Invisible perturbations led to control loss and reduced task performance, but predictable perturbations allowed participants to maintain a high Sense of Control and still successfully solve the task. These results highlight how cognitive processes and sensorimotor control interact to navigate uncertain environments by flexibly balancing reactive and proactive strategies of action control.
Birth of a Language in the Backlands of Brazil.
Almeida-Silva A, Nitschke R, Valls Yoshida F … +2 more , Nóbrega V, Miyagawa S
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41456924 · Full text
It is assumed that in order to acquire a language, children must be exposed to a language during the critical period, which generally lasts until puberty. Here, we report on Cena, an emergent sign language that has devel...
It is assumed that in order to acquire a language, children must be exposed to a language during the critical period, which generally lasts until puberty. Here, we report on Cena, an emergent sign language that has developed among a small group of deaf people in an isolated town in the state of Piauí, Brazil. Starting three generations ago, it has developed into a fully functioning communicative system with all characteristics of a typical human language even though Cena developed in a linguistic vacuum. What makes Cena interesting is that we are reasonably certain that Cena had no external input from the national sign language, Libras, or any other language during its formation. Cena challenges the assumption that to acquire the first language, the child must be exposed to a fully developed language. It developed from homesigns to an emergent sign language that is used for all aspects of village life. Cena also lends credence to the interactional model of language acquisition, which considers the interactions between the child and the caregivers to be the crucial element. The nativist model of language acquisition, which assumes a universal system underlying language, also plays a part. Through interaction, what arose is a system with characteristics essential to all human language.
Evidential Vulnerability of Religious Beliefs in the Context of Petitionary Prayers.
Hong Z, Zhang C, Wang A
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41456911 · Full text
Petitionary prayers-requests made to a deity for specific outcomes-are widely practiced across religious traditions. While their efficacy remains a subject of theological debate, they exhibit remarkable resilience to dis...
Petitionary prayers-requests made to a deity for specific outcomes-are widely practiced across religious traditions. While their efficacy remains a subject of theological debate, they exhibit remarkable resilience to disconfirmation. In three pre-registered studies-a field study in China and two global surveys via Prolific-we examined how religious believers (Christians, Muslims, local deity worshippers, and Hindus) update beliefs and behaviors in response to prayer successes or failures for both hypothetical co-religionists and themselves. Results indicate that belief updates generally follow a Bayesian pattern, with increases after prayer successes and decreases after failures, though with an asymmetry favoring belief reinforcement. Notably, participants from the Prolific sample exhibit sensitivity to the prior probability of prayed-for events, attributing greater belief increases to improbable outcomes. Muslims predict belief increases even after failed prayers, consistent with doctrines framing hardships as divine tests. Across traditions, believers estimate continued prayer regardless of past outcomes, with monotheists displaying stronger resilience. These findings illuminate the cognitive and cultural mechanisms that buffer religious beliefs against counter-evidence, contributing to debates on the evidential vulnerability of religious credence and its parallels with epistemically self-sealing belief systems.
Bidirectional Interference Between Spatial and Temporal Processing: Evidence From a Distracting Dual-Task Paradigm.
Hallez Q, Öztel T, Balcı F
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41449630 · Publisher ↗
The relationship between spatial and temporal processing remains a topic of ongoing debate. While several theories propose an asymmetrical influence of space on time, others suggest a bidirectional relationship with shar...
The relationship between spatial and temporal processing remains a topic of ongoing debate. While several theories propose an asymmetrical influence of space on time, others suggest a bidirectional relationship with shared cognitive resources. This study introduces a novel paradigm that compares a single-task baseline with a distracting "dual-task" condition to deconstruct the nature of this interplay. Participants reproduced either the duration or the spatial configuration of visual sequences in which one (single task) or two dimensions (distracting dual task) were presented. Results revealed a significant general processing cost, with performance worsening for both time and space judgments when the other dimension was present. More interestingly, results also revealed content-dependent interference between the two dimensions, with the magnitude of the irrelevant dimension systematically modulating judgments of the target dimension. The evidence for bidirectional, content-dependent interference challenges the notion of a purely asymmetrical relationship. Overall, by dissociating general processing costs from specific interference, we provide a more nuanced model of the highly interconnected, bidirectional relationship between space and time.
Structural Alignment and Linguistic Contrast Help Children Learn a Key Principle of Spatial Construction.
