Recent News
Current call for fellowships
We have 7 open calls for fellowships across disciplines. The deadline is March 15th 2026.
Please find the calls here:
CfA: RUB-LSE Workshop on Animal Minds
Participation via Zoom is also possible. More information
Call for abstracts: Ruhr-University Bochum & London School of Economics joint workshop “Animal Minds: New Theories and New Observations”, 9th-10th of February 2026 in Bochum, abstract deadline: 01.12.2025
The interdisciplinary workshop “Animal Minds: New Theories and New Observations”, jointly organized by Ruhr-University Bochum and The London School of Economics, will take place on the 9th & 10th of February 2026 at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.
The workshop will combine discussions of new theoretical and methodological approaches with presentations of novel empirical findings about animal minds.
The following speakers are confirmed: Colin Allen, Kristin Andrews, Jonathan Birch, Thomas Bugnyar, Tomer Czaczkes, Rebecca Dreier, Leonard Dung, Albert Newen, Simone Pika, Sanja Sreckovic, and Daria Zakharova.
We are inviting contributions from philosophy, psychology, ethology, neuroscience, biology, and other relevant disciplines. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- What do we know about capacities such as reasoning, sentience, or social understanding in other species?
- How do the cognitive and affective capacities of different species compare and contrast with each other and with human capacities?
- What is the evolutionary origin of important human psychological features?
- What are promising methodological frameworks and experimental paradigms for investigating animal minds?
- Which theories about animal minds are supported by recent empirical findings?
- What are the promises and limitations of multidimensional profile and signature testing accounts in comparative psychology?
To be considered for a talk (30 minutes + 15 minutes discussion) or poster presentation, please send an abstract of your proposed presentation of up to 500 words (excluding references) to: hilfskraefte-newen@rub.de. The abstract should be anonymous, allowing blinded review, and accompanied by a second Word or PDF file containing author name(s), affiliation(s), and contact details. The deadline for abstract submissions is the 1st of December 2025. We plan to notify everyone about whether their abstract is accepted within two weeks after the deadline.
This joint event is organized by the following team:
Ruhr-University Bochum: Sanja Sreckovic, Leonard Dung, & Albert Newen
London School of Economics: Jonathan Birch
Please direct any questions to: leonard.dung@rub.de
Upcoming Events
27
May
Rudolf-Carnap-Lectures 2026: Transformative Experience. with L.A. Paul
May 27
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Relevant Publications
For full list of selected publications, see the publications page
Deceptive XAI: Typology, Creation and Detection
Meske, 2024 Schneider, J., Meske, C. & Vlachos, M. (2024). Deceptive XAI: Typology, Creation and Detection. SN Computer Science 5, 81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-023-02401-z
Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence
Meske, 2024 Schneider, J., Meske, C. and Kuss, P. (2024). Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence. Business & Information Systems Engineering 66, 221–231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12599-024-00851-0
Prediction error processing and sharpening of expected information across the face-processing hierarchy
Blank, 2024 Garlichs, A. & Blank, H. (2024). Prediction error processing and sharpening of expected information across the face-processing hierarchy. Nature Communications, 15, 3407.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47749-9
Opposing serial effects of stimulus and choice in speech perception scale with context variability
Blank, 2024 Ufer, C. & Blank, H. (2024) Opposing serial effects of stimulus and choice in speech perception scale with context variability. iScience:110611.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110611
When is learning “effortful”? Scrutinizing the concept of mental effort in cognitively-oriented research from a motivational perspective
Roelle, 2024 Grund, A., Fries, S., Nückles, M., Renkl, A., & Roelle, J. (2024). When is learning “effortful”? Scrutinizing the concept of mental effort in cognitively-oriented research from a motivational perspective. Educational Psychology Review, 36, Article...
Out of touch? How trauma shapes the experience of social touch – neural and endocrine pathways
Scheele, 2024 Stevens L., Bregulla M., Scheele D. (2024). Out of touch? How trauma shapes the experience of social touch – neural and endocrine pathways. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (in press)
Berechenbare Gefühle? Grundlegendes zu einer Ethik der digitalen Emotionserfassung
Weber-Guskar, 2023 Weber-Guskar, E. (2023). Berechenbare Gefühle? Grundlegendes zu einer Ethik der digitalen Emotionserfassung. In: Schweiger, G., Zichy, M. (eds) Zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen im Zeitalter des Digitalen. Techno:Phil – Aktuelle Herausforderungen der...
Can you teach me not to be angry? Relations between temperament and the emotion regulation strategy distraction in 2-year-olds.
Schneider, 2022 Schoppmann, J., Schneider, S., & Seehagen, S. (2022). Can you teach me not to be angry? Relations between temperament and the emotion regulation strategy distraction in 2-year-olds. Child Development, 93(1), 165–179....
A conceptual framework for empathy in humans and nonhuman animals
Newen, 2023 Newen, A., Griem, M., Pika, S. (2023): A conceptual framework for empathy in humans and nonhuman animals. In: Wittgenstein and Beyond, Routledge, New York. DOI: 10.4324/9781003202929-15 Chapter PDF
Metacognition and self-control: An integrative framework. Psychological Review
Hennecke, 2023 Hennecke, M., & Bürgler, S.(2023). Metacognition and self-control: An integrative framework. Psychological Review, 130(5), 1262-1268. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000406
Special Issue: Predictive Processing and Consciousness
Schlicht, 2022 Miller, Mark, Andy Clark, und Tobias Schlicht (eds.). „Special Issue: Predictive Processing and Consciousness“. Review of Philosophy and Psychology 13, Nr. 4 (1. Dezember 2022).
