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Natural Pedagogy: Infants are prepared to learn from others| old_uid | 6520 |
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| title | Natural Pedagogy: Infants are prepared to learn from others |
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| start_date | 2009/03/17 |
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| schedule | 15h45-17h |
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| online | no |
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| location_info | Big Conference Room (1.63) |
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| summary | The hypothesis of Natural Pedagogy proposes that ostensive-referential communication in humans is adapted to the needs of transmission of generic (semantic) information to others, making intergenerational knowledge transfer fast and efficient. This hypothesis predicts that human infants are prepared to be at the receptive side of this kind of communication by displaying specific perceptual-cognitive biases in their reaction to communicative stimuli. I present the results of some recent studies that confirm this prediction. These studies demonstrate that (1) young infants preferentially orient towards the source of ostensive stimuli, (2) expect referential signals in ostensive contexts, and (3) are biased to encode ostensive-referential communication in terms of its generalizable content. These biases allow infants to pay special attention to, and learn from, potential teachers, and facilitate efficient learning of generic knowledge in a uniquely human way: by communication. |
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| responsibles | Zondervan |
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