Zheng YS, Goldwater M, Gentner D
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41449619 · Full text
Spatial representation and reasoning are important in cognition, yet they are challenging for children. Research has shown that comparison can support learning about common spatial structure and that using common labels...
Spatial representation and reasoning are important in cognition, yet they are challenging for children. Research has shown that comparison can support learning about common spatial structure and that using common labels can facilitate this process. Here, we show that a comparable pattern holds for learning about differences. That is, contrastive labels can promote comparison-based learning of key spatial differences. In two experiments, 5- to 7-year-old children were asked to learn a key engineering principle-namely, that diagonal braces confer stability in building structures. Two factors were varied between subjects: the alignability of the training exemplars, and whether a contrastive label was used. Learning was assessed through a variety of transfer tasks, both immediately and after a delay of 2-5 days. The results showed that children in the high-alignment condition performed better than those in the low-alignment condition, replicating previous findings. Further, children who received the contrasting brace label performed better than those who did not. This suggests that hearing contrastive language can invite structural alignment and reveal differences that inform children's learning. We discuss broader implications for cognition and education.
Assessing the Effects of Sign Language Experience Versus Deafness on the Leftward Reading Span.
Emmorey K, Akers EM, Saunders E … +4 more , Bannazadeh M, Droubi E, Cooley FG, Schotter ER
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41449612 · Publisher ↗
Both deafness and sign language experience impact the distribution of visual attention, and either factor could affect reading span size, the area around fixation from which useful information is obtained. In contrast to...
Both deafness and sign language experience impact the distribution of visual attention, and either factor could affect reading span size, the area around fixation from which useful information is obtained. In contrast to the typical asymmetrical span (smaller on the left), deaf signers have a larger leftward span than skill-matched hearing readers. We investigated whether this enhanced span is due to changes in visual attention associated with early deafness or sign language experience (right-handed signs fall in the left periphery). A gaze-contingent moving-window paradigm was used to assess the leftward reading span of hearing early signers, deaf early signers, and hearing nonsigners with similar reading abilities. The size of the leftward span for deaf and hearing signers was the same (10 characters) and was larger than that of hearing nonsigners (4 characters). Thus, sign language experience appears to be at least one source of the larger leftward span in deaf signers. However, deaf signers were more efficient readers than both hearing groups (faster reading rate, more skipped words, fewer regressions), suggesting that their greater reading efficiency does not stem solely from a larger leftward span.
An Agent-Based Model of Semantic Memory Search: Disentangling Cognitive Control and Semantic Space Organization.
Morales D, Chaigneau SE, Canessa E
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41442599 · Publisher ↗
Verbal fluency tasks reveal clustering and switching patterns traditionally explained by strategic search or stochastic processes like Lévy or random walks. However, previous comparisons ignored how search processes inte...
Verbal fluency tasks reveal clustering and switching patterns traditionally explained by strategic search or stochastic processes like Lévy or random walks. However, previous comparisons ignored how search processes interact with semantic structure, leaving unclear whether model performance reflects strategic mechanisms or fortuitous alignment with semantic organization. This study developed and validated a novel Area Restricted Search (ARS) agent-based model of semantic memory retrieval, then systematically compared it against Lévy Walk (LW) and Random Walk (RW) models to investigate when different search mechanisms succeed under varying structural conditions. The model implements incremental decision-making based on local information, without predetermined switching points or complete semantic space access. Semantic structure parameters were treated as free variables during optimization, allowing examination of process-structure interactions across diverse configurations. Performance was evaluated against 50 participants across three semantic categories using clustering, switching, and temporal variables. Two simulations examined model fit and adaptability to varying semantic structures. Different mechanisms require distinct semantic configurations: ARS performed well in moderate clustering, LW in sparse arrangements, and RW under dense clustering, but RW generated response distributions different from participants. However, when semantic density was constrained while varying cluster dispersion, ARS maintained human-like performance across multiple configurations, while LW showed limited flexibility, and RW consistently failed to get close to participants' response distributions. These findings show that human-like semantic memory retrieval across diverse contexts requires strategic mechanisms capable of dynamic adaptation to varying semantic organizations, rather than universal superiority of any single approach or of models based on context-independent stochastic processes.
Bias in Self-Knowledge of Global Communities.
Schille-Hudson EB, Landy D
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41442596 · Publisher ↗
Citizens in countries around the world dramatically overestimate the size of minority demographic groups and underestimate the size of majority groups. Media outlets and researchers have concluded that this pattern of er...
