Lisa Oakes, Department of Psychology at UC Davis

For decades researchers have measured infants’ looking behavior. Much of this work has focused on what looking reveals about other cognitive processes. In this talk I will discuss the development of looking as a key visual behavior that both reflects aspects of cognition and directly influences cognitive development. I argue that by considering the multiple factors that influence where and how long infants look we can gain deep understanding into infant cognitive development, and the cascading effects of early achievements and events on later developmental outcomes.