Ashley Thomas
@ashleyjthomas.bsky.social
Assistant Professor she/her. I study how people think about social relationships. Usually with babies and kids.
ashleyjthomas.com
ashleyjthomas.com
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
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
October 6, 2025 at 8:55 PM
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
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵
Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs
The selective revision of beliefs in light of new evidence has been considered one of the hallmarks of human-level rationality. However, tests of this ability in other species are lacking. We examined...
www.science.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵
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
October 6, 2025 at 8:55 PM
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
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!
More info in the link!! Please retweet!
PPREP Program | Department of Psychology
psychology.fas.harvard.edu
September 5, 2025 at 2:00 AM
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!
More info in the link!! Please retweet!
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
🚨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
🧵
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
August 8, 2025 at 2:04 PM
🚨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
🧵
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
🧵
The lab feels so empty without our summer interns!
August 13, 2025 at 1:59 AM
The lab feels so empty without our summer interns!
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
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) 😄
July 30, 2025 at 1:13 AM
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) 😄
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
The Learning Lab is heading to CogSci 2025 (@cogscisociety.bsky.social) to share our latest research! Come say hello!
July 28, 2025 at 3:03 PM
The Learning Lab is heading to CogSci 2025 (@cogscisociety.bsky.social) to share our latest research! Come say hello!
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
The SoCal Lab is headed to #cogsci2025 this week! Here's where you can find us:
July 28, 2025 at 3:56 PM
The SoCal Lab is headed to #cogsci2025 this week! Here's where you can find us:
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
Looking forward to #CogSci2025! Anushka Laha and I will be sharing some of the first work from our lab
July 28, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Looking forward to #CogSci2025! Anushka Laha and I will be sharing some of the first work from our lab
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
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...
sites.google.com/view/cogsci2...
Domain Interactions | CogSci 2025
Organizers
sites.google.com
May 20, 2025 at 9:18 PM
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...
sites.google.com/view/cogsci2...
Come see my lab at the Cognitive Science Society Conference #cogsci2025
July 19, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Come see my lab at the Cognitive Science Society Conference #cogsci2025
July 19, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Come see my lab at the Cognitive Science Society Conference #cogsci2025
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
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
July 17, 2025 at 1:29 PM
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...
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
📣 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 🐵🧪
@snf-fns.ch Uni Zurich @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @efp2026.bsky.social @ips-primatenews.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social @primbehavecol.bsky.social 🐵🧪
July 2, 2025 at 10:36 PM
📣 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 🐵🧪
@snf-fns.ch Uni Zurich @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @efp2026.bsky.social @ips-primatenews.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social @primbehavecol.bsky.social 🐵🧪
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
🎈 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...
"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...
July 2, 2025 at 1:10 PM
🎈 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...
"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...
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
Massachusetts: $107,694,933
Approved by Congress. Illegally withheld by the DOE.
Approved by Congress. Illegally withheld by the DOE.
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...
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
July 2, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Massachusetts: $107,694,933
Approved by Congress. Illegally withheld by the DOE.
Approved by Congress. Illegally withheld by the DOE.
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
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)
June 22, 2025 at 7:24 PM
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)
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
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.
June 21, 2025 at 3:47 PM
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.
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
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
March 20, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Undergrads interested in philosophy of science? Please share that applications are open for our summer development program! lpssdp.com?fbclid=IwY2x...
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
🔆 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...
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
June 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
🔆 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...
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...
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
🚨Only a few hours left to leave a public comment re: RFK Jr. and Trump administration limiting access to vaccines through the CDC!!!
Public Comment at CDC is open until June 20th at 11:59pm EDT.
peoplescdc.substack.com/p/rfk-jr-and...
Public Comment at CDC is open until June 20th at 11:59pm EDT.
peoplescdc.substack.com/p/rfk-jr-and...
RFK Jr. and Trump Administration is Limiting Access to Vaccines. Tell them by Friday, June 20, Everyone Must Have Access
Public Comment at the CDC is open until June 20th at 11:59pm EDT.
peoplescdc.substack.com
June 21, 2025 at 12:50 AM
🚨Only a few hours left to leave a public comment re: RFK Jr. and Trump administration limiting access to vaccines through the CDC!!!
Public Comment at CDC is open until June 20th at 11:59pm EDT.
peoplescdc.substack.com/p/rfk-jr-and...
Public Comment at CDC is open until June 20th at 11:59pm EDT.
peoplescdc.substack.com/p/rfk-jr-and...
Reposted by Ashley Thomas
NYT found the “big beautiful bill” would be the largest transfer from the poor to the rich in a single law since at least 1990.
In fact, it would be the largest transfer *ever.*
Reagan’s low-income cuts were MUCH smaller - and his tax cuts were done separately. And before him, nothing comes close.
In fact, it would be the largest transfer *ever.*
Reagan’s low-income cuts were MUCH smaller - and his tax cuts were done separately. And before him, nothing comes close.
June 13, 2025 at 4:15 PM
NYT found the “big beautiful bill” would be the largest transfer from the poor to the rich in a single law since at least 1990.
In fact, it would be the largest transfer *ever.*
Reagan’s low-income cuts were MUCH smaller - and his tax cuts were done separately. And before him, nothing comes close.
In fact, it would be the largest transfer *ever.*
Reagan’s low-income cuts were MUCH smaller - and his tax cuts were done separately. And before him, nothing comes close.