Recent News
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
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)
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
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
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
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...
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
Exploring accidental triggers of smart speakers
Kolossa, 2022 Schönherr, L., Golla, M., Eisenhofer, T., Wiele, J., Kolossa, D., & Holz, T. (2022). Exploring accidental triggers of smart speakers. Computer Speech & Language, 73, 101328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csl.2021.101328
A Perceptually Grounded Neural Dynamic Architecture Establishes Analogy Between Visual Object Pairs
Sabinasz & Schöner, 2022 Sabinasz, D. & Schöner, G. (2022). A Perceptually Grounded Neural Dynamic Architecture Establishes Analogy Between Visual Object Pairs. In J. Culbertson, Perfors, A., Rabagliati, H., & Ramenzoni, V. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 44th...
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...
Olfactory information encoding engages subcortical and cortical brain regions that enable sensory information processing and valence encoding
Manahan-Vaughan, 2022 Strauch C., Angenstein F., Huong, T.H. & Manahan-Vaughan, D. (2022). Olfactory information encoding engages subcortical and cortical brain regions that enable sensory information processing and valence encoding. Cerebral Cortex 30(2)....
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
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.
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
Mental Content
Schlicht, 2022 Dołęga, K., & Schlicht, T. (2022). Mental Content. In Mind, Cognition, and Neuroscience. Routledge.
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
The ALARM theory of consciousness: A two-level theory of phenomenal consciousness
Newen, 2023 Newen, A., & Montemayor, C. (2023). The ALARM theory of consciousness: A two-level theory of phenomenal consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 30(3-4), 84–105. https://doi.org/10.53765/20512201.30.3.084
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
Mechanistic flexibility of the Retrosplenial Cortex enables its contribution to spatial cognition
Stacho & Manahan-Vaughan, 2022 Stacho M., & Manahan-Vaughan, D. (2022). Mechanistic flexibility of the Retrosplenial Cortex enables its contribution to spatial cognition. Trends In Neurosciences, 45(4), 284-296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2022.01.007
A Perceptually Grounded Neural Dynamic Architecture Establishes Analogy Between Visual Object Pairs
Sabinasz & Schöner, 2022 Sabinasz, D. & Schöner, G. (2022). A Perceptually Grounded Neural Dynamic Architecture Establishes Analogy Between Visual Object Pairs. In J. Culbertson, Perfors, A., Rabagliati, H., & Ramenzoni, V. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 44th...
The embodied self, the pattern theory of self, and the predictive mind
Newen, 2018 Newen, A. (2018). The Embodied Self, the Pattern Theory of Self, and the Predictive Mind. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2270. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02270
Ein Leben ohne Schmerz? Eine kritische Analyse transhumanistischer Anliegen zur technologischen Überwindung von Schmerzen.
Göcke, 2021 Göcke, B. P., & Sindermann, A. (2021). Ein Leben ohne Schmerz? Eine kritische Analyse transhumanistischer Anliegen zur technologischen Überwindung von Schmerzen. Zeitschrift für Theologie und Philosophie, 143(1), 26–54....
The Cost of the Epistemic Step: Investigating Scalar Implicatures in Full and Partial Information Contexts
Werning, 2021 Spychalska, M., Reimer, L., Schumacher, P. B., & Werning, M. (2021). The Cost of the Epistemic Step: Investigating Scalar Implicatures in Full and Partial Information Contexts. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 2133....
The time-course of sentence meaning composition. N400 effects of the interaction between context-induced and lexically stored affordances
Werning, 2017 Cosentino, E., Baggio, G., Kontinen, J., & Werning, M. (2017). The Time-Course of Sentence Meaning Composition. N400 Effects of the Interaction between Context-Induced and Lexically Stored Affordances. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 813....
Designing for the co-Orchestration of Social Transitions between Individual, Small-Group and Whole-Class Learning in the Classroom.
Rummel, 2021 Olsen, J. K., Rummel, N., & Aleven, V. (2021). Designing for the co-Orchestration of Social Transitions between Individual, Small-Group and Whole-Class Learning in the Classroom. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 31(1),...
Neural dynamic foundations of a theory of higher cognition: The case of grounding nested phrases.
Schöner & Sabinasz, 2023 Sabinasz, D., Richter, M., & Schöner, G. (2023). Neural dynamic foundations of a theory of higher cognition: The case of grounding nested phrases. Cognitive Neurodynamics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11571-023-10007-7
Data Fusion for Audiovisual Speaker Localization: Extending Dynamic Stream Weights to the Spatial Domain
Kolossa, 2021 Wissing, J., Boenninghoff, B., Kolossa, D., Ochiai, T., Delcroix, M., Kinoshita, K., Nakatani, T., Araki, S., & Schymura, C. (2021). Data Fusion for Audiovisual Speaker Localization: Extending Dynamic Stream Weights to the Spatial Domain. ICASSP 2021...