ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas
@ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
1.6K followers 920 following 160 posts
Assistant Professor she/her. I study how people think about social relationships. Usually with babies and kids. ashleyjthomas.com
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · 1d
Interested in understanding how young humans think about social relationships? I am reading PhD applications this year! **Please note**, that Harvard now requires the GRE. More information here: www.ashleyjthomas.com/workwithme
WANT TO WORK WITH ME? | Mysite
www.ashleyjthomas.com
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Sep 5
Interested in applying to graduate programs or research positions in psychology? Want more information and feedback on your submission materials? Then Harvard’s Prospective Ph.D. & RA Event in Psychology (PPREP) Is for you!! psychology.fas.harvard.edu/pprep
More info in the link!! Please retweet!
PPREP Program | Department of Psychology
psychology.fas.harvard.edu
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Aug 21
No worries at all! I'm glad to know your paper. I think these results imply they could -- if the proposition is correct that they're able to represent the faces as distinct entities based on their facial features, then they should be able to!
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Aug 20
So cool! Check out @brandonwoo.bsky.social ’s recent cog sci paper where we find convergent results! escholarship.org/uc/item/4db7...
Social Engagement Leads Infants to Represent People as Individuals
Author(s): Woo, Brandon Matthew; Peng, Haowei; Steele, Christina; Thomas, Ashley J | Abstract: How do infants come to represent people's identities? In two experiments (N = 86), we investigated 7- to ...
escholarship.org
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Aug 17
All Sound so cool! @qinwenshuo.bsky.social would love to see your poster!
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Reposted by Ashley Thomas
setayeshradkani.bsky.social
Setayesh Radkani @setayeshradkani.bsky.social · Aug 8
🚨Out in PNAS🚨
with @joshtenenbaum.bsky.social & @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social

Punishment, even when intended to teach norms and change minds for the good, may backfire.

Our computational cognitive model explains why!

