SPHS colloquium by Caitlin Fausey, this Friday, March 29

Everyday visual statistics in the first two years of life

by Caitlin Fausey, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral research fellow

IU Dept of Psychological and Brain Sciences

 

Location: Speech and Hearing Building, Room C141

Time: Friday, March 29, 11 am - noon

 

ABSTRACT

The nature of input is fundamental to all theories of development. Traditional research has rested on relatively sparse measures of that input. But, advancing methods in analyzing large datasets are revealing structure that is not apparent in smaller samplings. Children in their first two years have approximately 9000 hours of visual experiences, experiences that surely shape the developing system. What are the basic properties of visual input and do these properties change with age? In this talk, I will describe ongoing projects designed to capture structure in visual input from (1) parent reports of early face, object and activity experience, (2) third-person views of in-the-lab play sessions between parents and infants across cultures, and (3) first-person views of infants’ lives at home. This ongoing research suggests that the statistical structure of the learning environment is dynamic and gated by young children's developmental level and cultural context.

 

Undergrad research opportunity

Registration and submission portals are now open for the 27^th Ohio Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference, to be held Saturday, April 27^th at Miami University in Oxford, OH!

 

Undergraduate researchers from any school or institution in the region are eligible and encouraged to submit an abstract for consideration (due April 15). All accepted submissions will be invited for delivery as oral presentations. Move beyond the typical poster presentation and gain valuable experience in a comfortable atmosphere of your peers and excellent faculty from across the region!

 

Even if they are not presenting, your students (and you!) should join us to support their peers presenting research. Registration is free and includes breakfast, lunch, and two special events:

 

Keynote address by Dr. Robert Bjork (UCLA):  Dr. Bjork is a highly-decorated Past President of APS and a leading researcher in learning and memory, especially as they relate to educational practice. His research has identified the most successful study techniques, distinguished between what we know and what we think we know, critically evaluated the role of learning styles, examined the efficacy of multiple-choice test formats, and much more. Dr. Bjork is an engaging and entertaining speaker sure to please both students and faculty, who will summarize this research in a keynote address titled "Managing One's Own Learning: Beliefs, Techniques, and Illusions."

 

Discussion panel: Getting into graduate school:  Faculty from Miami’s graduate program, as well as new and seasoned graduate students, will convene a panel to provide advice and answer any questions you might have about the graduate admissions process. This will take place concurrently with the faculty meeting, so students can make productive use of their time while waiting on you for a ride!

 

We would appreciate if you would help us to spread the word by forwarding this information to the students in your department, especially those that might have original research to present resulting from independent study, Honors theses, summer programs, or senior capstone and other coursework. Submissions will be accepted until April 15.

 

We encourage you to visit our website at www.MiamiOH.edu/OUPRC, or reply by email if you have any questions.