Like momentum traders in the stock market, parents today appear to favor names that have recently risen in popularity relative to names that are on the decline, say cognitive science researchers from Indiana University and New York University. The research, published in the journal Topics of Cognitive Science, is relevant to understanding how people's everyday decisions are influenced by aggregate cultural processes.

Cognitive scientists at Indiana University Bloomington received a five-year, $3.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create and employ innovative methods for training future scientists. "Building on our existing strengths in the psychological and brain sciences and complex systems, as well as our new activities in robotics, this award will allow us to offer a unique training program on situated, embodied and dynamical approaches to cognition," said Randall Beer, professor of both cognitive science and computer science.

In 1979 Chancellor's Professor David Pisoni brought the first two postdoctoral researchers to Indiana University Bloomingrton when he was awarded a five-year training grant by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders. Today, the same grant supports six postdoctoral researchers, six doctoral students and six medical students in Bloomington and Indianapolis.

Little more than a week after election as a fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science Douglas Hofstadter has been elected a fellow of the American Philosophical Society. With the honor Hofstadter becomes the first faculty member in Indiana University history to hold fellowships in the two prestigious societies and to have won a Pulitzer Prize.

Pulitzer Prize winning author and Indiana University distinguished professor of cognitive science and computer science Douglas Hofstadter has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded $400,000 over two years to the Indiana Philosophy Ontology project -- InPhO for short -- which is creating interactive, digital tools to help students and scholars explore the discipline of philosophy. Colin Allen, professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, directs the project.

When it comes to assessing the romantic playing field -- who might be interested in whom -- men and woman were shown to be equally good at gauging men's interest during an Indiana University study involving speed dating -- and equally bad at judging women's interest.

New research from Indiana University has found evidence that how we look for things, such as our car keys or umbrella, could be related to how we search for more abstract needs, such as words in memory or solutions to problems.

Researchers from several disciplines will bring an academic focus to the growing problem of childhood and adolescent obesity with a conference Sept. 4-5 at Indiana University Bloomington. The conference, titled "Cognitive, Behavioral and Economic Approaches to Childhood and Adolescent Obesity," will feature presentations by internationally known experts from the fields of economics, nutrition, marketing, biostatistics and exercise.

Good ideas can have drawbacks. When information is freely shared, good ideas can stunt innovation by distracting others from pursuing even better ideas, according to Indiana University cognitive scientist Robert Goldstone.

Researchers in Indiana University Bloomington's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences have received a $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how the brain uses highly complex statistics to learn language. The study, led by assistant professor Chen Yu and Linda B. Smith, professor and chair of the department, will use advanced sensing equipment to explore how toddlers perform complex mental computations as they begin to match words with objects.

While humans may pride themselves on being highly evolved, most still behave like the stereotypical Neanderthals when it comes to choosing a mate, according to research by Indiana University cognitive scientist Peter Todd. In a new study, Todd and colleagues found that although individuals may claim otherwise, beauty is the key ingredient for men while women, the much choosier of the sexes, leverage their looks for security and commitment.

Living Well for August offers suggestions for meeting some of the new exercise guidelines and discusses how we choose between meals -- a "fast and frugal" approach usually is just as good as stewing over options.

Exciting new scholarly and artistic explorations of Senagalese culture, Shakespeare and climate change are among the Indiana University projects that have received $1 million in grants from the New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities Program, an IU initiative funded by the Lilly Endowment.

The Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index--a new survey which uses faculty research and scholarly activity from more than 350 universities as a measure--has recognized and ranked 14 programs at Indiana University Bloomington and two at the IU School of Medicine.

Indiana University researchers tap cyberspace, biophysics and insights from poets and former president Dwight D. Eisenhower to examine how existing paths, regardless of how meager, influence travel and nothing less than future progress.

The Indiana University Board of Trustees voted in favor of two new building projects today, including a life sciences research building in Bloomington.

Richard M. Shiffrin, Distinguished Professor and Luther Dana Waterman Professor in the Psychology Department at Indiana University Bloomington, received a Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association earlier this year. According to the APA, Shiffrin's research "has organized the manner in which the field addresses the key issues of memory and attention ... [and] helped shape the direction of cognitive psychology. His theories of memory and attention are the leading theories in the psychology of cognition."

This month's Living Well tips discuss the importance of exercise and annual dilated eye exams for people with diabetes, insights into memory, and questions to pose when looking for a personal trainer.