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The Language and Cognitive Development Lab is a member of the Institute of Human Development, and the UC Berkeley Psychology Department. Our research focuses on how children learn different aspects of language, what this might tell us about the nature of cognitive and social development, and how these different aspects of development interact. To learn more about what our lab studies, please visit our Research page. Due to the pandemic, we are currently conducting our research in a hybrid manner through online Zoom studies, at local schools and museums, and in-lab in the Berkeley Way West Psychology building.

RECENT NEWS
  • Check out the bathtubtales.com blog for reflections on the COVID-19 and child-directed speech study led by former graduate student Monica Ellwood-Lowe!

  • Congratulations to former graduate student in the lab, Ruthe Foushee, who will be starting this summer as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the New School for Social Research!

  • Check out the 2022 UC Berkeley Developmental Labs Newsletter to learn more about some of our recent findings!

  • Expect the Unexpected: Studying Language Acquisition in Small-Scale Societies. Read an interview from Dr. Ruthe Foushee, a former graduate student and collaborator in the lab, in ICIS Baby Blog to learn more!

  • We should stop blaming parents for the 'word gap'. Read an article in Parents Magazine covering our latest study to learn why.

  • Want to learn even more about our scarcity study? Tune in to Arnie Arnesen's podcast, The Attitude, at minute 31:05 to hear Professor Srinivasan discuss findings from our study!

  • Read more about our work exploring the effects of scarcity on children's language development on Berkeley News , The Daily Cal, and Theravive!

  • Monica Ellwood-Lowe, a graduate student in our lab, was recently interviewed by the Daily Californian Newspaper about the research she does in our lab. Read the article here.

  • Monica Ellwood-Lowe, a graduate student in our lab, was a recipient of the 2020 APA Dissertation Research Award. You can read more here.

  • Dr. Ruthe Foushee, a former graduate student and collaborator in the lab, was recently interviewed for KPOO's "Let Me Touch Tour Mind" program after winning the Jean Piaget Society Doctoral Dissertation Prize for their work. Listen here!

  • Watch Prof. Srinivasan's talk on children's concepts of religious norms in India here.

  • Ruthe Foushee, a graduate student in our lab, was a recipient of the 2019 Patrice L. Engle Dissertation Grant for Global Early Child Development from the Society for Research in Child Development. You can read more here.

  • View an article covering a recent study that provides insight into whether rising Hindu nationalism in India might be internalized by both Hindu and Muslim children.

  • Monica Ellwood-Lowe, a graduate student in our lab, was recently featured on the UC Berkeley Psychology blog for her work on the impacts of childhood environment (particularly SES) on cognitive development and overall brain development. You can read more here.

  • Keren Lev, an undergraduate student researcher in the lab, was recently featured in The Daily Californian for her work on auditory adaptation and socioeconomic status. Read about it here.

  • Read two stories about our research looking at how Hindu and Muslim children reason about religious norms here and here.

  • Watch Prof. Srinivasan's talk at the World Economic Forum on Language as a Signature of the Flexible Human Mind.