CFP: Measuring the Mind - Conceptual Issues in Psychology and Cognitive Science

Scientific questions in psychology are often framed under the assumption that constructs such as emotion, memory, intelligence, and disorder are stable, measurable entities. Yet growing empirical evidence challenges the assumption that these categories correspond to mind-independent ‘natural kinds’. Instead, they are heterogeneous, complex, dynamically emerging, context-sensitive, and ad-hoc instantiated; they are not tokens of fixed types but situated constructions that emerge from interactions among neural, bodily, and environmental factors. Variation across individuals, contexts, and times is therefore not noise or error, but a structural feature of psychological phenomena.

Significant questions are raised about what psychology can meaningfully measure, explain, and replicate. What ontological commitments are implicit in contemporary psychological measurement practices? Does measurement discover psychological phenomena, partially constitute them, or merely stabilize patterns of variation for pragmatic purposes? To what extent do replication failures reflect construct instability rather than methodological error? If psychological categories are populations of variable instances rather than fixed types, how should this modify explanation, generalization, and theory-building? Are constructs better understood as tracking processes, patterns of variation, or situational regularities rather than latent entities? Would a conceptual shift, making variation the ‘default ontology’ in psychology, solve the problem of measurement?

The conference is organised by the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Bucharest.

We encourage MA and PhD students, as well as early PhDs and postdocs, to contribute research abstracts related to the event's topic areas. Abstracts should be written in English and should not exceed 300 words.

Abstracts will receive full consideration if sent before the 15th of April 2026 at the following address: [email protected]. Word or PDF attachments preferred, with the message titled "abstract submission".

All submissions will go through a process of blind peer review. (Please write your identifying details in the body of the email, and leave the attached abstract anonymized.) We intend to send out notifications of acceptance on or before the 10th of May. The conference programme will be announced as soon as the review is completed.

For any questions, please don't hesitate to email:  [email protected]

You may register at the same address (or by RSVP here on PhilEvents) on or before the 10th of May in order to receive the Zoom connection details if you want to attend online. Date: May 29-30

Format: mixed 

Contact email:[email protected]

Organizers: 

Drd. Daniela Nica

Drd. Sandra Branzaru