Developmental Brown Bag

Judith Danovitch, PhD - Assistant Professor Of Psychology - Michigan State University

Monday, November 30, 2009, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
3048  East Hall
Sponsored By: Developmental Brown Bag

Event Information

Abstract:
In a complex world containing vast amounts of information, it is critical to be able to quickly and effectively find the information one seeks.  This ability is particularly important during childhood as social and intellectual horizons rapidly expand, and it is reflected in young children’s information seeking behaviors. For example, preschool children are adept at asking specific questions about unfamiliar objects (e.g., Kemler Nelson, Egan, & Holt, 2004) and they are capable of choosing between potential sources of information based on each source’s knowledge and expertise (e.g., Lutz & Keil, 2002; Danovitch & Keil, 2004).  However, how children go from finding out what they want to know to deciding what others want to know remains poorly understood. In two experiments, I will present data describing how children in grades K, 2, and 4 who hear two facts about an unfamiliar artifact or animal decide which fact to share with another person. The results suggest that children prefer to share information about causally relevant features and that they also take the listener’s expertise into account when deciding what information to share, yet these skills continue to be refined over the elementary school years.

Bio:
Judith Danovitch is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Michigan State University.  She received her A.B. in Psychology and Biology from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Yale University. She also completed a 3 year post-doctoral fellowship in the autism clinic at the Yale Child Study Center.  Her research focuses on how children seek out and evaluate information from various sources.