[Koglist] [CEU Cogsci Talks] Samuel Ronfard (University of Toronto): Knowing vs. Doing: Why Children and Adults Avoid Learning from Disagreement, March 4, 2026, 4 pm

The CEU Department of Cognitive Science cordially invites you to the following talk by: Samuel Ronfard (University of Toronto)<https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/psychology/people/samuel-ronfard> Date: on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 Time: 4 pm (to 5:30 pm) CET Venue: D001 (QS Vienna) and Zoom: https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/91754034738?pwd=Y4IHvNx7PjIndJ4TKsE6niDpOCis1A.1&… Meeting ID: 917 5403 4738 Passcode: 437807 Chair: Azzurra Ruggeri Title: Knowing vs. Doing: Why Children and Adults Avoid Learning from Disagreement Abstract: While disagreement can promote critical thinking and reduce overconfidence, both children and adults tend to avoid conflicting views, preferring likeminded peers and confirming information. This talk presents a series of studies examining how children and adults reason about disagreement and whether interventions can close the gap between recognizing its value and actually engaging with it. Our research reveals a clear developmental pattern. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that while 4- to 8-year-olds and adults recognize some benefits of learning from disagreement, this recognition varies as a function of whether the question has a determinate answer - both children and adults see greater epistemic value in disagreement on open-ended questions than on those with clear right answers. Moreover, the ability to articulate why disagreement is valuable emerges around age 7. Yet recognition does not translate into action. Study 3 shows that both children and adults are more willing to recommend that others seek out disagreement than to do so themselves - consistent with the view that perceived social costs outweigh recognized epistemic benefits. To test whether this gap can be closed, Studies 4-6 examined interventions including explicit instruction and self-distancing prompts. These increased willingness to engage with opposing views in older children (ages 10-11) and adults, though younger children remained resistant. Study 7 further shows that perspective-taking ability predicted both understanding disagreement's value and willingness to engage with opposing views. Together, these findings shed light on the cognitive and social factors that shape intellectual humility, with implications for how open-mindedness might be fostered in educational settings. *Anyone not affiliated with CEU wishing to attend in-person in Vienna must reply here<https://forms.office.com/e/BkjVf9GZii> to get access to the lecture hall. Let Azzurra know, please, if you would like to schedule a meeting with the speaker. Best, Reka [cid:image001.png@01DCA70A.E83FD040] Györgyné Finta (Réka) Department Coordinator Department of Cognitive Science Pronouns: she/her | szabor@ceu.edu<mailto:szabor@ceu.edu> | +43 1 25230 5138 CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY Quellenstrasse 51 | A-1100 Vienna | Austria | www.ceu.edu<http://www.ceu.edu/> [signature_4100317087]<https://www.facebook.com/WeAreCEU/> [signature_3650446863] <https://www.instagram.com/weareceu/> [signature_2213595878] <https://at.linkedin.com/school/central-european-university/> [signature_973538284] <https://www.threads.net/@weareceu> [signature_3302971874] <https://twitter.com/ceu> ______________________________________________ Subscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-subscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu Unsubscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-unsubscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu