How do infants make sense of the complex world of objects they encounter? Much of the research in the Infant Cognition Lab focuses on the early development of categorization, which is among the most fundamental of cognitive skills. In constructing category representations, individuals must detect a perceptual or conceptual equivalence among the objects or events within a given class--an ability that is critical to infants, young children, and adults as a means of coding experience. Researchers in the Cognition Lab also are interested in the interface of language and cognition, and in infants’ understanding of symbolic artifacts (particularly small replica objects) in relation their real world counterparts.

 

We use a variety of techniques to examine the development of categorization and concepts in infants and toddlers. In some studies, we show the infant a series of pictures or movies and record how long the infant looks. In other studies, we present the infant with an array of objects and record their activity with the objects. Participation typically involves a half-hour visit to our lab at Purdue University.  Parking is provided on campus, and participants are given a small gift following the experiment. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the principal investigator: Barbara Younger, Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907.