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Max Planck Institute
About MPI

 

The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics is an institute of the German Max Planck Society. Our mission is to undertake basic research into the psychological,social and biological foundations of language. The goal is to understand how our minds and brains process language, how language interacts with other aspects of mind, and how we can learn languages of quite different types.

The institute is situated on the campus of the Radboud University. We participate in the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, and have particularly close ties to that institute's Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging. We also participate in the Centre for Language Studies. A joint graduate school, the IMPRS in Language Sciences, links the Donders Institute, the CLS and the MPI.

 

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Casasanto named McDonnell Scholar

On August 28, the James S. McDonnell Foundation announced the recipients of the 2010 McDonnell Scholar Awards. MPI researcher Daniel Casasanto received 600,000 USD to support his research on language and thought. Casasanto was one of twelve scientists worldwide selected for their potential to advance the understanding of the human brain and mind.

Casasanto named McDonnell Scholar

August 30, 2010

Founded in 1950 by aerospace pioneer James S. McDonnell, the JSM Foundation seeks to 'improve the quality of life' by promoting basic and applied research in engineering and science. The Scholar Award was created in 2008 to advance research on human cognition. The JSMF aims to promote the central role of cognitive psychology in advancing the understanding of the neural and cognitive bases of behaviour, and to encourage the application of cognitive principles to problems in teaching, learning, and recovery from brain injuries.

How experience shapes the mind

Unlike traditional grants which fund a specific project, the Scholar Award funds a researcher and their program of research. Casasanto will use the generous award (which is more than the coveted MacArthur Foundation ‘genius award’) to continue his investigations of the role of experience in shaping the mind. 'People’s experiences vary, so it would seem natural that many of the concepts they form vary, accordingly', says Casasanto. 'Perhaps surprisingly, this has not been the dominant view in the cognitive sciences.' Casasanto’s team has shown that different patterns of experience with language, culture, or the physical world can cause people to think differently, in fundamental ways.

For details on the award, see http://www.jsmf.org/grants/d.php?id=2010003

Last checked 2010-10-15 by Myrna Tinbergen

Max Planck Institute
for Psycholinguistics


Street address
Wundtlaan 1
6525 XD Nijmegen
The Netherlands


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6500 AH Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Phone:   +31-24-3521911
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