Children's Representational
Development Lab
RESEARCH
Interested in learning more about the topics we research? Read below to learn more about the questions we ask!
SAVINGS
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Saving is one's ability to postpone the immediate use of a resource to a later time. For example, instead of spending money on a chocolate store at the grocery store, you put that money aside to save for a fancy meal! We can save money, clothing, food, time, and even space! Saving is a useful ability in determining future success.
We investigate young children's saving abilities. Will children save resources for a future time? Do children understand what saving is, and the benefits of saving? If children are taught how to budget, will this improve their ability to save?
KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION
What do children know about their own knowledge? While preschoolers demonstrate an understanding of their current knowledge, it's not until children are around five-years-old that they demonstrate knowledge of past and future knowledge. We are investigating the relationship between preschool-aged children's past and future knowledge.
We also investigate children's performance on past and future knowledge in relation to metacognition (the awareness of one's own ignorance or knowledge), theory of mind, and inhibitory control.
MORAL COGNITION
In our lab, we are interested in young children's developing moral cognition. One question we are interested in is when do they consider another's intentions when making moral evaluations? For example, are children sensitive to the difference between someone who takes someone else's belonging by accident (i.e., without intention) and someone who takes it on purpose (i.e., with intention)? Further, do they recognize that the second case would be considered stealing, but the first would not?
TEMPORAL DEVELOPMENT
What do children understand about time? How do children interpret "waiting for three minutes"? Past research demonstrates that children do not develop a full understanding of time until late childhood.
We are investigating how young children's understanding of different facets of time, such as duration, deictic time words, and the ordering of events, are related to one another.
