Category: News

Robert Goldstone Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Science

On the 20th of April, 2016, Robert Goldstone was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He joins several others at Indiana University, including Richard Shiffrin, Linda Smith, and Robert Nosofsky from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Douglas Hofstadter and Mike Dunn from the Cognitive Science Program, who are also members […]
Drs. Paulo Carvalho and Joshua de Leeuw Graduate

Congratulations to the pair o’docs, Dr. Paulo Carvalho and Dr. Joshua de Leeuw, who commenced on the 6th of May, 2016. Speaking of paradox, If two graduate students organize all of the activities in a laboratory for those people, and only those people, who do not organize activities for themselves, then how will the laboratory continue […]
Disagreeing to Agree

Without ever explicitly discussing it, groups often times establish norms. A family or committee might develop a norm about when it is acceptable or not for members to interrupt each other. People greeting each other in different countries have very different norms for whether to shake hands or kiss, and if to kiss, how many […]
New study shows that copying helps the one who imitates, AND the one who is imitated

Our “Creature League” study has been mentioned at Science Daily, ScienceNewsline, IU’s News Room, Medical Xpress, EurekAlert!, and Science Codex. Here’s an audio description of the work, courtesy of Academic Minute. Participants in the group behavior experiment of Wisdom, Song, and Goldstone (2013) tried to assemble teams of Pokemon-like creatures that scored well. Each creature was associated with a […]
Cycles and predictability in human collective behavior: An experimental generalization of Rock-Scissors-Paper

Here are some reports of our PLoS One paper on human collective behavior studying cyclic patterns in a generalization of the familiar rock-scissors-paper game. We find situations in which groups of people grow increasingly predictable as they cycle around a set of choice options in a game similar to rock-scissors-paper but with 24 rather than […]
Brain Calisthenics

‘Brain Calisthenics for Abstract Ideas’ article in the New York Times (June 6, 2011)
Baby Names

‘Baby Names subject to momentum’ article in UPI (October 14, 2009), also appearing in USA Today, NewsTrack India, and E! Science News
When a good idea is a bad thing

‘When a good idea is a bad thing’ article in UPI (February 20, 2008), also appearing in Newswise and TwoCircles
Searching in space and minds

Searching in space and minds: IU research suggests underlying linkarticle in E Science News (September 12, 2008),UPI, Scientific American and Science Daily
Making the Path of Least Resistance

Back when Dwight Eisenhower was president of Columbia University, he was asked how the university should arrange the sidewalks to best interconnect the campus buildings. He responded that they should first plant grass seed, let the grass grow, see where the grass became worn by people’s footsteps, and install the sidewalks in the most worn […]
Foraging in Virtual Worlds

April 13, 2006 The Percepts and Concepts Laboratory (Directed by Chancellor’s Professor Robert Goldstone, also Director of the Indiana University Cognitive Science Program) applies formal computational and mathematical tools used to study complex systems in biology and physics to understanding human collective behavior. People participate in group-level patterns that they may not understand, or even […]
Trailblazing Video Game

‘Trailblazing’ Video Game Offers Model For Human Behavior’ IU Press Release (Sept, 2006) , also appearing inHouston Chronicle, TX – Sep 11, 2006, Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – Sep 10, 2006, Macon Telegraph, GA – Sep 10, 2006, Belleville News-Democrat, IL – Sep 10, 2006, Contra Costa Times, CA – Sep 10, 2006, Biloxi Sun Herald, MS – Sep 10, 2006, Kentucky.com, KY […]
‘Believing Is Seeing’ article (June, 2004)

‘Believing Is Seeing’ article (June, 2004)