Jenny Saffran
@jennysaffran.bsky.social
Professor at UW-Madison, parent, studies how babies learn, loves food, dogs, and politics.
What factors influence alignment btw infant eye-gaze & parental report measures of early vocab? The excellent Haley Weaver & I found that parental confidence & mutual exclusivity effects (distractor knowledge) impact alignment btw these "gold standard" tasks onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Interrogating Early Word Knowledge: Factors That Influence the Alignment Between Caregiver‐Report and Experimental Measures
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onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:18 PM
What factors influence alignment btw infant eye-gaze & parental report measures of early vocab? The excellent Haley Weaver & I found that parental confidence & mutual exclusivity effects (distractor knowledge) impact alignment btw these "gold standard" tasks onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
Interdisciplinary Advances in Statistical Learning Conference 2026
Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
10-12 June 2026
Abstract submission deadline: 1 March 2026
Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
10-12 June 2026
Abstract submission deadline: 1 March 2026
Statistical Learning 2026
www.bcbl.eu
November 5, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Interdisciplinary Advances in Statistical Learning Conference 2026
Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
10-12 June 2026
Abstract submission deadline: 1 March 2026
Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
10-12 June 2026
Abstract submission deadline: 1 March 2026
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
We’re recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to join our team! 🎉
I’m happy to share that I’ve opened back up the search for this position (it was temporarily closed due to funding uncertainty).
See lab page and doc below for details!
I’m happy to share that I’ve opened back up the search for this position (it was temporarily closed due to funding uncertainty).
See lab page and doc below for details!
The Visual Learning Lab at UC San Diego is looking for a postdoctoral research fellow to join our lab!
Read more about our lab at www.vislearnlab.org
Read more about our lab at www.vislearnlab.org
Home | The Visual Learning Lab at UCSD
Lab webpage for the Visual Learning Lab at UCSD, lead by Dr. Bria Long, Ph.D. Launching in July 2024!
www.vislearnlab.org
October 7, 2025 at 2:39 AM
We’re recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to join our team! 🎉
I’m happy to share that I’ve opened back up the search for this position (it was temporarily closed due to funding uncertainty).
See lab page and doc below for details!
I’m happy to share that I’ve opened back up the search for this position (it was temporarily closed due to funding uncertainty).
See lab page and doc below for details!
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
Science pushes back. Thanks to Helen Tager-Flusberg for her work on this front!
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/o...
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/o...
Opinion | ‘That Was Shocking’: Four Autism Experts React to Trump’s Plan
www.nytimes.com
September 23, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Science pushes back. Thanks to Helen Tager-Flusberg for her work on this front!
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/o...
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/o...
Tenure track position in Psychology at UW-Madison — CogSci or comp neurosci with an AI emphasis, broadly construed. Apply!
Come be my colleague! UW-Madison Psychology is hiring! Computational Neuroscience and/or Cognitive Science, with an AI emphasis. jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...
Assistant Professor of Psychology - Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:FacultyEmployment Type:Regula...
jobs.wisc.edu
September 16, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Tenure track position in Psychology at UW-Madison — CogSci or comp neurosci with an AI emphasis, broadly construed. Apply!
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
Come be my colleague! UW-Madison Psychology is hiring! Computational Neuroscience and/or Cognitive Science, with an AI emphasis. jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...
Assistant Professor of Psychology - Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:FacultyEmployment Type:Regula...
jobs.wisc.edu
September 15, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Come be my colleague! UW-Madison Psychology is hiring! Computational Neuroscience and/or Cognitive Science, with an AI emphasis. jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
A first blogpost from the LEVANTE team, introducing our global project perspective.
A good intro if you're interested in learning more about cross-cultural developmental data collection using LEVANTE.
levante-network.org/global-colla...
A good intro if you're interested in learning more about cross-cultural developmental data collection using LEVANTE.
levante-network.org/global-colla...
Global Collaboration to Capture Variability in Child Development - Levante
Ensuring that children around the world can flourish is one of the most important goals of our time. Developmental science has made major strides in understanding how children grow, learn, and thrive ...
levante-network.org
September 15, 2025 at 11:54 PM
A first blogpost from the LEVANTE team, introducing our global project perspective.
A good intro if you're interested in learning more about cross-cultural developmental data collection using LEVANTE.
levante-network.org/global-colla...
A good intro if you're interested in learning more about cross-cultural developmental data collection using LEVANTE.
levante-network.org/global-colla...
Really looking forward to this!
📣🗓️ The 6th Interdisciplinary Advances in Statistical Learning Conference #IASL26 will be held June 10-12 in San Sebastián.
Our keynotes:
@jennysaffran.bsky.social with 30 years of SL work since 1996.
@noranewcombe.bsky.social on learning and spatial cognition.
@pyoudeyer.bsky.social on curiosity.
Our keynotes:
@jennysaffran.bsky.social with 30 years of SL work since 1996.
@noranewcombe.bsky.social on learning and spatial cognition.
@pyoudeyer.bsky.social on curiosity.
July 18, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Really looking forward to this!
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
My book reveals the mostly hidden effects of talking *on talkers.* Talking boosts focus & learning, regulates emotions, changes perception, & more. The reason lies in how utterance planning for talking works. It's a book for gen'l audiences, but w scientific claims for production & its consequences
More Than Words by Maryellen MacDonald, PhD: 9780593545270 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
"This beautifully written book by Maryellen MacDonald demonstrates how 'word-work' shapes both our experience of the world and the very brain that produced our capacity to articulate and generate our ...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
May 9, 2025 at 1:26 AM
My book reveals the mostly hidden effects of talking *on talkers.* Talking boosts focus & learning, regulates emotions, changes perception, & more. The reason lies in how utterance planning for talking works. It's a book for gen'l audiences, but w scientific claims for production & its consequences
Fun new study by Ellie Breitfeld!
How do children figure out what new words mean? This study shows that preschoolers use the locations in which they encounter new labels/objects (e.g. in the kitchen or outside) to infer information about them (e.g., if they can be eaten vs. thrown).
May 3, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Fun new study by Ellie Breitfeld!
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
Super excited to submit a big sabbatical project this year: "Continuous developmental changes in word
recognition support language learning across early
childhood": osf.io/preprints/ps...
recognition support language learning across early
childhood": osf.io/preprints/ps...
April 14, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Super excited to submit a big sabbatical project this year: "Continuous developmental changes in word
recognition support language learning across early
childhood": osf.io/preprints/ps...
recognition support language learning across early
childhood": osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
U of Wisconsin alumni & friends: today is "Day of the Badger"--a day to raise money to support our department & our students. If we reach 150 donors to the Dept of Psych, we unlock a big additional gift! Please support if you can! (any dollar amount, $5 is great!)
dayofthebadger.org/campaign/psy...
dayofthebadger.org/campaign/psy...
Psychology | Day of the Badger
Students in the Department of Psychology are tomorrow’s change makers, shaping the future of mental health care, providing valuable psychological insights in legal settings, and driving innovation in ...
dayofthebadger.org
April 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
U of Wisconsin alumni & friends: today is "Day of the Badger"--a day to raise money to support our department & our students. If we reach 150 donors to the Dept of Psych, we unlock a big additional gift! Please support if you can! (any dollar amount, $5 is great!)
dayofthebadger.org/campaign/psy...
dayofthebadger.org/campaign/psy...
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
Why isn’t the leadership of the National Academies of Science SAYING ANYTHING to protect science from being dismantled? Dick Aslin writes about the 1900+ scientists who spoke out —without their leadership. 🧪🧬🔬
dickaslin.substack.com/p/getting-in...
dickaslin.substack.com/p/getting-in...
Getting into Good Trouble
Former congressman John Lewis from Georgia was famously quoted as saying, “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” Over the p...
dickaslin.substack.com
April 3, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Why isn’t the leadership of the National Academies of Science SAYING ANYTHING to protect science from being dismantled? Dick Aslin writes about the 1900+ scientists who spoke out —without their leadership. 🧪🧬🔬
dickaslin.substack.com/p/getting-in...
dickaslin.substack.com/p/getting-in...
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
Grateful to the members of the National Academy of Sciences for standing up! www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/s...
Trump Administration Has Begun a War on Science, Researchers Say
Nearly 2,000 scientists urged that Congress restore funding to federal agencies decimated by recent cuts.
www.nytimes.com
March 31, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Grateful to the members of the National Academy of Sciences for standing up! www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/s...
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
In this interview Schumer says he agrees with Trump’s decision to pull $400 million from Columbia. A university in his own state. And he’s unconcerned about the unlawful arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, one of his constituents.
He is a traitor who needs to resign.
He is a traitor who needs to resign.
‘The Interview’: Chuck Schumer on Democrats, Antisemitism and His Shutdown Retreat
The Senate minority leader discusses the backlash to his vote on the Republican spending bill, how he sees his role within the party and his new book.
www.nytimes.com
March 16, 2025 at 2:19 PM
In this interview Schumer says he agrees with Trump’s decision to pull $400 million from Columbia. A university in his own state. And he’s unconcerned about the unlawful arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, one of his constituents.
He is a traitor who needs to resign.
He is a traitor who needs to resign.
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
It seems relevant to reshare our info piece, given what just happened to IES. It’s now gonna become even easier for snake oil salesmen to peddle their junk to parents, teachers, and schools. www.the74million.org/article/with...
Without the DOE’s Institute of Education Sciences, Helping Teachers Learn What Works in the Classroom Will Get a Lot Harder
In short, the Institute of Education Sciences identifies what works and what doesn’t.
www.the74million.org
March 13, 2025 at 1:33 AM
It seems relevant to reshare our info piece, given what just happened to IES. It’s now gonna become even easier for snake oil salesmen to peddle their junk to parents, teachers, and schools. www.the74million.org/article/with...
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
Last year, I was overjoyed to receive an NIH NRSA fellowship to study toddler brains and caregiving effects on memory at Columbia. Last night, my grant was terminated.
March 11, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Last year, I was overjoyed to receive an NIH NRSA fellowship to study toddler brains and caregiving effects on memory at Columbia. Last night, my grant was terminated.
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
I'm just a small-town professor. I'll never be a provost or chancellor. But here's some free advice: we're about to hold the most watched college sports event in 🇺🇸. Every college president should be all over TV, at every game, explaining why the March Madness of federal budget cuts is a huge crisis.
👇🎯 The public isn't going to understand this, unless the presidents of R1 universities around the country <loudly> & <collectively> get out into the public square & start explaining this & calling out the existential threat to the entire 🇺🇸 university system. The silence is deafening right now.
The public really needs to understand this. Every university system in the world rests on public funding, there has never been an alternative model at any time in history.
We have universities for literally the same reason that we have roads and armies.
We have universities for literally the same reason that we have roads and armies.
March 8, 2025 at 9:20 PM
I'm just a small-town professor. I'll never be a provost or chancellor. But here's some free advice: we're about to hold the most watched college sports event in 🇺🇸. Every college president should be all over TV, at every game, explaining why the March Madness of federal budget cuts is a huge crisis.
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
The National Academies remained silent about the destruction of American science. They did nothing for the scientists comprising their membership
They calculated that they would be spared if they didn't make themselves a target.
They will not be spared.
www.foxnews.com/politics/str...
They calculated that they would be spared if they didn't make themselves a target.
They will not be spared.
www.foxnews.com/politics/str...
'Structural racism': Top taxpayer-funded academy rife with DEI programs, hefty executive salaries
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has received millions of dollars of taxpayer grants while promoting a variety of left-wing causes.
www.foxnews.com
March 1, 2025 at 11:30 PM
The National Academies remained silent about the destruction of American science. They did nothing for the scientists comprising their membership
They calculated that they would be spared if they didn't make themselves a target.
They will not be spared.
www.foxnews.com/politics/str...
They calculated that they would be spared if they didn't make themselves a target.
They will not be spared.
www.foxnews.com/politics/str...
Can’t wait!
My new book, MORE THAN WORDS (Avery/PenguinRandomHouse) arrives 6/3! It tells the story of how we produce language & how talking shapes our lives in surprising ways. It's psyling for gen'l audiences! Info & preorders www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724046/more-than-words-by-maryellen-macdonald-phd/
February 25, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Can’t wait!
Reposted by Jenny Saffran
As a result of Trump’s slashes to research funding, dozens of graduate programs have announced reductions and cancellations of graduate admissions slots.
If you are an impacted applicant, please fill out this survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🧪🧠🧬🔬🥼👩🏼🔬🧑🔬
If you are an impacted applicant, please fill out this survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🧪🧠🧬🔬🥼👩🏼🔬🧑🔬
Grad Admission Impacts Survey
It is grad admissions season and many postbacs are feeling the chilling impacts of the Trump administration's recent executive orders freezing and slashing extramural research funding. Dozens of gradu...
docs.google.com
February 24, 2025 at 3:51 AM
As a result of Trump’s slashes to research funding, dozens of graduate programs have announced reductions and cancellations of graduate admissions slots.
If you are an impacted applicant, please fill out this survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🧪🧠🧬🔬🥼👩🏼🔬🧑🔬
If you are an impacted applicant, please fill out this survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🧪🧠🧬🔬🥼👩🏼🔬🧑🔬