I 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.

Do LLMs *understand* language? Do educational AI agents *understand* the material they teach (or their students)? Claims about what AI systems do or don't understand are pervasive, but assessing them requires an account of MACHINE UNDERSTANDING

I am thrilled to announce that this framework is out! Who is responsible for inequality? @tanialombrozo.bsky.social and I show that answers depend on whether people are judging causes or obligations, and the past vs the future. doi.org/10.1177/1745...

This is an amazing book - highly recommend for experts and casual readers alike!

🚨🚨🚨 Our 52nd Annual Meeting will be held from June 18–20, 2026 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, with a pre-conference on Mental Control and Agency held at JHU on June 17 🚨🚨🚨 We are currently inviting submissions of papers (talks and posters)!

Glad and sad to see this series, which echoes the theme of lost science I wrote about below & does something to make it less invisible www.northjersey.com/story/opinio...

Thank you to @anahidmodrek.bsky.social for visiting with my FAQs about Life seminar this week! We read her fabulous work with @tanialombrozo.bsky.social showing positive effects of explaining on test scores & appreciated chatting with her about this research: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

Visible light 🔆 or electromagnetic waves 📡: Which helps people understand better? In a new post for Character & Context (@spspnews.bsky.social), I dive into my work with @tanialombrozo.bsky.social on how jargon shapes scientific understanding. Check it out here! spsp.org/news/charact...

My 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!

We're hiring!!! Princeton Psych has an Assistant Prof search in cog neuro (joint with @princetonneuro.bsky.social). Apply apply apply! puwebp.princeton.edu/AcadHire/app...

SAVE SCIENCE FUNDING IN THE USA Here's a link to an American Physical Society tool for sending letters supporting science funding. Please do this ESPECIALLY if you live in a state/district with majority party members. Takes 2 minutes. www.aps.org/initiatives/...

I am privileged to announce the publication of the Anti-Autocracy Handbook: sks.to/autocracy 1/12

Laypeople often learn about science from expert explanations & those explanations often contain JARGON. Does jargon make explanations better or worse? In a paper out today in Nature Human Behaviour, @cruzf.bsky.social and I find that jargon can support illusions of understanding...

President Trump’s FY26 budget for #NSF will slash funding for the agency by 56.9% and funding for Social, Behavioral, and Economic sciences by 67.6% These cuts will end US STEM leadership, weaken national security, and set-back individual prosperity and well-being.

🎊 New preprint 🎊 w/ Tania Lombrozo Why do people engage in collective actions, even when they believe their actions won't make a difference? Based on evidence from the 2024 election and a hypothetical election, we find that *moral* responsibility, not causal, drives voting osf.io/preprints/ps...

Please join @asliozyurek.bsky.social, @tanialombrozo.bsky.social, Hannah Rohde and me **this Wednesday 12pm eastern**. What does the future of cogsci in higher ed look like? I promise it's not all bad news!! Register below!

Want an explanation for the destruction of health and medicine in our country that's completely understandable? Send this far and wide! Please share!! Accurate, simple, and comprehensive, John Oliver describes what's happening to NIH (+others) and medicine better than I can youtu.be/8H34jcpEsFs

Unfortunately, the NSF grant that supports our work has been terminated. This is a setback, but our mission has not changed. We will continue to work hard on making cognitive science a more inclusive field. Stay tuned for upcoming events.

Are you interested in research experience before applying to PhD programs? Or just want to learn more about cognitive science? Consider joining my lab as a lab manager (joint w/the Griffiths Lab). We will begin reviewing applications one week from today: cognition.princeton.edu/news/2025/op...

Here in Princeton, NJ, a town of about 30,000 people, the crowd at the #HandsOff protest. Appeared to be about 1300-1500 people, as high as 5% of the population. It's the largest event I have seen in this public space.

“Without the support of my community, I would have never pursued a career in science”, writes Chantal Valdivia-Moreno from Chula Vista, CA 🥑. Now research cuts threaten that community: its health, economy & children’s futures. 🧪🏠 @talvaldivia.bsky.social www.thestarnews.com/we-owe-it-to...

"Fostering Appropriate Reliance on LLMs" received an Honorable Mention at #CHI2025! This work is also the last chapter of my dissertation, so the recognition feels more special🏅🎓😊 🎉 to the team @jennwv.bsky.social @qveraliao.bsky.social @tanialombrozo.bsky.social Olga Russakovsky

For every caregiver exasperated by a child’s incessant questions, there’s a communicator who’d be thrilled to stimulate that kind of curiosity. Psychologist @tanialombrozo.bsky.social, researcher Daniel Silva Luna & ScienceCounts share insights on what makes people curious publuu.com/flip-book/68...

"Every citizen and officeholder who cares about the strength of our country ... should demand a stop to the government’s unwarranted intrusion on academic freedom at Columbia." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

If you identify as a Jewish member of the academic community, and are appalled by the actions being taken in the name of defending our community, please consider signing this letter (which can be done anonymously) and also sharing it with others: forms.gle/prnRbq69a6YN...

WHERE WILL YOU BE TOMORROW?

🧪🚨 NSF's Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) has halted making nearly all new awards since inauguration day. Among *many* other things, EDU runs the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). We need to protect the education & training of the next gen of scientists #StandUpForScience Thread👇🧵

Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025! Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide! #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

Super fun collaboration across cogsci fields! We find that when an LLM response is accompanied by an explanation, users are more likely to accept the response. But the quality of the explanation matters - users rely less on responses with explanations when the explanations contain inconsistencies.

Are you a junior faculty member interested in spending 2-4 weeks at Princeton Psych? Please apply for our Microsabbatical program! It’s a fully funded visit for professional development and creating long-term collaborations. psych.princeton.edu/diversity/mi...

📣February issue is live! Cover: Aggregated opinion & beliefs Also in this issue: 💻using NLP to analyze text data 🫥consequences of ostracism ❌repetitive negative thinking as a transdiagnostic process Plus a Viewpoint & editorial on generative AI Read more: go.nature.com/3CMViC6

This was a fun conversation!

Are you interested in interdisciplinary work on explanation and understanding in natural and artificial minds? This is a final reminder to consider a new postdoc opportunity through Princeton's NAM initiative (initial deadline Dec. 31!) t.co/R3BUQJ0cs1