Mark Thornton
@markthornton.bsky.social
Social neuroscientist studying how people understand and predict each other. Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College. http://markallenthornton.com
Reposted by Mark Thornton
Delighted to share our new Perspective article @natrevneuro.nature.com, led by the great @edoardochidichimo.bsky.social : "Towards an informational account of interpersonal coordination". With @loopyluppi.bsky.social, Pedro Mediano, @introspection.bsky.social, Victoria Leong and Richard Bethlehem.
November 19, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Delighted to share our new Perspective article @natrevneuro.nature.com, led by the great @edoardochidichimo.bsky.social : "Towards an informational account of interpersonal coordination". With @loopyluppi.bsky.social, Pedro Mediano, @introspection.bsky.social, Victoria Leong and Richard Bethlehem.
Reposted by Mark Thornton
And don't forget to first renew your membership/become a member! In addition to major discounts on conference registration, membership in SANS comes with other bonuses, including a 20% discount on open access fees at SCAN (new this year)! Details here: socialaffectiveneuro.org/membership/
Early bird registration for #SANS2026 is now open! Register between now and March 9 for this discounted rate. socialaffectiveneuro.org/registration/
November 13, 2025 at 2:18 PM
And don't forget to first renew your membership/become a member! In addition to major discounts on conference registration, membership in SANS comes with other bonuses, including a 20% discount on open access fees at SCAN (new this year)! Details here: socialaffectiveneuro.org/membership/
Reposted by Mark Thornton
Our paper @sarabogels.bsky.social covering our pre-registered multi-year research is now finally out in Cognition. We show that in conversations people reduce their multimodal signals non-linearly; the steeper this non-linear drop-off the more communicative success.
www.wimpouw.com/files/Bogels...
www.wimpouw.com/files/Bogels...
November 11, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Our paper @sarabogels.bsky.social covering our pre-registered multi-year research is now finally out in Cognition. We show that in conversations people reduce their multimodal signals non-linearly; the steeper this non-linear drop-off the more communicative success.
www.wimpouw.com/files/Bogels...
www.wimpouw.com/files/Bogels...
Another ~monthly update on the state of the #psychjobs market: more jobs continue to trickle in, though at a decreasing pace. We've nearly hit parity with covid in absolute terms, although the prior year baseline was higher this year than that, so we still see a slightly larger relative decrease.
November 4, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Another ~monthly update on the state of the #psychjobs market: more jobs continue to trickle in, though at a decreasing pace. We've nearly hit parity with covid in absolute terms, although the prior year baseline was higher this year than that, so we still see a slightly larger relative decrease.
Reposted by Mark Thornton
Together, we’re critical to the comprehension and production of meaning! 🧠 @markthornton.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Together, we’re critical to the comprehension and production of meaning! 🧠 @markthornton.bsky.social
Reposted by Mark Thornton
Last call for data-blitz and poster submission for the Computational Psychology preconference @spspnews.bsky.social! See thread below for details and hope to see you in Chicago!
The computational psych preconference is back @spspnews.bsky.social for a full day! This year's lineup:
👉theory-driven modeling: Hyowon Gweon
👉data-driven discovery: @clemensstachl.bsky.social
👉application: me
👉 panel: @steveread.bsky.social Sandra Matz, @markthornton.bsky.social Wil Cunningham
👉theory-driven modeling: Hyowon Gweon
👉data-driven discovery: @clemensstachl.bsky.social
👉application: me
👉 panel: @steveread.bsky.social Sandra Matz, @markthornton.bsky.social Wil Cunningham
October 20, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Last call for data-blitz and poster submission for the Computational Psychology preconference @spspnews.bsky.social! See thread below for details and hope to see you in Chicago!
Reposted by Mark Thornton
Why do brain networks vary? Do these differences shape behavior? If every 🧠 is unique, how can we detect common features of brain organization?
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
Dense Phenotyping of Human Brain Network Organization Using Precision fMRI
The advent of noninvasive imaging methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) transformed cognitive neuroscience, providing insights into large-scale brain networks and their link to cog...
go.illinois.edu
October 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Why do brain networks vary? Do these differences shape behavior? If every 🧠 is unique, how can we detect common features of brain organization?
