Bella Fascendini
@bellafascendini.bsky.social
PhD student @velezcolab.bsky.social Princeton🐯 Previously @stanford_vpnl 🧠| @USCMIDLA | Co-Host of @StanfordPsyPod | Loves cats🐱
https://bellafascendini.github.io/
https://bellafascendini.github.io/
Congrats, Alex!!! 🥳
Over the moon to announce that, as of last Friday, I’m officially #PhDone! I’d like to thank everyone who supported me along the way, including, but not limited to, my amazing supervisor @thecharleywu.bsky.social, and all members (past or present) of the HMC lab and the @velezcolab.bsky.social 🎓
November 25, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Congrats, Alex!!! 🥳
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
We are looking to hire a research assistant to help with data collection at our partner museum in Philadelphia!
Share with your undergraduates or post-baccs who are looking for more experience in cog dev research!
Please see the attached ad for more information: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Share with your undergraduates or post-baccs who are looking for more experience in cog dev research!
Please see the attached ad for more information: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Yale Leonard Learning Lab - Philadelphia RA Ad
Title: Philadelphia-Area-Based Research Assistant Position in the Yale Learning Lab The Leonard Learning Lab (PI: Dr. Julia Leonard) at Yale University has an opening for a research assistant to help...
docs.google.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:17 PM
We are looking to hire a research assistant to help with data collection at our partner museum in Philadelphia!
Share with your undergraduates or post-baccs who are looking for more experience in cog dev research!
Please see the attached ad for more information: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Share with your undergraduates or post-baccs who are looking for more experience in cog dev research!
Please see the attached ad for more information: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Congrats, Rachit!! Super well deserved! 🥳
Honored and excited to share that I am the winner of Nomis & Science Young Explorer Award!!
Also thrilled to share that my article describing my research is out now in @science.org today!
The normalization of (almost) everything www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
1/
Also thrilled to share that my article describing my research is out now in @science.org today!
The normalization of (almost) everything www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
1/
The normalization of (almost) everything: Our minds can get used to anything, and even crises start feeling normal
Our minds can get used to anything, and even crises start feeling normal
www.science.org
November 7, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Congrats, Rachit!! Super well deserved! 🥳
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
Are you a US-based PhD student WITHOUT summer funding who is interested in adolescent development, trans youth, and/or gender? Reach out to me about applying to join my lab in Summer 2026 for the VIPS program! psych.princeton.edu/diversity/vi...
Visiting Internship for Ph.D. Students (VIPS) Program
The VIPS program is an initiative of the DEI committee of the Department of Psychology at Princeton University. VIPS will support up to 4 Ph.D. students who are full-time students at other universitie...
psych.princeton.edu
October 31, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Are you a US-based PhD student WITHOUT summer funding who is interested in adolescent development, trans youth, and/or gender? Reach out to me about applying to join my lab in Summer 2026 for the VIPS program! psych.princeton.edu/diversity/vi...
Honored to contribute a Journal Club piece to @natrevpsychol.nature.com!
I explore Robert White's seminal "competence motivation" framework (1959) and why it remains relevant over 60 years later—from why toddlers insist on doing things themselves to designing intrinsically motivated AI. 🤖
I explore Robert White's seminal "competence motivation" framework (1959) and why it remains relevant over 60 years later—from why toddlers insist on doing things themselves to designing intrinsically motivated AI. 🤖
October 6, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Honored to contribute a Journal Club piece to @natrevpsychol.nature.com!
I explore Robert White's seminal "competence motivation" framework (1959) and why it remains relevant over 60 years later—from why toddlers insist on doing things themselves to designing intrinsically motivated AI. 🤖
I explore Robert White's seminal "competence motivation" framework (1959) and why it remains relevant over 60 years later—from why toddlers insist on doing things themselves to designing intrinsically motivated AI. 🤖
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
My lab at UCLA is hiring 1-2 PhD students this cycle!
Join us to work at the intersection of cognitive science and AI applied to pressing societal challenges like climate change.
More info about me: rachit-dubey.github.io
My lab: ucla-cocopol.github.io
Please help repost/spread the word!
Join us to work at the intersection of cognitive science and AI applied to pressing societal challenges like climate change.
More info about me: rachit-dubey.github.io
My lab: ucla-cocopol.github.io
Please help repost/spread the word!
September 3, 2025 at 12:19 AM
My lab at UCLA is hiring 1-2 PhD students this cycle!
Join us to work at the intersection of cognitive science and AI applied to pressing societal challenges like climate change.
More info about me: rachit-dubey.github.io
My lab: ucla-cocopol.github.io
Please help repost/spread the word!
Join us to work at the intersection of cognitive science and AI applied to pressing societal challenges like climate change.
More info about me: rachit-dubey.github.io
My lab: ucla-cocopol.github.io
Please help repost/spread the word!
One of the most brilliant scientists in CogSci + one of the best institutions to study CogSci. 💫 Apply!!
My Lab at the University of Edinburgh🇬🇧 has funded PhD positions for this cycle!
We study the computational principles of how people learn, reason, and communicate.
It's a new lab, and you will be playing a big role in shaping its culture and foundations.
Spread the words!
We study the computational principles of how people learn, reason, and communicate.
It's a new lab, and you will be playing a big role in shaping its culture and foundations.
Spread the words!
August 17, 2025 at 12:49 PM
One of the most brilliant scientists in CogSci + one of the best institutions to study CogSci. 💫 Apply!!
Excited to present at @CogSci2025 tomorrow at 1pm in Salon 6! Looking forward to presenting alongside incredible cognitive scientists @cvales.bsky.social, @elainewang.bsky.social, and @junyi.bsky.social ✨
The CoLab is headed to #CogSci2025!! 🥳 Here's where to find us!
August 1, 2025 at 6:09 AM
Excited to present at @CogSci2025 tomorrow at 1pm in Salon 6! Looking forward to presenting alongside incredible cognitive scientists @cvales.bsky.social, @elainewang.bsky.social, and @junyi.bsky.social ✨
Come check out my lab mate Ham Huang’s cool work and cape! 😎
Because nothing says “ready to present” like literally wearing your findings at #CogSci2025
Ham Huang leveled up from poster session to superhero mode! 🦸
Ham Huang leveled up from poster session to superhero mode! 🦸
July 30, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Come check out my lab mate Ham Huang’s cool work and cape! 😎
Come say hi! 👋
The CoLab is headed to #CogSci2025!! 🥳 Here's where to find us!
July 29, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Come say hi! 👋
Congrats, @emiecz.bsky.social !! Super, super cool work! 🍞
So excited our paper is now out in @cognitionjournal.bsky.social! Huge thanks to our editor and reviewers 🧠 Their thoughtful suggestions inspired Experiments 3 & 4, including a striking inverse correlation between idleness judgments and speed-up predictions
“People Evaluate Idle Collaborators Based on their Impact on Task Efficiency”
📢 New paper from: Elizabeth Mieczkowski, Cameron Rouse Turner, Natalia Vélez, & Tom Griffiths
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
TL;DR: Sometimes it's acceptable not to help with group work 🧵👇
📢 New paper from: Elizabeth Mieczkowski, Cameron Rouse Turner, Natalia Vélez, & Tom Griffiths
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
TL;DR: Sometimes it's acceptable not to help with group work 🧵👇
July 18, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Congrats, @emiecz.bsky.social !! Super, super cool work! 🍞
Congrats Ham!👏
Excited to see the work during my undergrad times finally come out! Learned so much from working with Sam and Anne on this project.
New published paper with Ham Huang and @actlab.bsky.social! @cognitionjournal.bsky.social
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
July 12, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Congrats Ham!👏
So exited to work with such a fun bunch this summer! 🙌 Welcome to the lab! 🥳
We are so excited to welcome our summer RA's to the lab! Looking forward to a productive summer💫 @bellafascendini.bsky.social @hamhuang.bsky.social @creppy-r.bsky.social
June 16, 2025 at 8:29 PM
So exited to work with such a fun bunch this summer! 🙌 Welcome to the lab! 🥳
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
After a few days to fix some bugs, we will be holding another online Psych-DS tutorial on Wednesday, June 4, 12pm EDT.
