Two experiments probed 8-month-olds' ability to represent different kinds of entities: rigid, cohesive objects; flexible, cohesive objects; and non-rigid, non-cohesive portions of sand. Results suggest that the processes by which infants individuate and track entities are sensitive to material kind, rigid cohesive objects occupy a privileged…

Four experiments examined very young infants' expectations about containment events. Found that 2- to 3.5-month-olds recognized that objects could be lowered inside a container with an open but not a closed top. Three-and-a-half-month-olds realized that objects could not pass through the container's back wall and should have moved with it to a new…

Two experiments used Headed Records memory model to examine preschoolers' performance on a variation of Perner's Smarties task, a false-beliefs test. Data indicated that when the computational demands imposed by the original task are reduced, young children can and do remember what they had thought about the contents of a tube even after its true…

Two experiments tested predictions of dual-route-cascaded and triangle frameworks regarding effect among first-graders of having a word in oral vocabulary prior to reading that same word. Results suggest that word-specific phonological information is represented in the reading system independently of semantic or articulatory influences. Results…

Two experiments related structure of a task to underlying cognitive mechanisms. Found that 3-year olds were no better at predicting behavior from partially true beliefs than from entirely false beliefs. Three- and 4-year olds, and autistic children had distinct performance profiles across tasks. Concluded that conceptual foundations for a…