Paper: tinyurl.com/yc7fs4x7
News: tinyurl.com/3h3446wu

🧵
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
tinyurl.com
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Aug 13
The lab feels so empty without our summer interns!
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adenaschachner.bsky.social
Adena Schachner @adenaschachner.bsky.social · Jul 30
I and my lab are happy to be at #cogsci2025! Here's a shortcut to find work from the fabulous folks in my lab (and me) 😄
On Wednesday: Adena Schachner, talk: "Intuitive Archeology: Social reasoning from the physical world”, W ~10 am, Fourth Level (Pacific) Room A. Chaolan Lin & Adena Schachner, poster: "How children explore and detect augmented reality filters", W 10-11 am, Fourth level (Pacific) Room E. On Thursday: Amy Nguyễn, Rodney Tompkins & Adena Schachner, poster, "When walls talk: People make social inferences from towns’ protective features", Th 1:00-2:15, P1-T-194 On Saturday: Chaolan Lin & Adena Schachner, poster, "Perceived musicality in an android increases positive social attributions", Sat 1:00-2:15, P3-L-113 Shirley Liu, Craig McKenzie & Adena Schachner, poster, "When Default Options Explain Away Preferences: A Causal Reasoning Account of Mental State Reasoning from Default Options ", Sat 1:00-2:15, P3-L-11
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leonardlearnlab.bsky.social
Leonard Learning Lab @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social · Jul 28
The Learning Lab is heading to CogSci 2025 (@cogscisociety.bsky.social) to share our latest research! Come say hello!
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shariliu.bsky.social
Shari Liu @shariliu.bsky.social · Jul 28
Who's excited for #CogSci2025? 💭
Schedule for the LIU LAB at CogSci 2025 conference, featuring a variety of workshops and presentations. Wednesday, July 30 Workshop 1: "Putting it together: Interactions between domains of cognition" at 8:30 AM, presented by Shari Liu and Joseph Outa. Thursday, July 31 P1-C-24: "Surprise isn’t symmetrical: Adults’ looking suggests non-perceptual considerations during dishabituation" from 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM, presented by Qiong Cao, Anjie Cao, Gal Raz, Josh Tenenbaum, and Shari Liu. Friday, August 1 Lecture in Symposium 4: "Perceiving and reasoning jointly about the social and physical world" at 9:40 AM, presented by Shari Liu. P2-O-146: "Adults hold two parallel causal frameworks for reasoning about people’s minds, actions, and bodies" from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, presented by Joseph Outa and Shari Liu. Saturday, August 2 P3-B-15: "Who drew this? Children appreciate visual style differently than adults" from 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM, presented by Tal Boger, Chaz Firestone, and Shari Liu. P3-K-95: "Pushing people: the neural basis of social interaction perception" from 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM, presented by Minjae Kim, Miriam Hauptman, and Shari Liu. Talks 49: "Learning and Development 5" from 3:21 PM to 3:45 PM, presenting findings on individual differences in habituation and dishabituation, by Anjie Cao, Qiong Cao, Michael Frank, and Shari Liu. The schedule includes a call to attendees to "Come and say hi!" at the event.
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lindseypowell.bsky.social
Lindsey Powell @lindseypowell.bsky.social · Jul 28
The SoCal Lab is headed to #cogsci2025 this week! Here's where you can find us:
A list of the SoCal Lab's presentations at CogSci. In brief: Lindsey Powell is giving talks in Workshop 1 on July 30 at 9:30 am and in Symposium 1 on July 31. Tori Hennessy is giving a talk in the Development of Social Cognition 1 session on July 31. Bill Pepe is giving a talk in the Development of Social Cognition session on August 1. Coxi Jiang is giving a talk in the Emotion session on August 1. Rodney Tompkins is presenting a poster in Session 2 on August 1.
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brandonwoo.bsky.social
Brandon Woo @brandonwoo.bsky.social · Jul 28
Looking forward to #CogSci2025! Anushka Laha and I will be sharing some of the first work from our lab
A visual with the presentations from the lab Brandon Woo Social engagement leads infants to represent people as individuals Development of Social Cognition I Thu, July 31 | 10:30 am to 12:00 pm PST Salon 6 Anushka Laha Young children spontaneously appreciate the perspectives of their social partners Virtual Poster Session 1 Thu, July 31 | 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm PST
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shariliu.bsky.social
Shari Liu @shariliu.bsky.social · May 20
If you are attending #CogSci2025 I hope you will consider attending our pre-conference workshop on July 29 - "Putting it Together: Interactions Between Domains of Cognition"
sites.google.com/view/cogsci2...
Domain Interactions | CogSci 2025
Organizers
sites.google.com
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Jul 19
@brandonwoo.bsky.social @lizettepizza.bsky.social
ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Jul 19
Come see my lab at the Cognitive Science Society Conference #cogsci2025
Poster that feature talks from the Thomas Lab at the Cognitive Science Society. The Thomas Lab at CogSci 2025 July 31st Brandon woo Social Engagement Leads Infants to Represent People as Individuals Oral Talk Session: Development of Social Cognition 1 Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Location: Salon 6 Denise Lopez Flores Preliminary Evidence that Infants and Children Use Accents to Inform Relational Expectations Poster Session 1: (PL1-L-118) Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Location: Salon 8 Friday August 1st Emma Yu Children Expect Emotional Consolation to Occur in Close Relationships Oral Talk Session: Development of Social Cognition 2 Time: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Location: Nob Hill B Min Feldman Do children use action frequency to infer social closeness? Poster Session 2: (P2-F-55) Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Location: Salon 8 Christina Steele Navigating Family Ties: Young Children's Cognitive Representations of the Family Network Oral Talk Session: Learning and Development 3 Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM Location: Nob Hill D Hannah Hok Kim Written in Stone: Lay intuitions about the emergence and impact of formal rules Poster Session 2: (P2-H-77) Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Location: Salon 8 Saturday August 2 Lizette Pizza Do People Value Plants Over Non-Living Entities? Moral Considerations in Adults and Young Children Poster Session 3: (P3-P-158) Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Location: Salon 8 Megan Richardson Children's Expectations of Emotional Intimacy in Close Relationships Poster Session 3: (P3-R-165) Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Location: Salon 8 Mack Briscoe When to speak up: How children reason about group dynamics Poster Session 3: (P3-B-18) Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Location: Salon 8
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Jul 19
Come see my lab at the Cognitive Science Society Conference #cogsci2025
Poster that feature talks from the Thomas Lab at the Cognitive Science Society. The Thomas Lab at CogSci 2025 July 31st Brandon woo Social Engagement Leads Infants to Represent People as Individuals Oral Talk Session: Development of Social Cognition 1 Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Location: Salon 6 Denise Lopez Flores Preliminary Evidence that Infants and Children Use Accents to Inform Relational Expectations Poster Session 1: (PL1-L-118) Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Location: Salon 8 Friday August 1st Emma Yu Children Expect Emotional Consolation to Occur in Close Relationships Oral Talk Session: Development of Social Cognition 2 Time: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Location: Nob Hill B Min Feldman Do children use action frequency to infer social closeness? Poster Session 2: (P2-F-55) Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Location: Salon 8 Christina Steele Navigating Family Ties: Young Children's Cognitive Representations of the Family Network Oral Talk Session: Learning and Development 3 Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM Location: Nob Hill D Hannah Hok Kim Written in Stone: Lay intuitions about the emergence and impact of formal rules Poster Session 2: (P2-H-77) Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Location: Salon 8 Saturday August 2 Lizette Pizza Do People Value Plants Over Non-Living Entities? Moral Considerations in Adults and Young Children Poster Session 3: (P3-P-158) Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Location: Salon 8 Megan Richardson Children's Expectations of Emotional Intimacy in Close Relationships Poster Session 3: (P3-R-165) Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Location: Salon 8 Mack Briscoe When to speak up: How children reason about group dynamics Poster Session 3: (P3-B-18) Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Location: Salon 8
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lindseypowell.bsky.social
Lindsey Powell @lindseypowell.bsky.social · Jul 17
New preprint! Led by Bill Pepe, with @brandonwoo.bsky.social and @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social. We asked if infants think helping and hindering stem from actors' dispositions (i.e. good/nice v bad/mean) or their social relationships, by testing expectations for future behavior: osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
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nakedprimate.bsky.social
Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · Jul 2
📣 Join the K/Creative Ape Team 🤓 2 PhDs on Creativity in Wild Chimpanzees & Bonobos; w myself & the v awesome @kathelijnekoops.bsky.social