Modeling the function of episodic memory in spatial learning
Wiskott, 2023 Zeng, X., Diekmann, N., Wiskott, L., & Cheng, S. (2023). Modeling the function of episodic memory in spatial learning. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1160648. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1160648
Minds, Brains, and Deep Learning: The Development of Cognitive Science Through the Lens of Kant’s Approach to Cognition
Schlicht, 2022 Schlicht, T. (2022). 1 Minds, Brains, and Deep Learning: The Development of Cognitive Science Through the Lens of Kant’s Approach to Cognition. Kant and Artificial Intelligence.
Quo Vadis Psychiatry? Why It Is Time to Endorse Evolutionary Theory
Brüne, 2022 Brüne, M., Palanza, P., Parmigiani, S., & Troisi, A. (2022). Quo Vadis Psychiatry? Why It Is Time to Endorse Evolutionary Theory. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 210(4), 235-245.
Mischaracterization Reconsidered
Horvath, 2022 Horvath, J. (2022). Mischaracterization Reconsidered. Inquiry, 0(0), 1–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174X.2021.2019894
A Model of Semantic Completion in Generative Episodic Memory
Cheng, 2022 Fayyaz, Z., Altamimi, A., Zoellner, C., Klein, N., Wolf, O. T., Cheng, S., & Wiskott, L. (2022). A Model of Semantic Completion in Generative Episodic Memory. Neural Computation, 34(9), 1841–1870.
Rethinking Integration of Epistemic Strategies in Social Understanding: Examining the Central Role of Mindreading in Pluralist Accounts
Newen, 2021 Wolf, J., Coninx, S., & Newen, A. (2021). Rethinking Integration of Epistemic Strategies in Social Understanding: Examining the Central Role of Mindreading in Pluralist Accounts. Erkenntnis. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-021-00486-7
Consequences of exposure to the thin ideal in mass media depend on moderators in young women: An experimental study.
Schneider, 2021 Munsch, S., Messerli-Bürgy, N., Meyer, A. H., Humbel, N., Schopf, K., Wyssen, A., Forrer, F., Biedert, E., Lennertz, J., Trier, S., Isenschmid, B., Milos, G., Claussen, M., Whinyates, K., Adolph, D., Margraf, J., Assion, H.-J., Teismann, T., Ueberberg,...
How to feel about emotionalized artificial intelligence? When robot pets, holograms, and chatbots become affective partners
Weber-Guskar, 2021 Weber-Guskar, E. (2021). How to feel about emotionalized artificial intelligence? When robot pets, holograms, and chatbots become affective partners. Ethics and Information Technology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-021-09598-8
Child-to-adult neurodevelopmental and mental health trajectories after early life deprivation: the young adult follow-up of the longitudinal English and Romanian adoptees study
Kumsta, 2017 Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S., Kennedy, M., Kumsta, R., Knights, N., Golm, D., Rutter, M., . . . Kreppner, J. (2017). Child-to-adult neurodevelopmental and mental health trajectories after early life deprivation: the young adult follow-up of the longitudinal...
Reflecting (on) Replica. Can We Have a Good Affective Relationship with a Social Chatbot?
Weber-Guskar, 2022 Weber-Guskar, E. (2022). Reflecting (on) Replica. Can We Have a Good Affective Relationship with a Social Chatbot? In: Social Robotics and the Good Life: The Normative Side of Forming Emotional Bonds With Robots. (2022). transcript Verlag....
Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence
Meske, 2024 Schneider, J., Meske, C. and Kuss, P. (2024). Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence. Business & Information Systems Engineering 66, 221–231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12599-024-00851-0
Fictional emotions and emotional reactions to social robots as depictions of social agents
Weber-Guskar, 2023 Blatter, J., & Weber-Guskar, E. (2023). Fictional emotions and emotional reactions to social robots as depictions of social agents. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 46, e24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X22001716
How does an emotional culture of joy cultivate team resilience? A sociocognitive perspective
Weiss, 2021 Hartmann, S., Weiss, M., Hoegl, M., & Carmeli, A. (2021). How does an emotional culture of joy cultivate team resilience? A sociocognitive perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(3), 313–331. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2496
Can you teach me not to be angry? Relations between temperament and the emotion regulation strategy distraction in 2-year-olds.
Schneider, 2022 Schoppmann, J., Schneider, S., & Seehagen, S. (2022). Can you teach me not to be angry? Relations between temperament and the emotion regulation strategy distraction in 2-year-olds. Child Development, 93(1), 165–179....
Inside Document Models: Role of Source Attributes in Readers’ Integration of Multiple Text Contents.
Stadtler, 2021 Rouet, J.-F., Saux, G., Ros, C., Stadtler, M., Vibert, N., & Britt, M. A. (2021). Inside Document Models: Role of Source Attributes in Readers’ Integration of Multiple Text Contents. Discourse Processes, 58(1), 60–79....