Elizabeth Bonawitz
Assoc. Prof. Learning Sciences, Harvard GSE. Study learning in early childhood using computational modeling & empirical studies. Speaking for self only. She/her
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzKids are #learning machines! But how do they do it? Cognitive scientist @ebonawitz.bsky.social is helping us understand how children learn to learn and what role #curiosity has to play in those processes. lynnborton.com/2026/02/05/c...
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitz💥💥💥 I laughed out loud at this affirmation of why I keep doing this! “I make it extremely clear to the students that they will be dissatisfied if they expect that there will be a clear definition of #curiosity by the end of the class..." @ebonawitz.bsky.social
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzThe Visual Learning Lab is hiring TWO lab coordinators! Both positions are ideal for someone looking for research experience before applying to graduate school. Application deadline is Feb 10th (approaching fast!)—with flexible summer start dates.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzMinnesota National Guard members have arrived at a federal building and were directed to distribute donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate to anti-ICE protesters. Guard members were issued reflective vests so they would not be mistaken for federal agents.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzI cannot imagine the devastation this family is experiencing today. This statement is powerful and must be read.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzEvery Democratic member of Congress should be on a plane to Minneapolis right now to join the people protesting in the streets. Federal elected officials should physically place themselves between the public and these dangerous thugs sent to terrorize this American city.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzThis is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
- MLK warned us not to confuse systems with people. Watching US democracy slide into fascism has demonstrated for me firsthand how states can oppress. That the citizens inside are victims, not villains.
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitz“Look what you made me do.”
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzI'm honored to be named the Pascucci Professor in Learning Differences @harvardeducation.bsky.social . Grateful to follow the late Tom Hehir, whose visionary advocacy for disability rights transformed the field. Im deeply committed to carrying his mission forward www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/news/2...
- Kimele Persaud: The MC2 Lab (lnkd.in/d3EiHP6f) at Rutgers is hiring a postdoc to work on an NSF-funded project assessing surprise & expectation-driven learning in preschoolers & adults. If you are interested in memory, computational, & cognitive development, apply! jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/267...
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzIt's worth your time to call Hilton to cancel your account with them. 1-800-446-6677. Here's why: They asked me if it was because of the ICE thing. I said it was. Then they suggested I wait a couple days to see if they were going to change course. The pressure is getting to them. Let's keep it up.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzThe 52nd annual meeting of the SPP will be at JHU, June 17-20 📣 Submit your work by January 16! 📣
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitza project I really like, now officially out! "Shape Guides Visual Pretense" by Qian and me paper link: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article... I'll walk through a quick version here To get a sense of it, first consider: Would it make more sense to pretend that this block is a car, or a strawberry?
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitz
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzIf your position is that regime change should be forced on countries where the president does not respect democratic norms and regularly kidnaps opponents using an officially sanctioned paramiliatary, have I got news for you about your position on the United States
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzR.I.P. 2025 (2025 - 2025)
- 🔥 Can't wait!
- Invited speaker lineup is out for SPP 2026! More information on the meeting here: www.socphilpsych.org/meetings.html Submissions accepted until Jan 16! Come hang in Baltimore; conference is at Johns Hopkins from June 17-20, 2026! @socphilpsych.bsky.social @joshrottman.bsky.social #SPP2026
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitz📚 Now reading: Elgin, Catherine Z. (2017) True enough. Will be compiling some quotes and thoughts over time. Pin📍or bookmark this thread if you want to follow along. 1/🧵
- Cannot WAIT to read this.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzPrinceton's AI Lab is advertising positions for AI Postdoctoral Fellows in two areas: studying natural and artificial minds, and designing, understanding or engineering large AI models. We are also searching for a Lead Research Software Engineer! ai.princeton.edu/ai-lab/emplo...
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitzoh what fun it is to have this paper out :)
- New paper with Junyi Chu, Tomer Ullman et al showing that kids think more difficulty is more fun! Fun isn't easy: Children selectively manipulate task difficulty when “playing for fun” versus “playing to win”. psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-...
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzNice thread describing our new study on why kids play
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzThe Press and @openmindjournal.bsky.social are pleased to announce a partnership with Lyrasis through the Open Access Community Investment Program (OACIP). Learn how your institution can support this initiative to continue providing the latest #cogsci research—free of charge—here: bit.ly/452nMma
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitzfun pre-print for your start of week reading: "People Make Graded Judgments About The Inconceivable" (by Hu, Sosa, and me) doi.org/10.31234/osf...
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitznew: Eric Bigelow @ericbigelow.bsky.social suggests the 2 main ways of controlling LLMs (prompting & steering) can be understood as changing model beliefs (as in Bayesian belief updating) "Belief Dynamics Reveal the Dual Nature of In-Context Learning & Activation Steering" arxiv.org/pdf/2511.00617
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitzmy five year old had RSV when he was six months old and when we brought him to the pediatrician they were like yeah go directly to the hospital we’re calling ahead scariest few days of our lives from the bottom of my heart: all these people can go to hell
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzStudents, staff, faculty turning to ChatGPT? That means they are being asked to do things they don't have the time, resources, support, etc to do.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzBecause the vaccine prevents chronic hepatitis B for which there is no cure and the lifelong treatment costs more than a single birth dose of the vaccine. Insurance companies recognize this is a no brainer. Brought to you by prevention beats treatment any day. www.cnn.com/2025/12/07/h...