Citizens in countries around the world dramatically overestimate the size of minority demographic groups and underestimate the size of majority groups. Media outlets and researchers have concluded that this pattern of errors is a result of characteristics of individual and societal distortions, such as the level of threat the group is imagined to pose and the amount of exposure someone has with the group. More recent work suggests that this error is a direct consequence of the psychological transformation of estimates under uncertainty. However, no work to date has provided an explanation for how distortion and uncertainty might jointly interact to produce people's estimates. The goal of the current paper is to reconcile distortion and uncertainty-based accounts by providing a model that applies Bayesian inference to incorrect source information (presumed to result from external misinformation, or societal or individual distortions). We then apply that model to a broad set of international survey data and explore the cross-national structure of misestimation in expressed beliefs across a wide variety of topics. The results suggest that people are overall less and differently impacted by distortions than previous research has found, and that these distortions are often widely shared across quite distinct countries and groups.
The Final-Syllable Advantage in Cross-Modal Mapping Between Name Pronunciation and Face Shape.
Yan X, Liu Y, Zhou Y … +2 more , Bai Z, Jiang Z
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41442593 · Publisher ↗
Previous studies show that people believe that a name belongs to a person if the person's face shape (FS) matches the lip shape formed when pronouncing the name. This represents a cross-modal mapping effect between name...
Previous studies show that people believe that a name belongs to a person if the person's face shape (FS) matches the lip shape formed when pronouncing the name. This represents a cross-modal mapping effect between name pronunciation (NP) and FS. Considering that approximately 84.55% of Chinese people have a two-character name, the present study specifically investigates which character of double-character Chinese names plays a more critical role in the mapping relationship with the FS. We conducted four experiments that used disyllabic names with pronunciations involving contrasting lip shapes. The interval between the pronunciation of the name's first and final characters was set at either 0 or 1000 ms. Two presentation orders were used: presenting the name before the face image and the face image before the name. We found that the NP-FS mapping persists when the lip shapes of the initial and final syllables of a name differ, while the final syllable determinetavs the mapping. This underscores the significant role of the final syllable in driving NP-FS mapping, which supports the hypothesis that names must be completely encoded for recognition before being integrated with facial perception.
The "Crowd Size Illusion" and the Relativity of Number Perception.
Waterhouse GCL, Yousif SR
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41406059 · Full text
When we investigate busy visual scenes, how do we estimate the number of objects that we see? Most work on number perception answers this question by focusing on properties of the to-be-estimated set of objects-their num...
When we investigate busy visual scenes, how do we estimate the number of objects that we see? Most work on number perception answers this question by focusing on properties of the to-be-estimated set of objects-their number, their size, their relative position, and so on. Here, in contrast, we show that perceived number is influenced by extraneous visual information. In six experiments, participants were shown "crowds" of dots that filled "seats" in a visual grid, asking whether the perceived number is influenced not only by the number of occupied seats, but also the number of unoccupied seats. When only about 15%-30% of the "seats" were filled, people perceived fewer dots (compared to displays without any grid). We further demonstrated that this illusion depends on the proportion of occupied seats. When most "seats" were filled, the illusion reversed: People perceived the grid displays as having more dots. This effect is continuous, switching directions at around the 50% occupancy mark. Moreover, this "crowd size illusion" is phenomenologically robust: It is evident in simple visual displays, even when the observer is aware they are being tricked. We discuss these findings in light of the recent hypothesis that the number system represents number in a part-whole format.
Neural Correlates of Chanting: A Systematic Review.
Perry G, Wolff L, Powers N … +2 more , Thompson WF, Baumann O
Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci · 2025 · PMID 41405190 · Publisher ↗
Chanting is an ancient and globally widespread ritualistic practice involving rhythmic vocalization or repetition of words, phrases, or sounds. While previous reviews have considered the neurophysiological impact of medi...
