Foreword
These proceedings hold the talks, posters, tutorials, and symposia presented at the XXVII Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. The conference took place in Stresa (Italy) at the Stresa Convention Centre, July 21-23, 2005.
Highlights of the conference include: Andy Clark and Giacomo Rizzolatti as plenary speakers; Paul Smolensky speaking as the Rumelhart Prize winner; a debate on Concept Acquisition and one on Collective Intentionality; eleven symposia on Language and Cognition, Cognitive Psychopathology, Looking at the Mind through the Lens of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Culture and Mind, Rumelhart prize symposium, Miscommunication, Generating Explanatory Hypotheses, Neuroeconomics and the Social Brain, Spatial Schemas and Abstract Thought, Conceptual Grounding in Cognitive Processes, Origins of Mindreading abilities in Children and Monkeys. The conference closing event is the Mind and Brain Prize, with the lectures of the two winners, James L. McClelland and Jerry Fodor.
In total, we received 23 submissions for symposia, 543 submissions for 6-page papers, and 15 submissions for publication-based abstracts. Of these, the numbers of acceptances were 11 symposia, 413 6-page papers, and 11 publication-based abstracts. As the acceptance rates illustrate, competition was stiff, and the accepted submissions reflected high rates of reviewer enthusiasm. We also received 145 submissions for member abstracts, and accepted 141. By design, these are lightly reviewed and almost always accepted.
Holding a Cognitive Science Conference is a lot of work. We could not have done it without help from many people. We would especially like to thank:
The Governing Board of Cognitive Science Society, for inviting us to chair the meeting
The Business Manager of Cognitive Science Society, Deborah Gruber, for her help in the conference organization
The Program Committee, for managing the review process
The Scientific Committee for assisting in selecting debates and symposia
The General Manager of the Center for Cognitive Science, Cesare Bertone, for his support in the conference planning
The Local Committee, for organizing and handling the conference:
Cristina Becchio (Chair), Ivan Enrici (Web Master and System’s Manager)
The 790 reviewers, for providing professional reviews.
Our sponsors: Bollati Boringhieri Editore, Banca Intesa, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato e Agricoltura del Verbano Cusio Ossola, Cognitive Science Society, Compagnia di San Paolo, Comune di Stresa, Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Asti, Department of Psychology of the University of Turin, Distretto turistico dei laghi - Lago Maggiore Lago d’Orta Lago di Mergozzo Monti e Valli dell’Ossola, Elsevier Inc., European Office of Aerospace Research and Development (EOARD), Fondazione CRT, Provincia del Verbano Cusio Ossola, the Rector of the Univrsity of Turin, Regione Piemonte, Robert J. Glushko and Pamela Samuelson Foundation, Trends in Cognitive Science, Unioncamere
Piemonte, and M.I.U.R., PRIN project 2004111320_002 (Mathematical modeling of natural and artifical behavior).
And above all, the authors, symposium participants, and attendees.
Bruno G. Bara, Lawrence W. Barsalou, and Monica Bucciarelli