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
Reposted by Mark Thornton
Preprint led by Salvador Vargas (on the job market!), with Chadly Stern, on stereotypes linking race & social class. We find a mean-level White–rich/Black–poor stereotype; the stereotype is strongest among third-group participants; and likely explained by social sampling: osf.io/preprints/ps...
October 16, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Preprint led by Salvador Vargas (on the job market!), with Chadly Stern, on stereotypes linking race & social class. We find a mean-level White–rich/Black–poor stereotype; the stereotype is strongest among third-group participants; and likely explained by social sampling: osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Mark Thornton
How do humans keep inventing tools and technologies that no single person could create alone?
Our new preprint, led by
@anilyaman.bsky.social & @ts-brain.bsky.social
shows that semantic knowledge guides innovation and drives cultural evolution. 🧠📘 arxiv.org/abs/2510.12837
Our new preprint, led by
@anilyaman.bsky.social & @ts-brain.bsky.social
shows that semantic knowledge guides innovation and drives cultural evolution. 🧠📘 arxiv.org/abs/2510.12837
October 16, 2025 at 1:49 PM
How do humans keep inventing tools and technologies that no single person could create alone?
Our new preprint, led by
@anilyaman.bsky.social & @ts-brain.bsky.social
shows that semantic knowledge guides innovation and drives cultural evolution. 🧠📘 arxiv.org/abs/2510.12837
Our new preprint, led by
@anilyaman.bsky.social & @ts-brain.bsky.social
shows that semantic knowledge guides innovation and drives cultural evolution. 🧠📘 arxiv.org/abs/2510.12837
Reposted by Mark Thornton
One of the papers I've been most excited about since starting the lab!
We adopt a network neuroscience approach to understand how arousal reconfigures large-scale functional network organization to support memory of complex narratives!
We adopt a network neuroscience approach to understand how arousal reconfigures large-scale functional network organization to support memory of complex narratives!
Out now in @nathumbehav.nature.com! We applied graph theoretic analyses to fMRI data of participants watching movies/listening to stories. Integration across large-scale functional networks mediates arousal-dependent enhancement of narrative memories. Open access link: rdcu.be/eKKAw
October 13, 2025 at 6:35 PM
One of the papers I've been most excited about since starting the lab!
We adopt a network neuroscience approach to understand how arousal reconfigures large-scale functional network organization to support memory of complex narratives!
We adopt a network neuroscience approach to understand how arousal reconfigures large-scale functional network organization to support memory of complex narratives!
Reposted by Mark Thornton
📣 New preprint from the Braga Lab! 📣
The ventral visual stream for reading converges on the transmodal language network
Congrats to Dr. Joe Salvo for this epic set of results
Big Q: What brain systems support the translation of writing to concepts and meaning?
Thread 🧵 ⬇️
The ventral visual stream for reading converges on the transmodal language network
Congrats to Dr. Joe Salvo for this epic set of results
Big Q: What brain systems support the translation of writing to concepts and meaning?
Thread 🧵 ⬇️
October 7, 2025 at 9:51 PM
📣 New preprint from the Braga Lab! 📣
The ventral visual stream for reading converges on the transmodal language network
Congrats to Dr. Joe Salvo for this epic set of results
Big Q: What brain systems support the translation of writing to concepts and meaning?
Thread 🧵 ⬇️
The ventral visual stream for reading converges on the transmodal language network
Congrats to Dr. Joe Salvo for this epic set of results
Big Q: What brain systems support the translation of writing to concepts and meaning?
Thread 🧵 ⬇️
Reposted by Mark Thornton
New paper in Open Mind, with @emmayu23.bsky.social, Megan Richardson, and @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social! We find that by 6 years of age, children think that close friends know the content of each other’s minds.
direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
@openmindjournal.bsky.social
direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
@openmindjournal.bsky.social
Developing Intuitions That Close Friends Know the Content of Each Other’s Minds
Abstract. To maintain and develop close relationships, people need to accurately represent the minds of their social partners. Although studies have characterized many aspects of children’s intuitive ...
direct.mit.edu
October 7, 2025 at 6:00 PM
New paper in Open Mind, with @emmayu23.bsky.social, Megan Richardson, and @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social! We find that by 6 years of age, children think that close friends know the content of each other’s minds.
direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
@openmindjournal.bsky.social
direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
@openmindjournal.bsky.social
AI jobs currently make up ~4% of posts on the psych job wiki. If you throw in "computational" and "data" (science), that goes up to 9% For comparison, the median size of the content areas (e.g., clinical, social, cognitive, etc.) is typically around 6-8%.
