Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
@dirkbwalther.bsky.social
Professor of Psychology University of Toronto, scene perception by humans and machines, visual aesthetics.
bwlab.org
bwlab.org
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
I have a PhD opening for my #VIDI BrainShorts project 📽️🧠🤖! Are you or do you know an ambitious, recent (or almost) MSc graduate with a background in NeuroAI and interest in large-scale data collection and video perception? Check out our vacancy! (deadline Feb 15).
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Vacancy — PhD Position in NeuroAI for Video Perception in the Human Brain
<p><span>Are you interested in using AI to unravel the mysteries of the brain? Do you want to perform cutting-edge NeuroAI research and leverage deep learning to understand human vision? Then check out the vacancy below and apply for a PhD position in this exciting research direction.</span></p>
werkenbij.uva.nl
January 16, 2026 at 12:31 PM
I have a PhD opening for my #VIDI BrainShorts project 📽️🧠🤖! Are you or do you know an ambitious, recent (or almost) MSc graduate with a background in NeuroAI and interest in large-scale data collection and video perception? Check out our vacancy! (deadline Feb 15).
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
What determines the perception of orientations in visual cortex, sharp contours or oriented spatial frequencies?
It's the contours, the building blocks for shape. Brilliant paper by Seohee Han out in Scientific Reports:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
It's the contours, the building blocks for shape. Brilliant paper by Seohee Han out in Scientific Reports:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
January 14, 2026 at 8:12 PM
What determines the perception of orientations in visual cortex, sharp contours or oriented spatial frequencies?
It's the contours, the building blocks for shape. Brilliant paper by Seohee Han out in Scientific Reports:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
It's the contours, the building blocks for shape. Brilliant paper by Seohee Han out in Scientific Reports:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
Wonderful article about our recent paper in @pnasnexus.org! Thanks, @sachapfeiffer.bsky.social and @mickbonner.bsky.social!
@yikai-tang.bsky.social @uoftpsychology.bsky.social @artsci.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca
@yikai-tang.bsky.social @uoftpsychology.bsky.social @artsci.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca
Why do we find some scenes more aesthetic than others?
For my first in @sciencenews.bsky.social, I wrote about a new study that suggests that our aesthetic preferences could have evolved as cognitive shortcuts. 🧠🧪
www.sciencenews.org/article/brai...
For my first in @sciencenews.bsky.social, I wrote about a new study that suggests that our aesthetic preferences could have evolved as cognitive shortcuts. 🧠🧪
www.sciencenews.org/article/brai...
Easy on the eyes is also easy on the brain
A new study finds that the brain spends less energy processing scenes that people find aesthetically pleasing.
www.sciencenews.org
January 9, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Wonderful article about our recent paper in @pnasnexus.org! Thanks, @sachapfeiffer.bsky.social and @mickbonner.bsky.social!
@yikai-tang.bsky.social @uoftpsychology.bsky.social @artsci.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca
@yikai-tang.bsky.social @uoftpsychology.bsky.social @artsci.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
🚨 Last publication alert of 2025! Why is scene understanding easier and faster for some scenes than for others? Here, we explore whether scenes with too much information slow visual processing. 1/
December 24, 2025 at 5:24 PM
🚨 Last publication alert of 2025! Why is scene understanding easier and faster for some scenes than for others? Here, we explore whether scenes with too much information slow visual processing. 1/
Bridges can anchor communities as landmarks and even tourist destinations, blend into their environment unnoticed, or they can be eyesores. What determines the aesthetic quality of bridges?
Mei Yang, @damianoc.bsky.social, Paul Gauvreau, and I explore this question here:
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Mei Yang, @damianoc.bsky.social, Paul Gauvreau, and I explore this question here:
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Empirical aesthetics of bridges
Bridges are works of public infrastructure designed to perform a practical function. They are unique among works of engineering in that they also have a significant aesthetic dimension. At their best,...
doi.org
December 19, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Bridges can anchor communities as landmarks and even tourist destinations, blend into their environment unnoticed, or they can be eyesores. What determines the aesthetic quality of bridges?
Mei Yang, @damianoc.bsky.social, Paul Gauvreau, and I explore this question here:
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Mei Yang, @damianoc.bsky.social, Paul Gauvreau, and I explore this question here:
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
Spread the word: I'm looking to hire a postdoc to explore the concept of attention (as studied in psych/neuro, not the transformer mechanism) in large Vision-Language Models. More details here: lindsay-lab.github.io/2025/12/08/p...
