Email Print Share

All Images


Research News

Harvard University psychologists seek to unlock secrets of children's complex thinking

Children taking a test.

Researchers say conceptual change is extremely difficult to achieve. When children become aware the world is round, for example, they must update their knowledge about the shape of the earth and also update the kinds of conclusions they can draw in light of this new information. The goal of this research is to uncover the cognitive processes that produce updated conclusions, or conceptual changes, in math and science.

Credit: Thinkstock

 

Science360 radio iapp open on iphone

Play Audio
In this NSF Science360 radio interview, listen to Harvard professors Susan carey and Deborah Zaitchik discuss how vitalist biology--being alive or dead--helps them understand the process of building complex thought.

Credit: NSF


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (42.7 KB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

Under a National Science Foundation-funded INSPIRE project, Harvard University psychologists Susan Carey and Deborah Zaitchik are studying how executive function influences the process of learning. Here, Carey discusses her interest in studying abstract knowledge.

Credit: NSF


Download the high-resolution PNG version of the image. (706.6 KB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

Under a National Science Foundation-funded INSPIRE project, Harvard University psychologists Susan Carey and Deborah Zaitchik are studying how executive function influences the process of learning. Here, Zaitchik discusses differences between populations with strong and weak executive function.

Credit: NSF


Download the high-resolution PNG version of the image. (573.7 KB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.