Reposted by Bella FascendiniTania Lombrozo @tanialombrozo.bsky.social · 03/10/2026A short adapted excerpt from WHY WE ASK WHY was published in The Atlantic this morning! So excited to share this in advance of the book's publication on Oct 6! 😊 📕 www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...theatlantic.comAI Could Worsen a Common Cognitive TrapAlmost everyone knows less than they think. 1184
Reposted by Bella FascendiniDan Mirea @danmirea.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Thrilled to announce that I will be joining the University of Miami as an Assistant Professor of Psychology next year! I am recruiting a PhD student to start in Fall 2027 — please reach out if you are interested in joining the lab! For more info check out my website: dan-mirea.com 56912
Reposted by Bella FascendiniTom McCoy @rtommccoy.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Since many are starting grad school soon, let me re-share my One Big Tip™️ for research! Research involves many skills - collaborating, writing, presenting, etc. But many of these skills can be unified under a single overarching ability: theory of mind Blog post link in reply 28019
Reposted by Bella FascendiniSteven Mesquiti @smesquiti.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Excited to share a new Annual Review paper with @eriknook.bsky.social : "Large Language Models in Mental Health Research and Treatment." Here lay out what LLMs actually are and aren't, then take a census of how mental health research has used them so far, where it's heading 🧵1/n 2216
Reposted by Bella FascendiniTania Lombrozo @tanialombrozo.bsky.social · 27/07/2026What do rubber ducks have to do with learning and AI? You can find out in my TEDx talk, released today as an Editor’s Pick at the YouTube TED Channel! www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbiy...youtube.comHow you can learn in a world of information overload | Tania Lombrozo | TEDxNewEnglandYouTube video by TEDx Talks 23111
Reposted by Bella FascendiniElaine Wang @elainewang.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Come say hello at #CogSci2026! Excited to be part of this incredible symposium! 0217
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Huge thanks to my amazing collaborators: Kathryn McGregor, @maxdgu.bsky.social and @cocoscilab.bsky.social, and to Dilip Arumugam, Gianluca Bencomo, and Zhixu Silvia Tao for valuable feedback on this project! 🧡 2101
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026📄 Paper: doi.org/10.48550/arX... 💻 Code, data, and stimuli: github.com/bellafascendini/riddle-riddledoi.orgThe Riddle Riddle: Testing Flexible Reasoning in Large Language Models and HumansHumans flexibly adapt their reasoning strategies to the requirements of a given problem. Large language models (LLMs) have performed well on many cognitive tasks, however, it is unclear whether this a... 1402
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026As LLMs are increasingly used to solve novel, complex problems, accuracy alone is not enough evidence of reasoning. We also need to ask whether they got the answer for the right reasons. The riddle riddle offers a simple way to test that. 1371
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026This work was inspired by @tomerullman.bsky.social's “illusion illusion” paradigm (arxiv.org/abs/2412.18613) where VLMs mistake illusion-like images for genuine optical illusions. In both cases, models respond to what a problem looks like rather than what it actually requires.🔮arxiv.orgThe Illusion-Illusion: Vision Language Models See Illusions Where There are NoneIllusions are entertaining, but they are also a useful diagnostic tool in cognitive science, philosophy, and neuroscience. A typical illusion shows a gap between how something "really is" and how some... 35712
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026A memorization analysis further supported our hypothesis: models that reproduced more riddles near-verbatim after seeing only the first 40% were more accurate on genuine riddles (Spearman’s rho=.88, p=.002), but worse on matched riddle riddles. 2321
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Humans and LLMs also made opposite mistakes: 🤖90.8% of LLM errors on riddle riddles involved applying inventive reasoning where none was needed. 🧑57.6% of human errors on genuine riddles involved defaulting to literal reasoning when inventive reasoning is needed. 1335
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Results show a clean crossover: 🤖LLMs were more accurate on genuine riddles than riddle riddles (84.9% vs. 50.7%). 🧑Humans showed the opposite pattern (50.5% vs. 80.5%). ♟️We also found the same crossover in whether they used the correct reasoning strategy. 1397
