Current Projects
Overview
At the Early Language and Experience Lab, we investigate how infants and young children learn from what other people tell them. We think this is an important question because so much of what we know comes from other people - through direct conversations, from overhearing others, from reading books and newspapers, to using the internet and television. From the many words offered by their parents and others, children learn about language, social values, past and future events, what town they live in, the names of their parents, the geography of the world, scientific discoveries, and many other domains that play important roles in their lives.
As adults, we are very good at learning from others. For example, many of us believe the Pythagorean's theorem, that nothing goes faster than light, and that dinosaurs are birds. But we would also admit that we could not justify or provide evidence for any of these beliefs if asked. We believe these things not because of observations we've made or proofs we've discovered, but because we have heard about them from people we trust, people who we suspect could ground their beliefs in convincing arguments. At the same time, we know that we don't trust everyone. We often doubt claims for various reasons - the source might be notoriously unreliable, the claim may not square with other things we know, the source might be joking or showing signs of insincerity.
How do children decide when to believe what others say and when to be skeptical?
Gender Learning and Trust on Others (GELATO)
Diqi Zeng
Speakers convey their personal characteristics, such as age, gender,
and race, through speech. Previous research shows that children as young as 5 years of age express their developing gender identity through their speech. The current project aims to understand the factors influencing children’s gender development as expressed through speech. This study explores questions such as How children's gender is perceived through the way they speak. How does children's perceived gender shape their learning preference towards informants of same-sex and other-sex?
Little Stitious Study (LSS)
Juliette Chartier
What do children think about superstitions? From knocking on wood to picking up pennies, children learn many superstitious phrases throughout their childhood! But do children truly understand, believe, and act on these superstitions? Adult research has shown that many adults do not claim to believe in superstitions, but still engage in behaviors related to the superstition. We are interested in whether this pattern begins in childhood. We are also interested to see whom children trust for information in superstitious beliefs. Understanding the developmental trajectory of superstitious beliefs provides insight into how children think about superstitious phrases and whether they truly believe in them, if they are more likely to engage in the associated action, or if there is a mismatch between the two.
STRUCTURAL REASONING
Norwood Glaspie
How do social biases form, and more importantly, what are the implications of those biases? The "Structural Reasoning" study investigates how various explanations for social inequalities around wealth and achievement can change children's views of novel social groups. Psychology has mainly answered this question through the lens of social essentialism, where categories are viewed as having an intrinsic essence; children use category membership to support inferences about properties and behaviors. When we do this, research shows it can lead us to attribute group differences to their inherent nature instead of societal influence, highlighting how essentialist reasoning can lead to ethnic and racial prejudice. This study will explore how providing different types of explanations for social inequalities will influence how children evaluate status disparities based on wealth and achievement.
Status and Group Evaluations (SAGE)
Yeonju Suh
This is a study for 2 to 3-year-old children. In this study, children will be learning about two novel groups of people and answering questions about which group they like more. We’re interested in seeing how information about group status guide children’s preferences towards others.
If you have a young child and would like to find out more information about participating, please call the lab at 612-624-8822, email the lab at elel@umn.edu or click on the lab email link on the left hand side of the page.