Learning by analogy is a powerful and efficient method for acquiring new information. The goal of this research program is to trace the origins of analogical ability in human infants, using the simplest and most basic relation--that of sameness and difference between two things. The proposed research will identify the scope of infants' ability to detect same-different relations. Certainly infants do not have the same higher-order relational abilities of children and adults. This research will 1) identify the earliest evidence of relational learning processes in the first months of life; 2) trace its developmental trajectory over the first year; and 3) characterize the interplay between language and early relational ability.
The research addresses the key question of when children begin to think abstractly and how this ability can be fostered. Studies of early relational learning processes will provide insight into the conceptual capacities that are critical to higher-order learning in childhood and beyond. Further, the studies of interactions with language may lead to better understanding of the role of cultural and linguistic experience in conceptual development. The patterns revealed by these experiments will give parents and educators the requisite knowledge to support relational learning in STEM disciplines. They may also enable practitioners to identify patterns that deviate from typical development and suggest targeted interventions for children with cognitive or linguistic impairments.
