Many explanations have a distinctive, positive phenomenology: receiving or generating
these explanations feels satisfying. Accordingly, we might expect this feeling of explanatory …

Here, we present comparative case studies of two young adolescents engaged in electronic
dialogs on a social issue with a sequence of partners. We trace how an individual …

Humans are remarkably effective learners, and we are particularly unique in our desire to
understand why and how things happen. Why do humans pursue explanations with such …

The human mind has developed numerous cognitive tools to allow us to navigate the
uncertainty of the world and make sense of situations and events. In this thesis I present a …