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Tania Lombrozo Ph.D.

About

Tania Lombrozo, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as an affiliate of the department of philosophy and a member of the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University in 2006 after receiving a B.S. in Symbolic Systems and a B.A. in Philosophy from Stanford University. Dr. Lombrozo's research aims to address foundational questions about cognition using the empirical tools of cognitive psychology and the conceptual tools of analytic philosophy. Her work focuses on explanation and understanding, causal reasoning, conceptual representation and categorization, and moral reasoning. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a National Science Foundation CAREER award and a James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award in Understanding Human Cognition.

Recent Posts
Is it Rational to Have a Child? Can Psychology Tell Us?
A controversial new paper by philosopher L.A. Paul considers whether decisions about life-transforming experiences, such as whether to have a child, can be made rationally. I explain the argument and consider whether psychological evidence about the relative happiness and life satisfaction of those with and without children offers a solution.
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Are You a Sucker For Math?
New research reveals a "nonsense math effect": people without training in science, mathematics, or technology are susceptible to the allure of totally irrelevant math when evaluating the quality of research.
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Can You Explain Your Moral Choices?
People are remarkably willing to generate post-hoc justifications for their own moral choices and behaviors, even when those justifications don't hold up to scrutiny. A new study reveals that people are sometimes willing to do so even when the choices being justified are not the ones they actually made. Researchers call this moral "choice blindness."
Explaining Gender Differences
Harrods department store recently created a Toy Kingdom with toys arranged according to theme rather than sex, combining sections for girls and boys. The change has the media talking about toys and their impact on boys' and girls' development. Does it matter how the media explains gender differences? Research reveals that it does.
A Simple Lesson From Strep Throat

Sometimes life imitates art. And sometimes life imitates psychology experiments. This month my life took on an uncanny resemblance to fictional scenarios we use to study human explanatory preferences in the lab. Find out what strep throat and ear infections can teach us about what makes an explanation simple.

Sometimes life imitates art. And sometimes life imitates psychology experiments. This month my life took on an uncanny resemblance to fictional scenarios we use to study human explanatory preferences in the lab. Find out what strep throat and ear infections can teach us about what makes an explanation simple.

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Does Curiosity Guide Children's Learning?

Children are renowned for their curiosity. They're voracious explorers and loquacious askers, pestering parents with an endless stream of "why?" A clever new paper finds that children's explorations and explanations aren't haphazard, but instead serve a critical role in guiding children's learning and determining whether and when they revise their beliefs.

Children are renowned for their curiosity. They're voracious explorers and loquacious askers, pestering parents with an endless stream of "why?" A clever new paper finds that children's explorations and explanations aren't haphazard, but instead serve a critical role in guiding children's learning and determining whether and when they revise their beliefs.

Explanation Roundup (February/March Edition)

Human curiosity and its consequences are everywhere. Find out about interesting posts and articles concerning the cognitive science of explanation from across the web, including findings on how children's explanations guide their exploration and inform Artificial Intelligence, and how we do (and don't) understand our own storytelling minds.

Human curiosity and its consequences are everywhere. Find out about interesting posts and articles concerning the cognitive science of explanation from across the web, including findings on how children's explanations guide their exploration and inform Artificial Intelligence, and how we do (and don't) understand our own storytelling minds.

If Your Mind Made You Believe It, Is It True?

If properties of the human mind make people particularly inclined to reject evolution in favor of creationism, should we be more skeptical of creationist beliefs? More generally, does providing a psychological explanation for why someone holds a particular belief tell us anything about the truth of that belief? Read more for a glimpse into this complex set of issues.

If properties of the human mind make people particularly inclined to reject evolution in favor of creationism, should we be more skeptical of creationist beliefs? More generally, does providing a psychological explanation for why someone holds a particular belief tell us anything about the truth of that belief? Read more for a glimpse into this complex set of issues.

Is Evolution "Just a Theory"?

Evolution's scientific credentials are sometimes challenged by noting that it is a THEORY, not a FACT. Do people reject evolution because it's "just a theory"? Research suggests that understanding the nature of science, and in particular the idea that theories are reliable but revisable, is related to accepting evolution. Read on to find out why.

Evolution's scientific credentials are sometimes challenged by noting that it is a THEORY, not a FACT. Do people reject evolution because it's "just a theory"? Research suggests that understanding the nature of science, and in particular the idea that theories are reliable but revisable, is related to accepting evolution. Read on to find out why.

Do You Wish Evolution Weren’t True?

Many people believe that an evolutionary worldview is existentially challenging, making it harder to find meaning in life and easier to justify selfishness. Do people reject evolution because they don't want it to be true? Do those who accept evolution do so reluctantly? Research in educational and cognitive psychology provides some surprising answers.

Many people believe that an evolutionary worldview is existentially challenging, making it harder to find meaning in life and easier to justify selfishness. Do people reject evolution because they don't want it to be true? Do those who accept evolution do so reluctantly? Research in educational and cognitive psychology provides some surprising answers.