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CogSci 2024

Childhood as exploration

### Looking for Cogsci 2023? Please [click here](https://underline.io/events/405/reception) to switch to 2023 edition.


**Dear Colleagues,**

Welcome to the 43rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society! 

This year’s conference brings together the latest research from all Cognitive Science and also highlights this year’s theme **Comparative Cognition: Animal Minds.** 

The program features four plenary speakers: Friederike Range (University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna), Onur Güntürkün (Ruhr University Bochum), Julia Fischer (University of Göttingen), and Erich Jarvis (The Rockefeller University). The keynotes and invited symposia showcase the broad spectrum of ideas that encompass the conference theme of comparative cognition. 

Further, the program includes the Rumelhart Prize keynote presentation by Susan Goldin-Meadow (University of Chicago), and symposia to celebrate the winner of the Elman Prize: Wei Ji Ma (New York University), the Heineken Award winner Robert Zatorre (McGill University), and the Robert J. Glushko Dissertation Prizes session.

The program committee for CogSci 2021 received 1,025 submissions, including 710 full papers, 275 member abstracts, 8 publication-based talks, as well as 15 proposals for symposia, and 17 for workshops and tutorials. After a rigorous review process, the committee selected 152 papers for oral presentation and inclusion in the conference proceedings (14.8%), 332 papers for poster presentation and inclusion in the proceedings (32.4%), and 175 papers for poster presentation with inclusion of abstracts in the proceedings (17.1%) We also selected 275 submitted member abstracts. In addition, we accepted 6 publication-based talks, 12 symposia, and 9 workshops and tutorials to make for an exciting and inclusive program.

We hope that you enjoy the conference this year!<br><br>

**Your Program Chairs,**
![](https://assets.underline.io/uploads/markdown_image/1/image/99984908caba5e6453e5fc5ba34f3507.jpg)

**Learn more about the Vienna Cognitive Science Hub at the University of Vienna, hosts of CogSci 2021**

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/464h1m3iU68" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

To review the proceedings for the conference or review the searchable program, please visit the [website](https://cognitivesciencesociety.org/program/).


CogSci 2021

The Cognitive Science Society brings together researchers from around the world who hold a common goal: understanding the nature of the human mind. The mission of the Society is to promote Cognitive Science as a discipline, and to foster scientific interchange among researchers in various areas of study, including Artificial Intelligence, Linguistics, Anthropology, Psychology, Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Education. The Society is a non-profit professional organization and its activities include sponsoring an annual conference and publishing the journals Cognitive Science and TopiCS.

invited talk

The 46th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society was an in-person meeting held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands at the Postillion Hotel & Conference Centre.

**ON-DEMAND PROGRAM ACCESS AFTER THE CONFERENCE**<br>
Recordings of the invited program are now available. You can access them by clicking on the 'Schedule' icon on the left. Select view by week and navigate to the day and time slot of the recording you wish to view. Click on the time slot to access the recording.

Recordings available (click on each recording to view):

**Thursday, July 25**<br>
0900: [Keynote Speaker Morgan Barense on Enhancing real-world event memory](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions/17997/lecture/99084-dynamics-between-minds-and-the-environment)<br>
1000: [Gleitman Award Winner Isabelle Dautriche on Language Foundations: Insights from acquisition, communication, cognition, and more](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions/18000/lecture/99085-gleitman-talk)<br>
1415: [Invited Symposium: Dynamics between minds and the environment](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions?eventSessionId=18016&searchGroup=lecture)<br>
1700: [Rumelhart Prize Presentation Speaker Alison Gopnik on Exploit, explore, empower: Three ages and three intelligences](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions/18028/lecture/99161-rp1-rumelhart-prize-presentation)<br>

**Friday, July 26**<br>
0900: [C.L. de Carvalho-Heineken Prize Keynote Speaker Kia Nobre on Focusing in memory](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions/18035/lecture/99162-hp1-c-l-de-carvalho-heineken-prize-keynote-address)<br>
1030: [Rumelhart Symposium: Childhood as exploration](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions/18038/lecture/100346-childhood-as-exploration)<br>
1415: [Elman Prize Symposium](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions?eventSessionId=18053&searchGroup=lecture)<br>
1600: [Invited Symposium: Dynamics between minds](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions?eventSessionId=18065&searchGroup=lecture)<br>
1745: [Keynote Speaker Andrea E. Martin on Neural dynamics encode the structure and statistics of language](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions/18077/lecture/99271-neural-dynamics-encode-the-structure-and-statistics-of-language)<br>

