Core Knowledge Theories Lecture Notes

Core Knowledge Theories

Overview

• Core knowledge theories propose that infants are born with innate knowledge in specific domains.
• This knowledge is present from as early as two or three months old, before significant sensory experience.
• Domains are of special evolutionary importance.
• Core knowledge is universal across infants regardless of culture.
• Comparison with Piaget's theory helps discern similarities and differences.

Core Knowledge Defined

• Innate knowledge exists prior to sensory exploration, which is a controversial term.
• This knowledge relates to domains crucial for evolutionary heritage, not arbitrary subjects like calculus or geography.
• Infants possess domain-specific learning abilities in addition to general abilities like attention and processing speed.
• Core knowledge systems are consistent across all infants worldwide, regardless of culture, due to biological underpinnings.
• Smilke and Kinzler (2007) identified five core domains:
  • Objects and their mechanical interactions.
  • Agents and their goal-directed actions.
  • Number and magnitude.
  • Spatial layouts and geometric relationships.
  • Social partners (less evidence).

Features of Core Knowledge Theories

• Domain-Specific Knowledge: Knowledge is limited to specific areas of evolutionary importance.
  • Objects, space, number, actions, and social partners.
• Active Child: Infants actively acquire knowledge, similar to Piaget's view of the child as an explorer.
  • Infants build upon existing sophisticated knowledge rather than constructing it from scratch.
• Nativism and Constructivism: Theories emphasize building an understanding that is constructed on top of the core foundation.
• Continuous Development: Cognitive development is continuous, not stage-like.
  • Core knowledge systems shape and constrain later understanding.
  • Conflicts with existing knowledge promote surprise, curiosity, and further learning.

Experimental Techniques

• Researchers use habituation techniques and preferential looking methods to infer infant knowledge.
• Preferential Looking Method: Monitors how long infants look at different visual displays.
  • Longer looking time indicates discrimination and preference.
• Habituation Paradigm: Repeatedly presenting a stimulus leads to decreased looking time.
  • Introducing a novel display increases looking time again, indicating discrimination.
  • The graph shows the trial presentation vs the liking time (seconds).

Knowledge About Objects and Events

• Infants understand that solid objects cannot pass through each other.
• Experimental Design:
  • Habituation: Rotating block on a flat surface.
  • Test: Possible event (block stops) vs. Impossible event (block passes through).
    • Looking time is measured for possible and impossible events.
    • Longer looking at the impossible event indicates surprise and expectation violation.
• Data and Inferences:
  • Habituation: 180-degree rotation.
  • Possible event: Block stops.
  • Impossible event: Block passes through.
  • Control: Rotation without a block in the way.
• Results: Looking time increases for the impossible event, suggesting surprise.
• Inferred Knowledge:
  • Objects move as a connected, bounded whole.
  • Objects move on connected, unobstructed paths.
  • Objects interact by touching, not at a distance.
  • Infants can track about three objects at a time.
  • Demonstrated abilities at two to three months suggest innate knowledge.

Knowledge About Number

• Infants demonstrate knowledge about number through experimental designs.
• Experimental Design: Object (bunny rabbit) placed into a case, screen comes up. One bunny rabbit is then seemingly added.
  • Possible event: Screen drops, revealing two objects.
  • Impossible event: Screen drops, revealing one object.
• Results: Infants look longer at the impossible event, indicating surprise and the ability to represent two objects.

Core Knowledge About Agents and Their Actions

• Infants use early psychological reasoning to understand social agents' intentional actions.
• Imitation: The capacity to imitate indicates an understanding that actions have goal-directed meaning.
• Core knowledge: Agents will do a goal directed action, and that goals are achieved by efficient means.
• Experimental Design (Overimitation):
  • Adult uses a stick to wipe a box and then open it, which is a needless action.
  • Children imitate the needless action, inferring that the adult's action has significance.
• Implications: Children attribute meaning and purpose to adult actions, aiding socialization into their culture.

Core Knowledge of Social Partners

• A social partner is someone the infant perceives as being similar and part of their social world.
• Question mark: Is there a core knowledge system for identifying and reasoning about social partners?
• Humans form alliances and cooperate with in-groups.
• Language as a Cue: Language is a cue to group membership.
  • Infants prefer their native language from birth.
  • Infants look longer at someone speaking their native language.
  • Infants choose food items eaten by speakers of their language.
  • Infants are more likely to imitate a person speaking their native language.
• The evidence is less conclusive for social partners compared to objects, number, and actions.

Sophistication And Limitations of Core Knowledge Systems

• Sophistication: Infants demonstrate complex understanding.
• Limitations:
  • Domain-Specific: Each system represents a small subset of things.
    • Object system deals with solid objects, not sand or water.
  • Task-Specific: Each system solves a limited set of problems.
    • The number system discriminates one from two, but doesn't count with number words.
  • Encapsulated: Specific cognitive modules operate separately.
    • The number system can be impaired selectively (dyscalculia).
    • Difficulty understanding intentions can also be selectively impaired.

Contribution to Further Development

• Violation of expectation motivates further exploration and learning.
• Infants actively construct new understanding by combining core knowledge with experience.
• Core knowledge enables surprise, which motivates exploration and enhances sensory interactions.

Comparison: Piaget's Theory vs. Core Knowledge Theory

Key Takeaways

• Explain core knowledge theories.
• Understand the habituation paradigm and preferential looking technique.
• Provide concrete examples of infants' core knowledge.
• State the domains of core knowledge.
• Explain how core knowledge theory differs from Piaget's account of infancy.
• Spelke and Kinzler (2007) article is recommended for further reading.