The Thoughtful Animal
exploring the evolution and architecture of the human mind
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I am a graduate student in Developmental Psychology at the University of Southern California.
I'm interested in the way that the environment interacts with biology in producing
innate or skilled behavior, and the evolution of the mind. For a sample of my best posts, see my Greatest Hits.
You can also follow me on twitter and check out my tumblr.
I am also Psychology and Neuroscience Editor for ResearchBlogging.org and Editor of Open Lab 2010
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Recent Posts
- Not seeing any new posts? I'm at Scientific American Blogs!
- Goodbye Scienceblogs, Hello Scientific American Blogs!
- Monday Photoblogging: Before and After
- Google+ for the Blogger and Researcher
- Editor's Selections: Computer as Therapist, Nicotine and Body-Mass, and Another DSM-5 Proposal - Gambling Addiction
- Monday Photoblogging: Old LA Zoo
- From the Archives: What Can 3D Movies Teach Us About How Ants Smell?
- Editor's Selections: Social Hierarchies, ADHD and Athletics, and Pain in Fish
- Fido Might Not Know What You Do and Do Not See
- Editor's Selections: Methodology, Autistic Pigs, Invasive Brains, and OCD
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- Jason G. Goldman on Goodbye Scienceblogs, Hello Scientific American Blogs!
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- Jason G. Goldman on Goodbye Scienceblogs, Hello Scientific American Blogs!
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About
Jason Goldman is in his fourth year as a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern California. He is interested in the development of skills and knowledge systems, and particularly, the way that the environment interacts with biology in producing such systems.
Jason writes about psychology and neuroscience, with a special focus on animal cognition. What does it mean for a cognitive skill or capacity to be truly innate? How can the environment take the basic building blocks of cognition and push them around in different ways? How did those building blocks evolve? How do they develop throughout the lifetime? Understanding the animal mind can help us better understand the evolution of the human mind.
One line of his research concerns environmental and neurobiological contributions to reading skill, and to developmental dyslexia.
An additional line of his research concerns the evolution and development of various cognitive abilities, and how the environment may impact those abilities. To investigate this, he conducts studies in three populations: human adults, nonhuman adult animals, and nonhuman infant animals. Studies of each population allow unique questions to be asked about the evolution and development of cognition.
He is affiliated with the USC Center for the Study of Reading and Dyslexia and the USC Brain and Creativity Institute.
He is also Psychology and Neuroscience Editor at ResearchBlogging.org
He occasionally enjoys writing about himself in the third person.
Any opinions stated on this blog are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anybody else, including the University of Southern California, or the USC Department of Psychology.