**Saturday, July 27**<br>
0900: [Keynote Speaker Gregor Schöner on How higher cognition emerges from the dynamics of strongly interacting neural populations](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions/18083/lecture/99273-dynamics-within-the-mind)<br>
1000: [Glushko Talks](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions?eventSessionId=18086&searchGroup=lecture)<br>
1500: [Invited Symposium: Dynamics within minds](https://underline.io/events/465/sessions?eventSessionId=18100&searchGroup=lecture)<br>


#### **CogSci 2024 Program Book**
<div style="position:relative;padding-top:0;width:900px;height:500px;"><iframe style="position:absolute;border:none;width:100%;height:100%;left:0;top:0;" src="https://online.fliphtml5.com/ebtyf/cble/"  seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" ></iframe></div>


**The Program Book can be downloaded [here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yRVp1cBqRnAbdYi4GXWV_pZeyWNsRquv/view?usp=sharing).**

#### **Letter from the President**

Welcome to the 2024 Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society in Rotterdam! CogSci 2024 brings together a large community of cognitive scientists who have traveled here from around the world, as well as a smaller group of remote presenters. I would like to extend an especially warm welcome to our first-time CogSci meeting attendees, and hope that 
their experience inspires them to join our future meetings for many years to come.

I want to thank this year’s conference co-chairs, Larissa K Samuelson, Stefan Frank, Mariya Toneva, Allyson Mackey, and Eliot Hazeltine, for putting together an amazing series of invited talks and symposia around the theme of Dynamics of Cognition. The co-chairs also deserve credit for handling a record-breaking number of submissions and producing a truly exciting conference program 

Beyond the invited talks and symposia dedicated to this year’s conference theme, I would like to highlight the presentations and events honoring the 
Rumelhart, Elman, Gleitman and C .L . de Carvalho Heineken prize winners, including the Rumelhart reception on Thursday. As you may know, we are recording all of the invited talks and symposia, and all prize-winners’ talks, and will be making this content available after the conference. 

The Cognitive Science Society relies on the volunteer efforts of our Governing Board members who work on matters related to our membership; conference policies; diversity and inclusion, international, and outreach initiatives; prizes and much more. We welcome interest from Society members who would like to become more involved in what we do. The 
Society is deeply grateful to Rick Dale and Andrea Bender, who serve as editors of the two Society journals, Cognitive Science and Topics in Cognitive Science respectively. We especially acknowledge our editors’ generosity in donating their stipends each year to D&I and outreach efforts. 

This year’s Annual Meeting depends critically on the support of Marischal De Armond and his team at Podium Conference Specialists: Sharon Zwack, Cendrine De Vis, Sarah-Kate Burke, and Rachel Waller worked tirelessly to secure the venue and handled a multitude of logistical and organizational issues, from arranging coffee breaks and receptions to making sure that a huge number of posters fits comfortably into the available space. Finally, and importantly, I would like to acknowledge the Cognitive Science Society Executive Officer, Erica Wojcik, for managing the complex and ever expanding sphere of our Society’s activities.

I hope you enjoy this year’s meeting and the many different opportunities to engage with the vibrant community of cognitive scientists gathered here. I also hope you get a chance to explore the great city of Rotterdam with its many attractions, museums, restaurants and scenic views. If you’d like to talk more about our Society, or simply want to say hello, please stop by!

![](https://assets.underline.io/markdown_image/1/image/3c66d0e21fff30e204df1138ffd15173.jpeg)

**Anna Papafragou**  
President, Cognitive Science 
Society 2023-2024

**CODE OF CONDUCT**<br>
By attending the CogSci 2024 Conference, you are required to adhere to the society’s [Code of Conduct](https://drive.google.com/file/d/16-6KkptF0Gn3ZYGJDlpqpwTdImw45Ng0/view?usp=drive_link).

**ABOUT THE COGNITIVE SCIENCE SOCIETY**<br>
The Cognitive Science Society brings together researchers from around the world who hold a common goal: understanding the nature of the human mind. The mission of the Society is to promote Cognitive Science as a discipline, and to foster scientific interchange among researchers in various areas of study, including Artificial Intelligence, Linguistics, Anthropology, Psychology, Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Education.

The Society is a non-profit professional organization and its activities include sponsoring an annual conference and publishing the journals Cognitive Science and TopiCS.
<br><br>

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The 46th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society presents the latest research across cognitive science and highlights the theme of Cognition in Context.

In this session, representatives from IES, NSF, UNESCO, and ERC will discuss
intellectual, sociological, and practical issues that arise in doing research in
Cognitive Science, Education, and at their intersection. Some of these issues
are due generally to the multidisciplinary nature of the work, but others are
specific to education. The mobilization of research knowledge and human
capital for translation to practice and policy remains a significant challenge
that each of these agencies seeks to address. The speakers will highlight
relevant initiatives and point to similarities and differences in the grant
review processes between programs, providing tips for successful grant
writing along the way. They will discuss where their programs are placed in
relation to one another in the funding landscape and along the continuum
from the most basic to the most applied research – and the extent that such a
distinction is meaningful. They will also contrast their funding emphases and
the implications those emphases have for the kinds of projects that can be
engaged.