This is an informal workshop designed to help you convert a dataset to Psych-DS - BYO or find an open dataset at osf.io/mbvk4.
Sign up here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
This is an informal workshop designed to help you convert a dataset to Psych-DS - BYO or find an open dataset at osf.io/mbvk4.
Sign up here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
May 29, 2025 at 6:18 PM
After a few days to fix some bugs, we will be holding another online Psych-DS tutorial on Wednesday, June 4, 12pm EDT.
This is an informal workshop designed to help you convert a dataset to Psych-DS - BYO or find an open dataset at osf.io/mbvk4.
Sign up here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
This is an informal workshop designed to help you convert a dataset to Psych-DS - BYO or find an open dataset at osf.io/mbvk4.
Sign up here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
🚨CogSci preprint alert🚨
When you look at reviews, do you like to focus on positive or negative ones?
@stepalminteri.bsky.social, @thecharleywu.bsky.social and I set out to investigate how learning rate biases differ between individual and social learning in our new study.
osf.io/bcrw9_v2
🧵 below!
When you look at reviews, do you like to focus on positive or negative ones?
@stepalminteri.bsky.social, @thecharleywu.bsky.social and I set out to investigate how learning rate biases differ between individual and social learning in our new study.
osf.io/bcrw9_v2
🧵 below!
OSF
osf.io
May 26, 2025 at 11:30 AM
🚨CogSci preprint alert🚨
When you look at reviews, do you like to focus on positive or negative ones?
@stepalminteri.bsky.social, @thecharleywu.bsky.social and I set out to investigate how learning rate biases differ between individual and social learning in our new study.
osf.io/bcrw9_v2
🧵 below!
When you look at reviews, do you like to focus on positive or negative ones?
@stepalminteri.bsky.social, @thecharleywu.bsky.social and I set out to investigate how learning rate biases differ between individual and social learning in our new study.
osf.io/bcrw9_v2
🧵 below!
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
Please help: Do you know a baby, less than 12 months old, who can walk? We are trying to complete a project, 7 years in the works. And all we need are 3 infants who are less than a year old and can walk, to do a short online looking-time study.
🆘
🆘
May 15, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Please help: Do you know a baby, less than 12 months old, who can walk? We are trying to complete a project, 7 years in the works. And all we need are 3 infants who are less than a year old and can walk, to do a short online looking-time study.
🆘
🆘
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
Wanted to share a handy little resource with you all (especially those in dev psych) — my lab & I made a "journal submission cheat sheet" that summarizes article types, word limits, & other requirements for the journals we typically submit to. Link below 👇🏼
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
May 7, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Wanted to share a handy little resource with you all (especially those in dev psych) — my lab & I made a "journal submission cheat sheet" that summarizes article types, word limits, & other requirements for the journals we typically submit to. Link below 👇🏼
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
Are you interested in research experience before applying to PhD programs? Or just want to learn more about cognitive science? Consider joining my lab as a lab manager (joint w/the Griffiths Lab). We will begin reviewing applications one week from today: cognition.princeton.edu/news/2025/op...
Open Position for Lombrozo/Griffiths Lab Manager (starting Fall 2025)
The Lombrozo and Griffiths Labs at Princeton University are seeking a full-time lab manager to begin August 14, 2025, but there is some flexibility. You can apply here. Applications will be reviewed b...
cognition.princeton.edu
April 7, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Are you interested in research experience before applying to PhD programs? Or just want to learn more about cognitive science? Consider joining my lab as a lab manager (joint w/the Griffiths Lab). We will begin reviewing applications one week from today: cognition.princeton.edu/news/2025/op...
