Social Cognition in Infancy

Much of our success in day-to-day living largely stems from our propensities to interact with other people in various social settings (at home, with friends, colleagues, even strangers). Our lives as extremely social beings has been a vital factor in the passing down of information, knowledge, customs, traditions, and maintaining cultures. What fascinates me is when during development do we learn to become these social beings ? What are the factors and cues that contribute to social learning? In this talk, I discuss some of the different methods used in developmental work to answer these questions with a particular focus on how babies attend to, learn, and engage with their social environments. I will do this by citing examples of previous research along with examples of work from my own lab. 

About the Speaker:

Sweta is a doctoral candidate of developmental psychology at the University of Auckland, NZ. She is particularly keen in experimental methodologies and the development of social and cultural cognition in infancy and early childhood – specifically factors that contribute to children's understanding of their social worlds.
 
Her doctoral research is focused on the investigation of the origins of group influence and conformity. Groups are integral to surviving and thriving in human societies and thus have a significant influence on us. Assuming limited and unstructured social experiences during the first two years of life, Sweta studies the extent to which babies prioritize and evaluate information provided by groups. She does so by using eye-tracking technology and behavioural measures.