October 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
AI jobs currently make up ~4% of posts on the psych job wiki. If you throw in "computational" and "data" (science), that goes up to 9% For comparison, the median size of the content areas (e.g., clinical, social, cognitive, etc.) is typically around 6-8%.
We're a month further into the job market - how are things looking? The good news is that the market does seem to have been delayed: ~150 new listings have appeared since my last post. The bad news is that the total is still substantially lower than what it was during the covid dip.
October 3, 2025 at 5:26 PM
We're a month further into the job market - how are things looking? The good news is that the market does seem to have been delayed: ~150 new listings have appeared since my last post. The bad news is that the total is still substantially lower than what it was during the covid dip.
Reposted by Mark Thornton
I’m excited to share my 1st first-authored paper, “Distinct portions of superior temporal sulcus combine auditory representations with different visual streams” (with @mtfang.bsky.social and @steanze.bsky.social ), now out in The Journal of Neuroscience!
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
October 2, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I’m excited to share my 1st first-authored paper, “Distinct portions of superior temporal sulcus combine auditory representations with different visual streams” (with @mtfang.bsky.social and @steanze.bsky.social ), now out in The Journal of Neuroscience!
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
Reposted by Mark Thornton
The computational psych preconference is back @spspnews.bsky.social for a full day! This year's lineup:
👉theory-driven modeling: Hyowon Gweon
👉data-driven discovery: @clemensstachl.bsky.social
👉application: me
👉 panel: @steveread.bsky.social Sandra Matz, @markthornton.bsky.social Wil Cunningham
👉theory-driven modeling: Hyowon Gweon
👉data-driven discovery: @clemensstachl.bsky.social
👉application: me
👉 panel: @steveread.bsky.social Sandra Matz, @markthornton.bsky.social Wil Cunningham
September 29, 2025 at 4:57 PM
The computational psych preconference is back @spspnews.bsky.social for a full day! This year's lineup:
👉theory-driven modeling: Hyowon Gweon
👉data-driven discovery: @clemensstachl.bsky.social
👉application: me
👉 panel: @steveread.bsky.social Sandra Matz, @markthornton.bsky.social Wil Cunningham
👉theory-driven modeling: Hyowon Gweon
👉data-driven discovery: @clemensstachl.bsky.social
👉application: me
👉 panel: @steveread.bsky.social Sandra Matz, @markthornton.bsky.social Wil Cunningham
Very excited to share @landrybulls.bsky.social's 1st lead-author preprint in my lab! Using datasets from MySocialBrain.org we measured people's beliefs about how mental states change in intensity over time, the dimensional structure of those beliefs, and their correlates: osf.io/preprints/ps... 🧵👇
September 16, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Very excited to share @landrybulls.bsky.social's 1st lead-author preprint in my lab! Using datasets from MySocialBrain.org we measured people's beliefs about how mental states change in intensity over time, the dimensional structure of those beliefs, and their correlates: osf.io/preprints/ps... 🧵👇
Reposted by Mark Thornton
Excited to share the preprint for my 1st 1st-author manuscript! @markthornton.bsky.social and I show that people hold robust, structured beliefs about how individual mental states unfold in intensity over time. We find that these beliefs are reflected in other domains of mental state understanding.
September 16, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Excited to share the preprint for my 1st 1st-author manuscript! @markthornton.bsky.social and I show that people hold robust, structured beliefs about how individual mental states unfold in intensity over time. We find that these beliefs are reflected in other domains of mental state understanding.
Reposted by Mark Thornton
condemnations of political violence are well taken but it does feel as if some
prominent political commentators are of the view that violence isn’t a part of the history of American politics and that is very much not true.
prominent political commentators are of the view that violence isn’t a part of the history of American politics and that is very much not true.
September 11, 2025 at 1:27 AM
condemnations of political violence are well taken but it does feel as if some
prominent political commentators are of the view that violence isn’t a part of the history of American politics and that is very much not true.
prominent political commentators are of the view that violence isn’t a part of the history of American politics and that is very much not true.
Reposted by Mark Thornton
🚨 New paper alert! (slightly belated)
We (with @joshcjackson.bsky.social) suggest that complex technologies, as they need several (often many) people to use them, require innovations that distribute cognition to help regulate cognitive load and coordinate.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We (with @joshcjackson.bsky.social) suggest that complex technologies, as they need several (often many) people to use them, require innovations that distribute cognition to help regulate cognitive load and coordinate.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Complex technology requires cultural innovations for distributing cognition
Over the last decade, new research has shown how human collectives can develop technologies that no single individual could discover on their own. How…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 9, 2025 at 2:48 PM
🚨 New paper alert! (slightly belated)
We (with @joshcjackson.bsky.social) suggest that complex technologies, as they need several (often many) people to use them, require innovations that distribute cognition to help regulate cognitive load and coordinate.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We (with @joshcjackson.bsky.social) suggest that complex technologies, as they need several (often many) people to use them, require innovations that distribute cognition to help regulate cognitive load and coordinate.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Mark Thornton
How might stories shed light on brain function? Check out this opinion piece by @alexbarnett.bsky.social and I about the DMN and "situation models" -- our understanding of the current "state of affairs" in a story (or even experience).
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 5, 2025 at 1:34 PM
How might stories shed light on brain function? Check out this opinion piece by @alexbarnett.bsky.social and I about the DMN and "situation models" -- our understanding of the current "state of affairs" in a story (or even experience).
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Today, SCRAP Lab returned (right) to the Path of Life Garden in Windsor, VT - the site of our first in-person get-together as a lab 5 years ago (left) - to welcome our newest member, graduate student @gabefajardo.bsky.social!
September 4, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Today, SCRAP Lab returned (right) to the Path of Life Garden in Windsor, VT - the site of our first in-person get-together as a lab 5 years ago (left) - to welcome our newest member, graduate student @gabefajardo.bsky.social!
The psych job market may not be dead... but it is gravely injured 😬 So far it's looking like the Trump administration's attacks on higher ed/research are going to have more than 2x the impact on the job market as the covid-19 pandemic. #psychjobs #neurojobs #academicjobs
September 3, 2025 at 6:27 PM
The psych job market may not be dead... but it is gravely injured 😬 So far it's looking like the Trump administration's attacks on higher ed/research are going to have more than 2x the impact on the job market as the covid-19 pandemic. #psychjobs #neurojobs #academicjobs
Reposted by Mark Thornton
PsyArXiv is now down to only ~40% of the backlog we started with, thanks to our amazing moderators 🎉 To all mods: thank you so much for your hard work!
Did one of your preprints get approved recently? Help us show our thanks by liking and sharing this post :)
#PsyArXiv #PsychSciSky
Did one of your preprints get approved recently? Help us show our thanks by liking and sharing this post :)
#PsyArXiv #PsychSciSky
August 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
PsyArXiv is now down to only ~40% of the backlog we started with, thanks to our amazing moderators 🎉 To all mods: thank you so much for your hard work!
Did one of your preprints get approved recently? Help us show our thanks by liking and sharing this post :)
#PsyArXiv #PsychSciSky
Did one of your preprints get approved recently? Help us show our thanks by liking and sharing this post :)
#PsyArXiv #PsychSciSky
After 5 years, I finally carved out time to turn this blog post on FDR (markallenthornton.com/blog/fdr-pro...) into a manuscript. The preprint features a much broader range of simulations showing how FDR promotes confounds, and how this effect compounds with publication bias: osf.io/preprints/ps...
August 29, 2025 at 3:43 PM
After 5 years, I finally carved out time to turn this blog post on FDR (markallenthornton.com/blog/fdr-pro...) into a manuscript. The preprint features a much broader range of simulations showing how FDR promotes confounds, and how this effect compounds with publication bias: osf.io/preprints/ps...