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 determine when to trust and when not to trust what others tell them?

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (26-month-olds)

We are using this study to help us better understand children's understanding of language.  We would like to know if children are able to learn words from a speaker of American Sign Language and if they transfer those labels to an English speaker. If you were to come in, your child would first play for five minutes with an ASL signer or an English speaker while you answered a few questions about your child's vocabulary. Then, your child would play a "game" with either an English speaker or ASL signer in which they will be asked to identify small objects such as a baby shoe and drop them down a cardboard chute. Finally, a second English speaker will come in to play the same game with your child. We hope to gain a greater understanding of children's understanding of language.

DUTCH (26-month-olds)

We are using this study to help us better understand children's understanding of language.  We would like to know if children are able to learn words from a speaker of Dutch and if they transfer those labels to an English speaker. If you were to come in, your child would first play for five minutes with an Dutch speaker or an English speaker while you answered a few questions about your child's vocabulary. Then, your child would play a "game" with either an English speaker or Dutch speaker in which they will be asked to identify objects. After this game, the other speaker will play with your child, and we are interested in whether children will generalize object labels from a speaker of Dutch to a speaker of English.

SOURCE MONITORING (3- to 5-year-olds)

In this study we are investigating how closely people monitor the information they get and the people who give them that information. If your child were to participate in this study, he or she would watch a short video in which speakers talk about their favorite animals. Sometimes the speakers will make accurate statements about the animals, and sometimes they will make inaccurate statements. We are interested in whether children track the accuracy of the information provided by the speakers.

MORAL TRUST (3- to 5-year-olds)

In this study, we are interested in whether children will track information about whether a speaker is nice to a friend or not very nice. For example, we may present your child with a video of a person who shares a toy with a friend, or we may present your child with a person who is not very nice and doesn't share a toy. After viewing four videos of the person being nice or not very nice, your child will watch scenarios where the nice or not-nice speaker is paired with a neutral speaker. The two speakers will provide conflicting labels for a novel object, and your child will be asked to choose which label they think is correct.

INCONSISTENCY (3- to 5-year-olds)

In this study, we are exploring whether children can detect inconsistencies in statements. We will present your child with videos of people making consistent and inconsistent statements. We are interested in whether children will detect inconsistent statements like "This box is full of toys and it is empty" as nonsensical.

STRATEGY (3- & 7-year-olds)

In this study we are looking at learning in young children and their ability to trust or doubt a speaker. We are interested in seeing if children can recognize motive and if they use this information to make decisions within the context of a game. You child will play a short game with the experimenter where the objective of the game is to collect the most treats. These are hidden behind one of two boxes. Your child will be given information from the experimenter, who can see the contents of each box, as to the location of the treats. Your child will then be asked to choose a box. If the child chooses correctly, he or she will get the treats. If your child chooses incorrectly, the treats go to the experimenter. We are interested in seeing whether children are willing follow the testimony of the speaker who has a motive (i.e., they would like to win the game) to provide them with false information.

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 Dr. Koenig at mkoenig@umn.edu or click on the lab email link on the left hand side of the page.