DEVELOPMENTAL COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

The course develops basic knowledge that students interested in language research and cognition should possess.

Students will have to demonstrate a satisfactory understanding of the themes and research context in which they were born. We will particularly insist on the experimental methods used in research in early cognition.

A good knowledge of scientific English is required.

The class will cover topics related to the early onset of human cognition. We will focus on some basic case-studies, trying to connect them to contemporary psychological and philosophical views of the organization of the human mind. Topics will include:
- Historical and philosophical foundations of cognition theories.
- The initial understanding of the physical world and the development of the concept of object;
- The notion of natural categories;
- The understanding of other minds.
- The basics of numerical reasoning in infancy.
- The origins of probabilistic and logical reasoning
- The mechanisms of knowledge acquisition.
The class will only examine classic and contemporary primary literature.

A collection of articles (in pdf) will be made available during the class.

The methods of evaluations will be adapted to the number of enrolled students. Constant participation in the class and class activities is strongly recommended. Special situations will have to be discussed directly with the teacher.

The teacher tries to develop the covered topics at the best of his abilities, and requires that the student put a honest dose of elbow grease and participation into the class. The teacher does not know better teaching methods than those indicated above.

Italian

written and oral