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026To test whether humans and LLMs switch reasoning strategies, we created 30 matched riddle/riddle-riddle pairs. We evaluated 9 state-of-the-art models and 100 human adults, all of whom provided an answer and briefly explained their reasoning to each problem. 1281
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Now consider the riddle riddle: "A cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays for three days, and rides out on Monday. How is this possible?" A flexible reasoner should recognize that the trick is no longer present and switch reasoning strategies (💡Friday + 3 days = Monday). 2292
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Introducing the riddle riddle—problems that look like riddles but only require literal interpretations. First, consider a genuine riddle: "A cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays for three days, and rides out on Friday. How is this possible?" (💡Friday =🐴's name). 1343
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026LLMs perform well on many reasoning benchmarks, but accuracy alone doesn’t tell us how a model arrived at an answer. Did it actually reason, or match patterns from training data? To tease them apart, we need problems where what a task looks like differs from what it requires. 1321
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 26/06/2026New paper! w/ @cocoscilab.bsky.social🧵Can large language models reason flexibly, or have they learned what reasoning looks like? We introduce a new paradigm to test this question—the riddle riddle—and find that humans and LLMs show opposite patterns of performance. 📜 619776
Reposted by Bella FascendiniTania Lombrozo @tanialombrozo.bsky.social · 24/06/2026I wrote a book! It's called WHY WE ASK WHY, and it's about the human drive to explain, combining psychology, philosophy, and stories. It will be released on October 6, but it's currently available for pre-order from Barnes & Noble at 25% off with code PREORDER25. 18437
Reposted by Bella FascendiniMelanie Mitchell @melaniemitchell.bsky.social · 03/06/2026It's always a treat to read Ted Chiang's thoughts on AI. www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2...theatlantic.comNo, Artificial Intelligence Is Not ConsciousTaken to its logical conclusion, this line of thinking is absurd—and damning. 59432
Reposted by Bella FascendiniCasey Lewry @caseylewry.bsky.social · 21/05/2026So excited that I’ll be joining @jesssalerno.bsky.social and Nick Schweitzer as a postdoc at Cornell starting this fall! Stay tuned for work on how people assign causal and moral responsibility in legal contexts! 0162
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 15/05/2026Congrats,Tom!! 🎉@cocoscilab.bsky.social 040
Reposted by Bella FascendiniCognition @cognitionjournal.bsky.social · 23/04/2026A computational theory of Aha! moments! New paper explaining why Aha! moments occur & why they feel so good. TLDR: They are a form of meta-cognitive prediction errors i.e. they occur when we surprise ourselves about our own abilities! @rachitdubey.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 19229
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 18/03/2026Registration deadline tomorrow! Come join our workshop! 😃✨ 053
Reposted by Bella FascendiniPaul Middlebrooks @braininspired.bsky.social · 18/03/2026Are the laws of thought woven from three golden threads? Tom @cocoscilab.bsky.social and I discuss some of the history and themes in logic, probability, and neural nets, in his new book The Laws of Thought. braininspired.co/podcast/233/ 063
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 10/03/2026For more details, visit: unified-motivation.github.io/cds. Feel free to direct questions to any of the organizers: @elainewang.bsky.social @bellafascendini.bsky.social @euniceyiu.bsky.social & @junyi.bsky.social. We hope to see you there! 😀 010
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 10/03/2026📅 April 9, 12:30–3:30pm | Hotel Bonaventure, Montreal Featuring talks by @jessicas.bsky.social, @katenuss.bsky.social, Nicholas Haber & @davidmsilverman.bsky.social, with a closing discussion by @alisongopnik.bsky.social, @hyogweon.bsky.social & @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social. 100
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 10/03/2026Are you attending @cogdevsoc.bsky.social 2026? Come join us for an afternoon pre-conference workshop on motivation in development! We'll bring together developmental, educational, and computational perspectives to ask: Can we build a unified account of motivation across the lifespan? ✨ 12211
