|
My research focuses on how children acquire knowledge
from other people. Currently, this question takes two
directions: First, I am interested in the social factors
that influence their learning about the world and second, I
study how children develop a pragmatic understanding of
language.
(a) How do infants and young children understand and
exploit the distinctive characteristics of other people as
sources of information? How do children balance the
potential benefit of learning and the risk of being
misinformed? When do infants appreciate the possibility that
an utterance might be false? Do children and adults evaluate
speakers differently? Our research addresses these questions
through a range of projects. We are especially interested in
how children identify candidate information sources,
children’s selective trust, notions of reliability, source
monitoring, and children’s understanding of expertise.
(b) How do we come to understand the internal
significance of language? Meaning is connected to
speaker-oriented notions like saying, asking, doubting,
believing, supposing and so on. The relation between what
sentences mean and the beliefs, questions and doubts that
speakers express is complex and subtle. How do children
learn about the many pragmatic functions of their language?
Our research looks especially at children between the ages
of 1-5 and uses multiple methodologies.
Recent publications
Koenig, M. A. & Harris, P. L., (2008).
The basis of epistemic trust: Reliable testimony or reliable
sources? Episteme, (4), 264-284.
Koenig, M. A. & Woodward, A. L., (2007).
Word learning. Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics.
Oxford University Press: Oxford.
Pasquini, E. S., Corriveau, K. H.,
Koenig, M. A. & Harris, P. L., (2007). Preschoolers monitor
the relative accuracy of informants. Developmental
Psychology, 43(5), 1216-1226.
Harris, P.L. & Koenig, M. A., (2007).
Imagination and testimony in cognitive development: The
cautious disciple? In I. Roth (Ed.), Imaginative Minds.
Oxford University Press: Oxford.
Harris, P. L., & Koenig, M. A. (2006).
Trust in Testimony: How Children Learn about Science and
Religion. Child Development, 77 (3), 505-524.
Koenig, M. A., & Harris, P. L., (2005).
Preschoolers mistrust ignorant and inaccurate speakers.
Child Development, 76, (6), 1261- 1277.
Koenig, M. A. & Harris, P. L. (2005).
The role of social cognition in early trust. Trends in
Cognitive Sciences, 9, (10), 457-459.
Koenig, M. A., Clement, F., & Harris, P.
L., (2004). Trust in Testimony: Children’s Use of True and
False Statements. Psychological Science, 15, (10),
694-698.
Koenig, M. A. & Echols, C. H. (2003).
Infants’ Understanding of False Labeling Events: The
Referential Role of Words and the People who Use them.
Cognition, 87, (3), 181-210.
March 2008
|
