Speaker 1: Nicole Coates

Title: Representations of Abstract Functions in Early Childhood

Abstract: In science, we use common graphical representations to indicate changes in events over time, independent of domain: We can show that events change monotonically, parabolically or periodically whether the events are patterns of bird migrations, disease progression, or financial markets. Are children also sensitive to abstract patterns in the ways events change over time? In a series of four experiments, I show that young children (range: 48-84 months) distinguish linear, U-shaped, and sinusoidal functions (Exp 1). Children can also make distinctions within function classes (e.g., distinguishing between two monotonic functions – e.g., linear and sigmoid functions; Exp 2); nonetheless, they will group different functions within a class with each other rather than with functions in a different class (e.g., matching a linear function to a sigmoid function rather than to a parabolic or periodic function; Exp 3). Finally, I show that children’s sensitivity to functions is abstract, allowing them to match observable changes to verbal descriptions (Exp 4). These results suggest that although learning how to read and interpret graphs requires formal education, the ability to identify abstract functional relationships is intuitive and early emerging.

Speaker 2: Bryan Medina

Title: Understanding auditory memory

Abstract: Our ability to remember sounds is critical for everyday tasks ranging from localizing auditory objects to recognizing similarities between sonic experiences. However, the mechanisms and representations that underlie auditory memory for natural sounds are poorly understood. In this talk I will describe initial efforts to build up a research program in this domain, including experiments to measure memory for sounds, and a normative modeling framework to explain the successes and failures of auditory memory.