Reposted by Bella FascendiniKillian McLoughlin @killianmcloughlin.bsky.social · 02/02/2026Are you a grad student who wants to give a talk at Princeton’s psychology department (in-person or on Zoom)? Nominate yourself or someone you know: forms.gle/WN2ybYMuZiW3... Priority given to non-Ivy and URM students. International applicants welcome. Deadline is this Friday (Feb 6)!forms.gleEmerging Scholars in Psychological Science Speaker NominationsNominate yourself or another late-stage PhD student to speak at Princeton's Department of Psychology this academic semester (Spring 2026). The Emerging Scholars in Psychological Science (ESPS) talk ... 01010
Reposted by Bella FascendiniTania Lombrozo @tanialombrozo.bsky.social · 18/12/2025This is an amazing book - highly recommend for experts and casual readers alike! 1123
Reposted by Bella FascendiniLeonard Learning Lab @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social · 20/11/2025We are looking to hire a research assistant to help with data collection at our partner museum in Philadelphia! Share with your undergraduates or post-baccs who are looking for more experience in cog dev research! Please see the attached ad for more information: docs.google.com/document/d/1...docs.google.comYale Leonard Learning Lab - Philadelphia RA AdTitle: Philadelphia-Area-Based Research Assistant Position in the Yale Learning Lab The Leonard Learning Lab (PI: Dr. Julia Leonard) at Yale University has an opening for a research assistant to help... 001
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 07/11/2025Congrats, Rachit!! Super well deserved! 🥳 010
Reposted by Bella FascendiniKristina Olson @olsonista.bsky.social · 31/10/2025Are you a US-based PhD student WITHOUT summer funding who is interested in adolescent development, trans youth, and/or gender? Reach out to me about applying to join my lab in Summer 2026 for the VIPS program! psych.princeton.edu/diversity/vi...psych.princeton.eduVisiting Internship for Ph.D. Students (VIPS) ProgramThe VIPS program is an initiative of the DEI committee of the Department of Psychology at Princeton University. VIPS will support up to 4 Ph.D. students who are full-time students at other universitie... 13644
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 06/10/2025open access link here: rdcu.be/eJGeCrdcu.be‘Motivation reconsidered’ reconsideredNature Reviews Psychology - ‘Motivation reconsidered’ reconsidered 000
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 06/10/2025Honored to contribute a Journal Club piece to @natrevpsychol.nature.com! I explore Robert White's seminal "competence motivation" framework (1959) and why it remains relevant over 60 years later—from why toddlers insist on doing things themselves to designing intrinsically motivated AI. 🤖 1134
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 06/10/2025open access link here: rdcu.be/eJGeCrdcu.be‘Motivation reconsidered’ reconsideredNature Reviews Psychology - ‘Motivation reconsidered’ reconsidered 000
Reposted by Bella FascendiniRachit Dubey @rachitdubey.bsky.social · 03/09/2025My lab at UCLA is hiring 1-2 PhD students this cycle! Join us to work at the intersection of cognitive science and AI applied to pressing societal challenges like climate change. More info about me: rachit-dubey.github.io My lab: ucla-cocopol.github.io Please help repost/spread the word! 24219
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 17/08/2025One of the most brilliant scientists in CogSci + one of the best institutions to study CogSci. 💫 Apply!! 040
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 01/08/2025Excited to present at @CogSci2025 tomorrow at 1pm in Salon 6! Looking forward to presenting alongside incredible cognitive scientists @cvales.bsky.social, @elainewang.bsky.social, and @junyi.bsky.social ✨ 053
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 30/07/2025Come check out my lab mate Ham Huang’s cool work and cape! 😎 0120
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 18/07/2025Congrats, @emiecz.bsky.social !! Super, super cool work! 🍞 110
Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 16/06/2025So exited to work with such a fun bunch this summer! 🙌 Welcome to the lab! 🥳 030
Reposted by Bella FascendiniMelissa Kline Struhl @mekline.bsky.social · 29/05/2025After a few days to fix some bugs, we will be holding another online Psych-DS tutorial on Wednesday, June 4, 12pm EDT. This is an informal workshop designed to help you convert a dataset to Psych-DS - BYO or find an open dataset at osf.io/mbvk4. Sign up here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...docs.google.comPsych-DS Workshop signups!Psych-DS is an open source data standard for representing datasets in the social/behavioral sciences. It is designed for use by individual researchers who are collecting data, preparing datasets for a... 164
