RESEARCH OVERVIEW
Our research addresses two broad questions about cognitive development.
1. What basic perceptual and cognitive abilities are we born with?
2. How do we use these basic abilities to form uniquely human knowledge?
CURRENT AREAS OF FOCUS
Early quantitative abilities: How do early developing abilities to approximate, compare, and remember quantities influence later numerical and math development?
Early social-cognitive abilities: How do we come to understand the goals, intentions, and thoughts of others?
Conceptual organization and specialization: How can early brain organization inform theories of conceptual development? What is the role of experience in the functional organization of the brain?
CURRENT METHODS
All these methods have undergone rigorous testing and are safe to use with infants, children, and adults.
EEG/ERP: We use electroencephalography to passively record changes in brain activity from the scalp.
NIRS: We use near-infrared spectroscopy to measure neurovascular changes associated with brain activity from the scalp.
BEHAVIORAL MEASURES: We use measures of behaviors such reaction time, looking time, and accuracy to better understand how development unfolds and how it relates to brain activity.
EXPERIMENTAL TRAINING: We use brief training procedures to understanding the role of practice or experience in cognitive development.
