Biography

Susan A. Gelman is the Heinz Werner Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Classical Greek from Oberlin College, and her Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University. Susan studies concepts and language in young children. She is the author of over 200 scholarly publications, including a prize-winning monograph, The Essential Child (Oxford University Press, 2003). She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the American Psychological Association (Division 7), and the Cognitive Science Society. She has served as President of the Cognitive Development Society, review panelist for NIH, NSF, and the Ford Foundation, and board member of several scientific societies. Her honors include a J. S. Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology, and the Developmental Psychology Mentor Award of the American Psychological Association.

1-055 - From Blankies to Genes: The Role of the Non-obvious in Children's Conceptions of the World

Session Type: Invited Address

Integrative Statement

A hallmark of human cognition is the capacity to look below the surface of the world around us to consider ideas that are non-obvious or abstract. We see this from commonsense construals of experience (with ideas regarding germs, ownership, or fairness) to some of the most sophisticated concepts of our species (microscopic structure, shape of the earth, formal logic). Where do such ideas come from, and how do they develop? I review evidence that, contrary to many prevailing theories, children's early thought is not limited to grasping what is tangible and concrete. To the contrary, children readily consider hidden, internal, abstract entities in numerous domains of thought. I will discuss examples from categorization, language, and children's understanding of everyday experience. These findings have implications for the minds of children, the social nature of human cognition, and the foundations of human thought.

Sub Unit

• SRCD Biennial Meeting

Chair

• Susan E Carey, Harvard University

Speaker

• Susan A Gelman, Univ of Michigan