A 3-year PhD or a 2-year postdoctoral position is available to do research with Dr Franck Ramus on Gene-environment interplay on reading ability, disability, and recovery, at the Department of Cognitive Studies, Ecole Normale Supérieure-PSL University, Paris

Despite a number of studies, it remains unclear whether male and female human newborns manifest different visual preferences or perceptual abilities. The goal of this project is to determine with greater confidence whether this is the case or not. In particular, we are interested in finding out whether male and female newborns show different spontaneous preferences for human faces vs. inanimate objects, as suggested by various studies, old and new (e.g., Lewis et al. 1966; Connellan et al. 2000).

Dezső Németh's work shows how prefrontal cortex functions can impair predictive processing, notably statistical learning, using developmental data, TMS, and experimental manipulations. 

Les raisons pour lesquelles il est important de comprendre comment les enfants développent le langage sont nombreuses. L’une d’entre elles est de mieux diagnostiquer et traiter les troubles du langage et de la communication. Cependant, les théories actuelles sont élaborées par des chercheurs et des chercheuses basé.es dans une poignée de pays, qui étudient généralement les enfants du pays dans lequel ils/elles se trouvent.

I propose that a field’s diversity is affected by what its members believe is required for success: Fields that value exceptional intellectual talent above all else may inadvertently obstruct the participation of women and (some) minority groups. The environment in these fields may be less welcoming to women and minority groups because of the cultural stereotypes that associate intellectual talent -- brilliance, genius, etc. -- with (white) men.

Le Colloquium du DEC est l'événement incontournable de notre département. Il accueille chaque mois des conférences données par des expert.e.s de renommée mondiale dans divers domaines des sciences cognitives tels que les neurosciences, la psychologie, la linguistique, la philosophie et l'anthropologie.

Abstract:

For a long time, economists have assumed that we were cold, self-centred, rational decision makers – so-called Homo economicus; the last few decades have shattered this view. The world we live in and the situations we face are of course rich and complex, revealing puzzling aspects of our behaviour. Optimally Irrational argues that our improved understanding of human behaviour shows that apparent 'biases' are good solutions to practical problems – that many of the 'flaws' identified by behavioural economics are actually adaptive solutions.

Music around the world is incredibly diverse, yet some musical features are widely shared. This raises a question: in what respects does music sound the same or different to people from different cultures? In this talk I will share the results of recent research with the Tsimane’, an indigenous Amazonian society in Bolivia who have limited exposure to Western music. This work suggests that there are several universal features of pitch and harmony perception that may constrain musical behavior around the world.