How do children understand the world around them?

The Cognition lab studies how babies and young children develop an understanding of the world around them. Our research examines three main topics: 1) How do children organize their experiences into categories? 2) How do they learn about human behavior and social relationships? 3) How do early social experiences (involving cooperation and competition) influence their social understanding?

Each study involves a one-time 30-minute visit to our research center at New York University. In a typical study with babies or toddlers, children engage in an interaction with a research assistant. We examine how children engage in cooperative games and how they interact with novel objects. In a typical study with preschoolers, children are read stories or shown objects, and asked to answer questions about them.


For more information on the Cognition lab, please see:
