Project Description
It is often assumed that cognitive offloading (Risko and Gilbert, 2016)—the use of external aids such as notes, diagrams, or gestures to reduce the load on internal cognitive resources—generally facilitates thinking, reasoning, and memory (see, e.g., Bauer & Johnson-Laird, 1993; Larkin & Simon, 1996; Gilbert et al, 2023). However, preliminary findings from our research program on geometric reasoning (Hamami, Mumma & Amalric, 2021; Hamami & Amalric, 2024) suggest that this is not always the case.

In the context of geometry, cognitive offloading typically takes the form of drawing and reasoning with geometric diagrams on paper or a blackboard—something familiar to anyone who has learned mathematics in school. Preliminary results from our lab indicate that while such external representations can support reasoning, representing too much information may in fact impair performance. This raises the intriguing possibility that there exists an optimal level of externalization that maximizes the coupling between internal and external cognitive processes.

In this project, the student will run a series of behavioral experiments designed to identify which aspects of cognitive offloading are beneficial and which may be detrimental during geometric reasoning. Using an experimental paradigm developed in our lab, the intern will engage in the full research cycle—from formulating hypotheses and designing experiments, to collecting and analyzing data.

The results will contribute to understanding how internal and external representations interact in deductive reasoning, and will have broader implications for theories of cognitive offloading, externalization, and the nature of reasoning in mathematics. The project is expected to lead to a research paper suitable for publication in a psychology and cognitive science journal.

This internship is ideal for students interested in mathematical cognition, the psychology of reasoning, and the role of external representations in thought. It may also appeal to those drawn to interdisciplinary work bridging psychology, logic, philosophy, and educational sciences, as the findings bear on ongoing debates in these domains.

References
Risko, E. F., & Gilbert, S. J. (2016). Cognitive offloading. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20(9), 676-688.

Bauer, M. I., & Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1993). How diagrams can improve reasoning. Psychological Science, 4(6), 372-378.

Larkin, J. H., & Simon, H. A. (1987). Why a diagram is (sometimes) worth ten thousand words. Cognitive science, 11(1), 65-100.

Tversky, B. (2019). Mind in motion: How action shapes thought. Basic Books.

Gilbert, S. J., Boldt, A., Sachdeva, C., Scarampi, C., & Tsai, P. C. (2023). Outsourcing memory to external tools: A review of ‘intention offloading’. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 30(1), 60-76.

Hamami, Y., Mumma, J., & Amalric, M. (2021). Counterexample Search in Diagram‐Based Geometric Reasoning. Cognitive Science, 45(4), e12959.

Hamami, Y., & Amalric, M. (2024). Going round in circles: a cognitive bias in geometric reasoning. Open Mind, 8, 1312-1329.

Supervision and Research Environment
This project will take place at NeuroSpin, a vibrant interdisciplinary research center for brain imaging located on the CEA Paris-Saclay campus. At NeuroSpin, researchers from neuroscience, mathematics, physics, and medicine collaborate to understand the mechanisms underlying brain function through advanced neuroimaging and cognitive studies. The intern will be part of an active and intellectually stimulating environment, with opportunities to attend lab meetings and interact with researchers working on related topics in cognitive neuroscience and mathematical cognition.

The project will be supervised by Dr. Marie Amalric (Inserm & Université Paris-Saclay), within the Neuroimaging of Development team of the UNICOG laboratory. Her research examines how the human brain learns and represents mathematical concepts, combining neuroimaging techniques with behavioral experiments designed to capture naturalistic aspects of reasoning and learning. Co-supervision will be provided by Dr. Yacin Hamami (CNRS, Nancy), whose work connects philosophy, logic, and cognitive science to study how humans reason and prove in mathematics—adding a strong theoretical complement to the empirical approach at NeuroSpin. The intern will receive close mentoring with regular discussions on experimental design, data analysis, and scientific writing.

Skills and Requirements
The project involves both experimental and analytical work. Students should be comfortable programming behavioral experiments in HTML and JavaScript, and be familiar with data analysis in R or Python. The working language will be English.

Practical Details
Students may choose to complete either a short project (36 EC) or a long project (42 EC), depending on programme requirements. The internship will be hosted at NeuroSpin (CEA Paris-Saclay). While students are strongly encouraged to work on-site to benefit from the lab environment and day-to-day mentoring, part of the project can be conducted remotely if necessary.

How to Apply
If you are interested, please contact Marie Amalric (marie [dot] amalric [at] inserm [dot] fr) with a brief statement of interest and a CV, and (optionally) a short sample of code or a prior project relevant to the position.