Nature & Nurture #55: Dr. Sami Yousif - Spatial Cognition & Teleological Belief

Dr. Sami Yousif is a cognitive psychologist and MindCORE postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

In this episode we dive deep into two topics among Sami's wide range of research experiences: spatial cognition and teleological belief. 

We discuss spatial cognition, imagistic vs. propositional vs. coordinate representations of space and navigation, the development of spatial reasoning in children, and how spatial cognition differs between humans and animals.   

We also discuss teleology, or the explanation for the purpose of things, and how teleological beliefs differ across individuals and across framing of questions. In particular, "why" questions may be broken down into either descriptive "how" questions or teleological "purpose" questions.  

Learn more about Sami's work at: https://www.samiyousif.org/