Getting Funding to do Cognitive Science and Education Research

Command and control is a key activity in a war that determines whether the war is won or lost. A person's cognition can influence the decisions he makes in command and control. In this paper, we propose a method to assess the impact of cognitive manipulation techniques in command and control. We divide command and control activities into eight segments and use a hierarchical latent Dirichlet allocation model in natural language processing to discover the most important cognitive manipulation techniques at present. We completed the assessment process using the Quality Function Expansion Model. The results of the assessment show that judgement, decision-making, and planning in the command and control perspective are susceptible to cognitive manipulation techniques; the tactical level is more susceptible to cognitive manipulation techniques than the strategic campaign. Life sciences, digital technology, and other fields play a key role in command and control research under cognitive manipulation.

**Authors:**

Yazhou Sun: Military Science Information Research Center; Xiaosong Li: Military Science Information Research Center

Assessing the Impact of Cognitive Manipulation Techniques on the Command and Control Process: An Exploration Based on QFD Model

Measuring the neural correlates of cognition in freely moving preschoolers presents several challenges. The current article describes a proof-of-principle study assessing brain activation in preschoolers while performing a naturalistic action planning task. Ninety-two children between 3 and 5 years of age built both a Duplo house and a Duplo spaceship. Both building tasks involve the completion of multiple subgoals within the overall goal. The results revealed an increase in oxyhemoglobin activation in right DLPFC when planning for the next subgoal, as well as in a standard go/no-go inhibition task, suggesting that inhibition may play a special role in selecting subgoals. More generally, we demonstrate that fNIRS data can be recorded from moving preschoolers and that a multi-modal set-up including optical motion capture can allow the reconstruction of events of interest. Implications of the approach, as well as recommendations to improve data quality of wireless fNIRS in moving preschoolers, are discussed.

**Authors:**

Lisanne Schroer: Erasmus University Rotterdam; Paola Pinti: Birkbeck, University of London; Richard P Cooper: Birkbeck, University of London; Denis Mareschal: Birkbeck, University of London

Using mobile fNIRS to explore the development of goal-directed action sequence planning in freely moving preschoolers.

The interception of moving targets is a fundamental sensorimotor task involving perception and action. For this task, the dominant approach has been to model the behavioral dynamics using online control laws such as the constant bearing angle strategy, which explain behavior without assuming internal models. Here, we derive a Bayesian model-based optimal control model of an interception task and compare it against the constant bearing angle strategy. First, we show that both models equivalently capture average trajectories, suggesting that observing the interception trajectories in an experiment cannot adjudicate between the two models. However, including realistic levels of perceptual uncertainty, motor variability, and sensorimotor delays leads online control without an internal model to quickly deteriorate in interception performance. We conclude that the empirically observed robustness of the constant bearing angle strategy speaks against a direct coupling of environmental variables and behavior, but instead requires a form of internal model.

**Authors:**

Dominik Straub: Technical University of Darmstadt; Constantin Rothkopf: Technical University of Darmstadt

If it looks like online control, it is probably model-based control

There is a long line of research that has investigated how different kinds of visual information (e.g. optic flow) guide high-speed steering. Additionally, researchers have developed visual control models that capture the relationship between information and steering. Although models have been designed for a variety of steering maneuvers, they all assume that steering behavior remains consistent whether a driver has driven down a road once or numerous times. Thus, models do not address how behavior changes as drivers become familiar with the layout of the road. Our work investigates how drivers incorporate visual information and spatial knowledge to guide steering . We present a virtual driving experiment that examines how steering changes as humans become more familiar with a track, measuring metrics including speed, steering angle, and lane deviation. Results inform the development of a cognitive model that captures the relationship between visual information and spatial knowledge to guide steering behavior.

**Authors:**

Grace Roessling: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Brett Fajen: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

The role of spatial knowledge in the on-line control of high-speed steering

During conversations, communication partners rapidly assess shared knowledge based on information in utterances. However, little is known about how this process unfolds, particularly when background information is limited such as when talking to strangers. Do spoken utterances provide valid cues to speaker knowledge? To test this, we applied a cultural consensus framework (e.g., Romney et al., 1986), and asked humans vs. large language models (LLMs) to assess speaker similarity based on their transcribed utterances. On each trial, participants saw two language samples that varied in speaker expertise (e.g., A: expert, B: novice) and were asked which one was more similar to a third sample, which was produced by either an expert or novice (X). Accuracy was highest for GPT-4 followed by humans and GPT-3.5. Humans and GPT-4 were more accurate at categorizing language samples from experts, while GPT-3.5 was better with novices. Likewise, humans and GPT-4 were more accurate with samples from adult compared to child speakers, while GPT-3.5 was similar across the two. Item-level performance by humans and GPT-4 was strongly associated, while both were unrelated to GPT-3.5. Our findings suggest that language-based cultural consensus may enable reliable inferences of common ground during communication, providing an algorithmic-level description of how partners may infer states of the world.