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
Lindsay Lab - Postdoc Position
Artificial neural networks applied to psychology, neuroscience, and climate change
lindsay-lab.github.io
December 8, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Spread the word: I'm looking to hire a postdoc to explore the concept of attention (as studied in psych/neuro, not the transformer mechanism) in large Vision-Language Models. More details here: lindsay-lab.github.io/2025/12/08/p...
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
Dimensionality reduction may be the wrong approach to understanding neural representations. Our new paper shows that across human visual cortex, dimensionality is unbounded and scales with dataset size—we show this across nearly four orders of magnitude. journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
December 11, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Dimensionality reduction may be the wrong approach to understanding neural representations. Our new paper shows that across human visual cortex, dimensionality is unbounded and scales with dataset size—we show this across nearly four orders of magnitude. journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Registration for TASC 2026 is now open!
sites.google.com/view/tasc2026/
forms.gle/YFENqo6rSd5F...
Keynote speakers:
Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva and Gerald Cupchik
Register by January 16th!
sites.google.com/view/tasc2026/
forms.gle/YFENqo6rSd5F...
Keynote speakers:
Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva and Gerald Cupchik
Register by January 16th!
TASC 2026
Toronto-area meeting of researchers working on empirical aesthetics and creativity
April 14th, 2026
Paul Cadario Conference Centre Croft Chapter House, University College
15 King's College Circle, T...
sites.google.com
December 11, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Registration for TASC 2026 is now open!
sites.google.com/view/tasc2026/
forms.gle/YFENqo6rSd5F...
Keynote speakers:
Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva and Gerald Cupchik
Register by January 16th!
sites.google.com/view/tasc2026/
forms.gle/YFENqo6rSd5F...
Keynote speakers:
Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva and Gerald Cupchik
Register by January 16th!
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
“People don’t just want to enjoy the superficial qualities of an artwork: the lines and the colours. They want to have a deeper connection with it," says @dirkbwalther.bsky.social. www.thestar.com/entertainmen...
As an arts critic, I give in to my subconscious. But what’s really happening in my mind?
Arts critic Joshua Chong tests the AGO's Art Rate Monitor and speaks with psychologist Dirk Bernhardt-Walther about how art impacts the brain.
www.thestar.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:08 PM
“People don’t just want to enjoy the superficial qualities of an artwork: the lines and the colours. They want to have a deeper connection with it," says @dirkbwalther.bsky.social. www.thestar.com/entertainmen...
@thestar.com has an interesting article today about aesthetics and beauty, for which @joshuachong.bsky.social interviewed my about the psychology of aesthetics:
www.thestar.com/entertainmen...
(archive version: archive.ph/1yTOe)
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
www.thestar.com/entertainmen...
(archive version: archive.ph/1yTOe)
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
As an arts critic, I give in to my subconscious. But what’s really happening in my mind?
Arts critic Joshua Chong tests the AGO's Art Rate Monitor and speaks with psychologist Dirk Bernhardt-Walther about how art impacts the brain.
www.thestar.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:52 PM
@thestar.com has an interesting article today about aesthetics and beauty, for which @joshuachong.bsky.social interviewed my about the psychology of aesthetics:
www.thestar.com/entertainmen...
(archive version: archive.ph/1yTOe)
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
www.thestar.com/entertainmen...
(archive version: archive.ph/1yTOe)
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
Energy efficiency drives evolution, and humans may have evolved pleasure-based signals to optimize actions. Does this extend to aesthetic pleasure?
Yes!
Strong evidence in silico and humans, out in PNAS Nexus:
tinyurl.com/3kbu8xw4
With Yikai Tang and Wil Cunningham.
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
Yes!
Strong evidence in silico and humans, out in PNAS Nexus:
tinyurl.com/3kbu8xw4
With Yikai Tang and Wil Cunningham.
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
December 2, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Energy efficiency drives evolution, and humans may have evolved pleasure-based signals to optimize actions. Does this extend to aesthetic pleasure?
Yes!
Strong evidence in silico and humans, out in PNAS Nexus:
tinyurl.com/3kbu8xw4
With Yikai Tang and Wil Cunningham.
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
Yes!
Strong evidence in silico and humans, out in PNAS Nexus:
tinyurl.com/3kbu8xw4
With Yikai Tang and Wil Cunningham.
