Effective practice is key to learning. Yet, it is unclear whether
young children have the ability to make effective and adaptive
training choices. In this project, we investigated 4- to 7-year-old
children’s (n=146) ability to tailor their training strategies
to optimize performance outcomes. Children were presented
with one easy and one difficult guessing game and were asked
to choose which game they wanted to practice. Crucially, before
they chose, they were told that they would eventually be
tested either on the game of their choice (Choice condition) or
on the game the computer would randomly pick (Random condition).
Contrary to our hypotheses, we found that condition
per se did not predict children’s training choices. However, we
found that older children were more likely to make effective
and adaptive training choices than younger children. Overall,
our results indicate that children’s training choices improve
from ages 4 to 7 and inform the development of interventions
to support strategic learning.

Developmental changes in children's training strategies

We investigate the role of causal stability in guiding children’s exploration. To study this, we developed a computerized version of an information-search paradigm to study how children dynamically explore different agents and backgrounds to learn more about their causal stability. We presented 5- to 7- year old children (n = 60) with stable and unstable causes and assessed children’s causal attributions of outcomes and their exploratory behavior as they tried out previously observed and novel causes across previously observed and novel backgrounds. We find that children acknowledge causal instability in their causal attributions. They become increasingly adept at tracking causal efficacy across multiple factors simultaneously, but this does not translate into a blanket preference for exploring stable or unstable causes. We suggest a possibility that causal (in)stability guides exploration in more subtle and indirect ways and discuss the implications of our findings for the development of active exploration.

The Role of Causal Stability in Children's Active Exploration

We investigate the early emergence of children’s information-search competence using a simplified version of Lindow’s (2021) finding-presents game. Children (n = 86, 30- to 48-months old) had to find a present in one of three closed boxes. All boxes were identical but for one feature (e.g., all boxes were blue and had a flower icon, but one box was round, one heart-shaped, and one squared). Children received three information cards revealing one feature of the target box (i.e., its color, shape, or icon). As the boxes differed in only one feature, only one information card contained the relevant information to the decision. Children could flip one information card to learn about one particular feature before deciding which box to open. We find that children as young as 2.5 years can efficiently search for information to guide their decisions and underline the importance of using age-appropriate paradigms.


Preschoolers select the relevant information when looking for a hidden present

Poster Session 1: Education, language acquisition, and development

poster

Join us for CogSci2022! Our 44th Annual Conference will be centered around the theme of diversity, with an accompanying range of keynotes and invited speakers who themselves highlight the diversity of our field. Our three symposia are Cognition across Diverse Populations, Cognition within Diverse Societies, and Global Challenges for Cognitive Science. The conference is being offered in a fully hybrid environment for onsite and online attendees.
 
 [**The Program at a Glance can be found here**](https://cognitivesciencesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Cogsci-2022-PAAG-Detailed-July-12final-1.pdf)
 [**The Detailed Program can be found here**](https://cognitivesciencesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DeArmond-CogSci2022-program-v113-final.pdf)

This conference requires a registration to attend. Please use the link below to secure your ticket. The website will be available to all registered attendees on July 25th. 

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Registration Is Required

CogSci 2022

The 44th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society highlighted research on the theme Cognitive Diversity in addition to the full breadth and diversity of research topics offered by the society’s membership. 





This session has no scheduled virtual poster presentation time, but attendees will be able to comment and ask questions about your work/research asynchronously throughout the conference. 

**If you are a virtual poster presenter**, you can leave a message in your poster area chat space to advise times (and time zone) that you will be available either in the chat box, or by setting up your own online meeting room (Zoom, etc.). 
**If you are an attendee**, please check each poster's chat box and arrange time with presenter.

Virtual Posters

The 45th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society will take place in Sydney, Australia as a modified hybrid conference. Presentations from the main-session room will be live-streamed every day for all events. This will include all invited talks and award sessions. Recordings of all CogSci 2023 sessions will be made available for on-demand viewing after the conference. 
The in-person component will be held at the International Convention Centre Sydney at Darling Harbour. The Conference will take place Wednesday July 26th – Saturday July 29th, 2023 (Wednesday, July 26th is the Workshops Day).

Join us!

 [**The Program at a Glance can be found here**](https://cognitivesciencesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/COgSci-PAAG-V2.pdf)
 [**The Detailed Program can be found here**](https://online.fliphtml5.com/ebtyf/mswz/)
 

#### **CogSci 2023 Program Book**
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CogSci 2023

The 45th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society presents the latest research across cognitive science and highlights the theme of Cognition in Context.

Daniil Serko

3

SHORT BIO

Presentations

Developmental changes in children's training strategies

The Role of Causal Stability in Children's Active Exploration

Preschoolers select the relevant information when looking for a hidden present

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