**Authors:**

Sophie Domanski: University of Maryland; Rachel Rudinger: University of Maryland College Park; Marine Carpuat: University of Maryland; Patrick Shafto: Rutgers University - Newark; Yi Ting Huang: University of Maryland College Park

Assessing Common Ground through Language-based Cultural Consensus in Humans and Large Language Models

Humans make sense of space in a variety of ways. We can locate the world relative to our bodies, for instance, and thus adopt an 'egocentric' frame of reference for space. Or we can locate the world relative to self-external frames of reference --- the cardinal directions, perhaps, or salient geographical features such as mountains. Across contexts and cultures, people vary in the frame of reference they adopt to think and communicate about space. Here, we test an explanation of this diversity: Egocentric encoding is encouraged by dense urban environments, particularly when reasoning about small-scale space. We constructed a corpus of three decades of published studies of cross-cultural variation in spatial frames of reference (N > 20,000 participants). Multilevel Bayesian models confirmed that egocentric encoding is more common in cities (vs. rural environments) and for small-scale space. Our conceptualization of space is shaped by the spaces we inhabit.

**Authors:**

Tyler Marghetis: University of California, Merced; Alyssa Viviana Ortega: University of California, Merced; Kevin J. Holmes: Reed College

Ecological relativity of spatial cognition: Humans think about space egocentrically in urban environments

There is debate regarding the role of number words in numerical cognition, especially for understanding exact large numbers. Studies of languages with number words for only small numbers suggest those languages do not provide symbolic scaffolding for exact large numerical cognition. This study investigates numerical cognition in speakers of the Amazonian language Awetý which has twenty number words. In experimental tasks with numbers/objects up to 20, Awetý participants demonstrated high accuracy in counting, verbal number comprehension, verbal and non-verbal one-to-one matching, and exact subtraction. Awetý speakers also performed with high accuracy on approximate non-symbolic number comparison with more than 20 items, i.e. beyond their number word range. Awetý participants performed as well as Portuguese speaking control participants across tasks. These findings demonstrate that knowledge and use of a system of twenty numeral words is sufficient for understanding exact numerical equivalence, at least up to 20, and basic arithmetic proficiency.

**Authors:**

Vera Da Silva Sinha: University of Oxford; Wary Kamaiura Sabino: Secretaria Estadual de Educaçao; Silke M. Göbel: University of York; Asifa Majid: University of Oxford

Understanding exact large number is possible in Amazonian languages

What makes Lassie a smart dog? People have strong intuitions about dogs’ intelligence, yet the content and organization of these intuitions remain unknown. Two studies examined the structure of laypeople’s concepts of dog intelligence, creating a conceptual map of what people represent as a “smart” or “dumb” dog. Study 1 elicited open-ended ideas about dog intelligence. We turned consistent themes into items in a 50-item survey. Study 2 asked participants to picture either a smart or dumb dog and rate that dog on the items derived from Study 1. Participants strongly agreed in their ratings of smart and dumb dogs, and we discovered a coherent dimensional structure underlying people’s intuitions. They represent smart dogs as socially skilled with a good temperament, and dumb dogs as bad at physical reasoning and avoiding threats. These representations align well with findings from canine research and with dog trainers’ practical knowledge.

**Authors:**

Miriam Ross: Brown University ; Daphna Buchsbaum: Brown University; Bertram F. Malle: Brown University

Human Perceptions of Canine Intelligence

The European Upper Palaeolithic is rich in figurative cave art. In particular, prey animals are depicted, often in simple schematic outlines. The role and function of these depic-tions is subject of controversy with many competing ac-counts represented in the literature. Here we apply eye-tracking to investigate participants’ distribution of visual attention as a function of three hypothesized pragmatic functions of the cave art: aesthetic appreciation, narratives about animal behavior, and social learning of animal spe-cies. Results indicate vast variability in visual exploration patterns across the viewing conditions, with more uni-formly distributed attention in the aesthetics condition, more focus on legs and torso in the behavior condition, and more attention to the head regions in the species recognition condition. Findings are discussed in regard to the under- and over-specification of information in the an-imal paintings as a cue to their possible past function.

**Authors:**

Frederieke Nicola Wullf: Aarhus University; Sara Kjær Kristensen: Aarhus University; Isobel Wisher: Aarhus University; Kristian Tylen: Aarhus University

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