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
What makes visual stimuli memorable? Wilma Bainbridge, @keisukefukuda.bsky.social, Lore Goetschalckx, and I investigate the role of processing fluency for memorability in a new review paper in Nature Reviews Psychology. Check it out!
rdcu.be/eSyjz
rdcu.be/eSyjz
Memorability of visual stimuli and the role of processing efficiency
Nature Reviews Psychology - Certain items are better remembered than others across individuals, a property known as memorability. In this Review, Bainbridge and colleagues detail memorability...
rdcu.be
December 1, 2025 at 3:06 PM
What makes visual stimuli memorable? Wilma Bainbridge, @keisukefukuda.bsky.social, Lore Goetschalckx, and I investigate the role of processing fluency for memorability in a new review paper in Nature Reviews Psychology. Check it out!
rdcu.be/eSyjz
rdcu.be/eSyjz
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
Memorability of visual stimuli and the role of processing efficiency
Very cool review on image memorability (hint: priority coding is key) by Wilma Bainbridge, @dirkbwalther.bsky.social @keisukefukuda.bsky.social, Lore Goetschalckx
rdcu.be/eSyjz
Very cool review on image memorability (hint: priority coding is key) by Wilma Bainbridge, @dirkbwalther.bsky.social @keisukefukuda.bsky.social, Lore Goetschalckx
rdcu.be/eSyjz
Memorability of visual stimuli and the role of processing efficiency
Nature Reviews Psychology - Certain items are better remembered than others across individuals, a property known as memorability. In this Review, Bainbridge and colleagues detail memorability...
rdcu.be
December 1, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Memorability of visual stimuli and the role of processing efficiency
Very cool review on image memorability (hint: priority coding is key) by Wilma Bainbridge, @dirkbwalther.bsky.social @keisukefukuda.bsky.social, Lore Goetschalckx
rdcu.be/eSyjz
Very cool review on image memorability (hint: priority coding is key) by Wilma Bainbridge, @dirkbwalther.bsky.social @keisukefukuda.bsky.social, Lore Goetschalckx
rdcu.be/eSyjz
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
Very pleased to share that our article on preferences for complexity at different levels of order is now out in PACA! 🎉Not all types of complexity were appreciated similarly, but all were liked better under high order!
🔗 doi.org/10.1037/aca0...
📄 osf.io/preprints/ps...
@gestaltrevision.bsky.social
🔗 doi.org/10.1037/aca0...
📄 osf.io/preprints/ps...
@gestaltrevision.bsky.social
APA PsycNet
doi.org
November 2, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Very pleased to share that our article on preferences for complexity at different levels of order is now out in PACA! 🎉Not all types of complexity were appreciated similarly, but all were liked better under high order!
🔗 doi.org/10.1037/aca0...
📄 osf.io/preprints/ps...
@gestaltrevision.bsky.social
🔗 doi.org/10.1037/aca0...
📄 osf.io/preprints/ps...
@gestaltrevision.bsky.social
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
Exciting update: The Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science (CSBBCS) will host its 2026 Meeting at York University,(June 1–3, 2026), followed by the Cognition and Action Satellite Workshop (June 4–5).
@jdcrawford.bsky.social @yorku-cian.bsky.social
www.yorku.ca/research/cia...
@jdcrawford.bsky.social @yorku-cian.bsky.social
www.yorku.ca/research/cia...
October 30, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Exciting update: The Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science (CSBBCS) will host its 2026 Meeting at York University,(June 1–3, 2026), followed by the Cognition and Action Satellite Workshop (June 4–5).
@jdcrawford.bsky.social @yorku-cian.bsky.social
www.yorku.ca/research/cia...
@jdcrawford.bsky.social @yorku-cian.bsky.social
www.yorku.ca/research/cia...
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
Out of a record 662 applications from students at 178 different high schools in Ontario, 60 young learners were invited to participate in the free two-week program @utoronto.ca designed to advance equity, diversity, inclusivity & accessibility in psychology & post-secondary education.
SPRINT hits new heights breaking down barriers in science
The Summer Psychology Research Initiative (SPRINT)—an outreach and access program established five years ago by graduate students in the Department of Psychology—celebrated its biggest year yet this s...
www.psych.utoronto.ca
October 16, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Out of a record 662 applications from students at 178 different high schools in Ontario, 60 young learners were invited to participate in the free two-week program @utoronto.ca designed to advance equity, diversity, inclusivity & accessibility in psychology & post-secondary education.
October 16, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
Hi #canadian researchers - please sign this petition to help ensure funding isn’t cut to tri council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR). We’re looking at potential 15% cuts to ALL federal spending including grants win.newmode.net/canadianasso...