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzPlease consider supporting this important resource if it is easy and appealing for you. Here’s the link to donate (make sure it says you are giving to “Children Helping Science Platform Fund” specifically - if you get redirected just search to find correct fund). giving.mit.edu/search/node/...
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzThere’s a fantastic developmental science resource called Children Helping Science, at MIT (childrenhelpingscience.com). Researchers run child studies online, Parents sign up & participate with their kids. CHS got an offer from an anonymous donor: matching gifts up to $100K through December!
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzThe decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to downgrade its recommendations to protect infants from hepatitis B is a dangerous move that will harm children. Click here to read AAP's full statement: bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzCongress is currently considering a piece of legislation that would effectively sever all scientific ties between the US and China. Unbelievable. You can read the AAU response here: www.aau.edu/key-issues/a...
- My email spam box today 🤝 12-yr-old waiting for the late bus in the sleet "it's giving Tuesday" (thanks @apmackey.bsky.social for the inspiration)
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitz📢 Applications are open for the 2026 #JacobsCIFARFellowship! A new partnership between the Jacobs Foundation and CIFAR supports early- & mid-career researchers advancing how children learn & develop worldwide. 🗓️ Apply by 2 February 2026 → cifarportal.smapply.io/prog/jacobs_...
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzI am so honored to be selected for the 2026-2028 cohort of @jacobsfoundation.bsky.social Research Fellows! I think this is my greatest example of perseverance -- this was my *7th* application and *3rd* time as a finalist!😱 Applications now open to join next year! jacobsfoundation.org/fellowships/...
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzLooking for a funded Ph.D. in #CogSci in an interdisciplinary, research-first program? Apply to CEU! cognitivescience.ceu.edu/admission Deadline February 4, 2026. Please share with any interested students! #PsychSciSky #DevPsych #CogPsych
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitz🚨🚨🚨 Our 52nd Annual Meeting will be held from June 18–20, 2026 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, with a pre-conference on Mental Control and Agency held at JHU on June 17 🚨🚨🚨 We are currently inviting submissions of papers (talks and posters)!
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzPersonal Statements, Addendum: some are written as if the applicant is a passive object that greater forces act on: "I was led to X | this moved me to Y | I become fascinated by Z" I encourage you to position your "journey" as an active choice, with you as the agent that makes the choices.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzI am honored to be promoted to Professor of Education with tenure at the Harvard Graduate School of Education @harvardeducation.bsky.social !!! Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey. ❤️ www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/news/2...
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzOfficially out in the current issue of Trends in Cognitive Sciences: "Physics versus graphics as an organizing dichotomy in cognition" www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
- Me: Sorry that I haven't gotten back to you on these paper edits -- I was too busy reading emails. Trainee: Oh, I know you get a lot of emails, no worries. Me: Oh, I'm not reading MY emails...
- In the cool and exciting band, I think.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzI’ll take some good news www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
- Relevant also for tenure letter writers to consider... *cough
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzIt’s grad school application season, and I wanted to give some public advice. Caveats: -*-*-*-* > These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees > They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases
- The great battle between dog and bed-cushion rages on. In terrible wars such as these, there are no victors.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzCome to the workshop at BUCLD @bucld.bsky.social, and bring a pen ✍🏻 www.bu.edu/bucld/
- Happy Halloween! If you have to be in a car, drive safely out there tonight, folks. Lots of kids and lions will be roaming the streets.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzI love kids. I have two of them. They’re amazing. However, kids are the absolute least self aware, clumsiest little puffins on the planet. Please don’t drive tonight unless you have to, and if you do drive, drive super slow and pay 100% attention at all times. Happy Halloween! 🎃 👻 💀 #PublicHealth
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzMA residents: If SNAP goes away, your EBT card still lets you use HIP to get fruits/vegetables: mass.gov/info-details... You can still get Transitional/Emergency Economic Assistance: mass.gov/economic-ass... This hotline gives access to other meal/pantry programs: projectbread.org/foodsource-h...
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzIn case you don't know already, the journal Open Mind has a Bluesky account that automatically posts new papers: @openmindjournal.bsky.social The journal is diamond open access (free to read, free to publish) thanks to the support of MIT Press, Harvard Library, & MIT Library.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzWe're excited to announce that Cognitive Science at Dartmouth is recruiting PhD students to work collaboratively with me, Steven Frankland, and Fred Callaway. Come study the principles and mechanisms that enable us to understand, plan, and act in the world! Info: sites.dartmouth.edu/cogscigrad/
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitzacademic paper titles :
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitzthere's a lot of interest in making AI more "human like" -- but what about the flip side? when real humans seem like robots/puppets/NPCs? nnnnnewwww pre-print: "The Development Of Sensitivity To Automatic Behavior" (by Bass, Bonawitz, & me) doi.org/10.31234/osf...
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzNo Kings includes this guy
- Reposted by Elizabeth Bonawitz😍 Boston, you are beautiful. #NoKings
- Thousands protesting here in Concord, MA -- No kings then, no kings now. Daisy joins the Democratic spirit.
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzThis is gonna be fun. Build the FOMO. NoKings.org
- Reposted by Elizabeth BonawitzNew preprint! "Non-commitment in mental imagery is distinct from perceptual inattention, and supports hierarchical scene construction" (by Li, Hammond, & me) link: doi.org/10.31234/osf... -- the title's a bit of a mouthful, but the nice thing is that it's a pretty decent summary
