Social Relevance Shapes Early Cognition

-----

Humans are one of the most social and cooperative species on Earth. Woo's research asks how humans come to understand other people and their actions and minds. In the talk, Woo will argue that social relevance shapes early cognition. Specifically, Woo will share evidence that social relevance impacts (i) how children think about others’ actions, (ii) how children think about new people, and (iii) how children think about others’ minds. Collectively, these studies shed light on humans’ early-emerging knowledge of the social world: knowledge that may give rise to human cooperation, learning, and communication. Woo's work supports the possibility that, from early in development, the human mind is specialized for making sense of and engaging in social interactions.

-----