@snf-fns.ch Uni Zurich @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @efp2026.bsky.social @ips-primatenews.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social @primbehavecol.bsky.social 🐵🧪
two 4-year PhD positions in the Ape Behaviour & Ecology Group of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Zurich, and the Wild Minds Lab of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, to study wild chimpanzees and bonobos. The PhD candidates will work within the Creative Ape Project. The overall goal of the project is to enhance our understanding of the evolution of creativity, and to shed light on whether humans are a uniquely 'creative ape'. To do so we will apply a comparative approach, quantifying the creative capacities of wild non-human apes to investigate the underlying drivers that shape creative expression across species. The project explores four interconnected topics: i) Making mavericks, ii) Funny guys and arty-types, iii) Lone ape geniuses, and iv) Creative ape economies. We employ a comprehensive approach that leverages long-term datasets, new field data, detailed manual video-coding, bespoke automated deep-learning models, and advanced modelling, to extract rich information on the ways in which apes solve problems in their daily lives. Excellent collaborative, independent working and time management skills are essential. Previous field experience (incl. behavioural data collection) is required, and experience working in remote places under difficult living conditions is highly recommended. The project will require strong data management and data analysis skills, and 12-18 months of field work split into 2-3 periods. Please submit your application in a single PDF to kathelijne.koops@iea.uzh.ch and clh42@st-andrews.ac.uk – by 4th of August 2025. Feel free to get in touch if you have any inquiries about the positions. Applications should include: 1) cover letter stating your motivation and how your expertise fits the project (max. 1 page), 2) Curriculum Vitae, 3) copy of the highest degree obtained, 4) names and contact details of two referees, and 5) reprints of 1-2 selected publications A tiny chimpfant looks at the camera with surprise
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tomerullman.bsky.social
Tomer Ullman @tomerullman.bsky.social · Jul 2
🎈 Out now: 🎈

"The capacity limits of moving objects in the imagination"

(by Balaban & me)

of interest to people thinking about the imagination, intuitive physics, mental simulation, capacity limits, and more

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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jmadelman.bsky.social
Joseph M. Adelman @jmadelman.bsky.social · Jul 2
Massachusetts: $107,694,933

Approved by Congress. Illegally withheld by the DOE.
jessicacalarco.com
Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · Jul 2
The Trump administration is currently holding hostage nearly $7B in federal funding for K-12 schools--funding that was supposed to be distributed yesterday.

They've stolen $80M from Wisconsin students and teachers alone. How much have they stolen from your state?

www.edweek.org/policy-polit...
See How Much School Funding Trump Is Holding Back From Your State
The administration is holding back nearly $7 billion for English learners, after-school programs, professional development, and more.
www.edweek.org
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amiyake.bsky.social
Akira Miyake @amiyake.bsky.social · Jun 22
It's a summer conference season, so I thought I'd tell you about the tremendous efforts our conservation biology colleagues have been making to make conferences more INCLUSIVE & friendly to early career researchers (ECRs) not fluent in English. I find their accomplishments truly inspiring. 🧵(1/10)
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andrewshtulman.bsky.social
Andrew Shtulman @andrewshtulman.bsky.social · Jun 21
Infants have been shown to individuate objects before people in a visual occlusion task. Why? @brandonwoo.bsky.social, @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social, et al. find that engagement matters. Infants *do* individuate people who actively engage with them.
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Jun 22
Would love that!
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ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Jun 21
This is so cool! I have been thinking about how intuitive theories work on IATs -- so very broadly in the same vein! Nice for some evidence :-)
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cailinmeister.bsky.social
Cailin O’Connor @cailinmeister.bsky.social · Mar 20
Undergrads interested in philosophy of science? Please share that applications are open for our summer development program! lpssdp.com?fbclid=IwY2x...
LPS Summer Development Program – August 11th to 15th, 2025
lpssdp.com
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sydneylevine.bsky.social
Sydney Levine @sydneylevine.bsky.social · Jun 6
🔆 I'm hiring! 🔆

There are two open positions:

1. Summer research position (best for master's or graduate student); focus on computational social cognition.
2. Postdoc (currently interviewing!); focus on computational social cognition and AI safety.

sites.google.com/corp/site/sy...
Sydney Levine - Open Positions
Summer Research Position I am seeking a part-time or full-time researcher for the summer (starting asap) to bring a project to completion. The project asks the question: do people around the world u...
sites.google.com
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