In this paper, we aim to show that the framework of embedded, distributed, or extended cognition offers new perspectives on social cognition by applying it to one specific domain: the psychology of memory. In making our case, first we specify some key social dimensions of cognitive distribution and some basic distinctions between memory cases, and then describe stronger and weaker versions of distributed remembering in the general distributed cognition framework. Next, we examine studies of social influences on memory in cognitive psychology, and identify the valuable concepts and methods to be extended and embedded in our framework; we focus in particular on three related paradigms: transactive memory, collaborative recall, and social contagion. Finally, we sketch our own early studies of individual and group memory developed within our framework of distributed cognition, on social contagion of autobiographical memories, collaborative flashbulb memories, and memories of high school at a high school reunion. We see two reciprocal benefits of this conceptual and empirical framework to social memory phenomena: that ideas about distributed cognition can be honed against and tested with the help of sophisticated methods in the social-cognitive psychology of memory; and conversely, that a range of social memory phenomena that are as yet poorly understood can be approached afresh with theoretically motivated extensions of existing empirical paradigms.

This paper reports the results of a random sample survey of term-time employment amongst full-time undergraduates in four institutions. There is a belief that the incidence of employment is increasing, with detrimental effects for academic performance, but the supporting evidence is typically drawn from studies of specific institutions and~or specific groups of students. This paper offers a more widely-based estimate of the incidence of employment, analyses who works and why, and estimates the contribution of employment" to student income. The paper suggests that the current focus on earnings and hours is limiting and that widely drawn 'employment profiles' need to be identified and linked to academic constraints in order to identify the range of consequences of student employment.

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Traditional views in philosophy of mind and cognitive science depict the mind as an information processor, one whose connections with the body and the world are of little theoretical importance. On the contrary, mounting empirical evidence shows that bodily states and modality-specific systems for perception and action underlie information processing, and that embodiment contributes to various aspects and effects of mental phenomena. This article will briefly review and discuss some of this evidence and what it implies. By challenging mainstream accounts of mind and cognition, embodiment views offer new ways of conceptualizing knowledge and suggest novel perspectives on cognitive variation and mind-body reductionism. WIREs Cogn Sci 2013, 4:319-325. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1226 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

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