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
We often assume that specialized roles improve performance in multi-agent systems, but when does specialization emerge based on a given task and environment? 🧵👇
⭐️ New preprint w/ Ruaridh Mon-Williams, @neilbramley.bsky.social, Chris Lucas, @natvelali.bsky.social & @cocoscilab.bsky.social
⭐️ New preprint w/ Ruaridh Mon-Williams, @neilbramley.bsky.social, Chris Lucas, @natvelali.bsky.social & @cocoscilab.bsky.social
March 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM
We often assume that specialized roles improve performance in multi-agent systems, but when does specialization emerge based on a given task and environment? 🧵👇
⭐️ New preprint w/ Ruaridh Mon-Williams, @neilbramley.bsky.social, Chris Lucas, @natvelali.bsky.social & @cocoscilab.bsky.social
⭐️ New preprint w/ Ruaridh Mon-Williams, @neilbramley.bsky.social, Chris Lucas, @natvelali.bsky.social & @cocoscilab.bsky.social
This is so cool!!
Why do we not remember being a baby? One idea is that the hippocampus, which is essential for episodic memory in adults, is too immature to form individual memories in infancy. We tested this using awake infant fMRI, new in @science.org #ScienceResearch www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Hippocampal encoding of memories in human infants
Humans lack memories for specific events from the first few years of life. We investigated the mechanistic basis of this infantile amnesia by scanning the brains of awake infants with functional magne...
www.science.org
March 20, 2025 at 9:28 PM
This is so cool!!
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
The latest paper from my PhD is now out in Nature Human Behavior! rdcu.be/edRwQ
White matter connections of human ventral temporal cortex are organized by cytoarchitecture, eccentricity and category-selectivity from birth
Nature Human Behaviour - Kubota et al. find that white matter connections of ventral temporal cortex are innately organized by cytoarchitecture, category and eccentricity from birth, and also...
rdcu.be
March 17, 2025 at 5:28 PM
The latest paper from my PhD is now out in Nature Human Behavior! rdcu.be/edRwQ
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
As part of @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social, I wrote an opinion piece for San Antonio Express News on the dangers of cuts to federal science funding for today and tomorrow's scientists: www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...
@cantlonlab.bsky.social
@spiantado.bsky.social
@cantlonlab.bsky.social
@spiantado.bsky.social
Cuts to federal research funding will hurt future Texas science students
Cutting funding from anything perceived as “DEI-adjacent” harms us all. It freezes life-changing research, and shuts the door on talented, hardworking students.
www.expressnews.com
March 17, 2025 at 9:28 PM
As part of @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social, I wrote an opinion piece for San Antonio Express News on the dangers of cuts to federal science funding for today and tomorrow's scientists: www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...
@cantlonlab.bsky.social
@spiantado.bsky.social
@cantlonlab.bsky.social
@spiantado.bsky.social
Reposted by Bella Fascendini
📢 The Princeton Social Neuroscience Lab is hiring! 📢
We're seeking a full-time Research Specialist/Lab Manager to study naturalistic conversation, social cognition, and spontaneous thought.
More info here: psnlab.princeton.edu/join-us
Please apply and share!
We're seeking a full-time Research Specialist/Lab Manager to study naturalistic conversation, social cognition, and spontaneous thought.
More info here: psnlab.princeton.edu/join-us
Please apply and share!
Join Us
Thanks for your interest in joining our lab! At the Princeton Social Neuroscience Lab, we believe that our science is better with a diverse team. We embrace and encourage our lab members’ differences ...
psnlab.princeton.edu
March 13, 2025 at 3:13 PM
📢 The Princeton Social Neuroscience Lab is hiring! 📢
We're seeking a full-time Research Specialist/Lab Manager to study naturalistic conversation, social cognition, and spontaneous thought.
More info here: psnlab.princeton.edu/join-us
Please apply and share!
We're seeking a full-time Research Specialist/Lab Manager to study naturalistic conversation, social cognition, and spontaneous thought.
More info here: psnlab.princeton.edu/join-us
Please apply and share!