This conference brings together leading researchers to address both the historical roots of the information-processing approach and its future direction in the study of infant perception and cognition. One important emphasis of this conference, to be held as a preconference to the International Conference on Infant Studies on March 26th, 2007, is its exploration of the underlying processes that explain developmental change from infancy to childhood. By focusing on a single theoretical perspective, the conference allows its participants to view how the information-processing approach can address development across a number of important and diverse domains, such as infant attention, object perception, face processing, spatial cognition, object categorization, and symbolic understanding. A number of leading researchers will address the future directions of the field, some of whom will outline innovative methodological approaches, while others link the historical roots of this approach to its future directions. The uniqueness of the conference is in linking many diverse areas of cognition under one theoretical framework. The conference is also intended to recognize the contribution of Leslie B. Cohen, both theoretically and methodologically, in advancing the understanding of infant perception and cognition.
The small conference will facilitate interactions among researchers, many of whom may not usually exchange ideas because they focus on different aspects of infant perceptual and cognitive development. An important component of the conference is providing support for young investigators (graduate students, post-docs, and junior faculty) to attend the conference and participate in discussions via travel awards. The smaller size of the conference will provide an intimate arena for interaction among leading researchers and young investigators alike, with the goal of serving as a catalyst for forging collaborations among more experienced as well as junior investigators, and engendering new ideas about the future direction of the field. The presentations of each invited speaker will be published in an edited volume by Oxford University Press, which will allow dissemination of the presentations and findings to a broader audience.