Chanting is an ancient and globally widespread ritualistic practice involving rhythmic vocalization or repetition of words, phrases, or sounds. While previous reviews have considered the neurophysiological impact of meditation and spirituality, chanting has received limited systematic investigation. This review aimed to identify and synthesize neural correlates of chanting, examine methodological variability, and determine consistent neural patterns across chanting studies and styles. PsycINFO and PubMed databases were systematically searched for neuroimaging studies including chanting, mantra, and repetitive prayer. Articles published through October 8, 2024, were included, yielding 899 initial articles. After applying exclusion criteria, 24 studies were included. Study quality was assessed using the adapted Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) criteria. Findings demonstrate that chanting activates brain regions involved in attention and emotional regulation, including the prefrontal cortex, insula, and cingulate gyrus. Deactivation of default mode network (DMN) areas, particularly the posterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus, was also observed, suggesting reduced self-referential thought. Electroencephalography (EEG) studies revealed increased theta activity, indicating enhanced relaxation during chanting. Although heterogeneity in sample sizes, imaging modalities, participant characteristics, and control conditions preclude a formal meta-analysis, the findings lay a foundation for advancing research into the neural mechanisms of chanting. Chanting engages neural networks associated with attention and emotional regulation. The consistent pattern of prefrontal activation and DMN deactivation suggests mechanisms similar to other contemplative practices.
Core Vocabulary in Language Representation and Processing.
Wang A, De Deyne S, McKague M … +1 more , Perfors A
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41370719 · Publisher ↗
The question of which words are most important or fundamental to a language has been explored in many ways. However, many of these approaches place little emphasis on how humans learn, represent, and process language fro...
The question of which words are most important or fundamental to a language has been explored in many ways. However, many of these approaches place little emphasis on how humans learn, represent, and process language from a psychological perspective. In this study, we define and compare three distinct psycholinguistic measures of core vocabulary-word frequency, age-of-acquisition, and centrality in semantic networks-and test how well these core words capture human performance in a word-guessing game. In two experiments, 1000 participants were given different core words as both hint and target words, with the aim of identifying the target as quickly as possible. We found that while core words in general did not make very effective hints, they were effectively guessed as targets when using hints beyond the sets core words, and furthermore, were better guessed when the core word targets were defined based on centrality in semantic networks rather than linguistic factors like frequency. This finding was consistent across a range of experimental conditions and analyses. We discuss the implications of these findings for representation and processing in semantic memory, and what factors should constitute a human core vocabulary.
Digitally Supervised Play of Math Games Improves Math Learning More When the Games Are Played With Peers Than When Played Individually.
Díaz-Simón N, Trinidad G, de León D … +2 more , Spelke E, Maiche A
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41370715 · Publisher ↗
Because many children worldwide fail to realize their potential for learning school mathematics, diverse initiatives have embraced using digital technologies that provide feedback to individual children. Such training, h...
Because many children worldwide fail to realize their potential for learning school mathematics, diverse initiatives have embraced using digital technologies that provide feedback to individual children. Such training, however, draws children's attention away from the teacher and peers, reducing opportunities for peer-to-peer teaching, learning, and collaboration. In this paper, we present a novel approach to learning through a digitally controlled training program providing partial feedback to groups of children who play together with concrete materials to foster discussion, collaboration, and consensus-based responses to mathematical problems. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, children from each participating classroom were randomly assigned to play the same math games either individually on digital tablets with feedback to each individual child or in small groups using physical cards guided by a digital device that provided feedback only at group level: a "Magic Box." To encourage children in both conditions to reflect on their performance and correct their errors, partial rather than complete feedback was given in both conditions. Results showed that play in groups produced greater improvement in children's math skills than individual play. Thus, math play in groups with partial digital feedback may serve as an effective complement to traditional school math curricula.
Assessing Pressures Shaping Natural Language Lexica.
Bruneau-Bongard J, Chemla E, Brochhagen T
Cogn Sci · 2025 Dec · PMID 41335233 · Publisher ↗
Human languages balance communicative informativity with complexity, conveying as much as needed through the simplest means required to do so. Yet, these concepts-informativity and complexity-have been operationalized in...
Human languages balance communicative informativity with complexity, conveying as much as needed through the simplest means required to do so. Yet, these concepts-informativity and complexity-have been operationalized in various ways, and it remains unclear which definitions best capture empirical linguistic patterns. A particularly successful operationalization is that offered by the Information Bottleneck framework, which suggests a balance between complexity and informativity across domains like color, kinship, and number. However, we show that the notion of complexity employed by this framework has some counterintuitive consequences. Focusing on color terms, we then study to what extent this and other notions of complexity play a role in explaining cross-linguistic regularity. We propose a method to assess their explanatory contributions; and to probe whether they enter in a joint optimization or in a trade-off competition. This offers a more general framework to study language change and the forces that shape it, where instead of showing that a given model is compatible with existing data, the data is used to adjudicate between candidate measures.
About
- Frequency
- Sun
- Papers found
- 200
- RSS feed
- Subscribe