New/Mode | Make your voice impossible to ignore
win.newmode.net
September 18, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Hi #canadian researchers - please sign this petition to help ensure funding isn’t cut to tri council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR). We’re looking at potential 15% cuts to ALL federal spending including grants win.newmode.net/canadianasso...
How do our senses contribute to food enjoyment?
We answer this question in a new review paper. The paper started as a final project in an undergraduate seminar on neuroaesthetics in 2023. I am so proud of the students and their hard work!
cjur.ca/wp-content/u...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
We answer this question in a new review paper. The paper started as a final project in an undergraduate seminar on neuroaesthetics in 2023. I am so proud of the students and their hard work!
cjur.ca/wp-content/u...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
October 14, 2025 at 1:43 AM
How do our senses contribute to food enjoyment?
We answer this question in a new review paper. The paper started as a final project in an undergraduate seminar on neuroaesthetics in 2023. I am so proud of the students and their hard work!
cjur.ca/wp-content/u...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
We answer this question in a new review paper. The paper started as a final project in an undergraduate seminar on neuroaesthetics in 2023. I am so proud of the students and their hard work!
cjur.ca/wp-content/u...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
"style is more than just an optional add-on for visual objects: it is part of visual processing and has consequences for how we perceive and respond to what we see"
How do we see style?
In a recent series of experiments, Boger and Firestone ask: How do we perceive style?’. Their findings suggest that style perception relies on basic p…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
"style is more than just an optional add-on for visual objects: it is part of visual processing and has consequences for how we perceive and respond to what we see"
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
How well do traditional attention theories generalize to complex scene features?
@songaeun.bsky.social, @drmack.bsky.social & @dirkbwalther.bsky.social used AI-generated stimuli to find out.
👀 www.psych.utoronto.ca/news/using-g...
@songaeun.bsky.social, @drmack.bsky.social & @dirkbwalther.bsky.social used AI-generated stimuli to find out.
👀 www.psych.utoronto.ca/news/using-g...
Using generative AI to uncover how we attend to complex scene features
www.psych.utoronto.ca
October 1, 2025 at 8:18 PM
How well do traditional attention theories generalize to complex scene features?
@songaeun.bsky.social, @drmack.bsky.social & @dirkbwalther.bsky.social used AI-generated stimuli to find out.
👀 www.psych.utoronto.ca/news/using-g...
@songaeun.bsky.social, @drmack.bsky.social & @dirkbwalther.bsky.social used AI-generated stimuli to find out.
👀 www.psych.utoronto.ca/news/using-g...
The Cognitive Science Research Community (CoRC) at the University of Toronto has several exciting events in store this year:
www.uc.utoronto.ca/cognitive-sc...
Join us for science and good company!
www.uc.utoronto.ca/cognitive-sc...
Join us for science and good company!
Cognitive Science Research Community (CoRC) | University College U of T
www.uc.utoronto.ca
October 1, 2025 at 3:26 AM
The Cognitive Science Research Community (CoRC) at the University of Toronto has several exciting events in store this year:
www.uc.utoronto.ca/cognitive-sc...
Join us for science and good company!
www.uc.utoronto.ca/cognitive-sc...
Join us for science and good company!
Announcing the Toronto Aesthetics Sciences and Creativity Conference 2026! TASC 2026 brings together researchers, scholars, and students from across the Greater Toronto Area with interest in empirical aesthetics, psychology of art, and the study of creativity.
sites.google.com/view/tasc2026/
sites.google.com/view/tasc2026/
TASC 2026
Toronto-area meeting of researchers working on empirical aesthetics and creativity
April 14th, 2026
Paul Cadario Conference Centre Croft Chapter House, University College
15 King's College Circle, T...
sites.google.com
September 11, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Announcing the Toronto Aesthetics Sciences and Creativity Conference 2026! TASC 2026 brings together researchers, scholars, and students from across the Greater Toronto Area with interest in empirical aesthetics, psychology of art, and the study of creativity.
sites.google.com/view/tasc2026/
sites.google.com/view/tasc2026/
Reposted by Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
A new study uses AI-generated stimuli to uncover attention to complex scene features. Read more in a post by @ankosov.bsky.social on a new #psynomAPP paper by @songaeun.bsky.social, @drmack.bsky.social, and @dirkbwalther.bsky.social buff.ly/2So7ndD
September 9, 2025 at 8:01 PM
A new study uses AI-generated stimuli to uncover attention to complex scene features. Read more in a post by @ankosov.bsky.social on a new #psynomAPP paper by @songaeun.bsky.social, @drmack.bsky.social, and @dirkbwalther.bsky.social buff.ly/2So7ndD