Research Interests

Professor Markson studies conceptual development and social cognitive development in infancy and early childhood. Her research focuses on how children learn words and concepts, including the role of intentional understanding in this process. Current research projects explore children's notions of conventions in language and culture, children's reasoning about their own and others' preferences, and social influences on the development of preferences in infancy.

Selected Publications

• Markson, L. (2006). Core mechanisms of word learning.  In Y. Munakata and M. Johnson  (Eds.), Attention and Performance XXI: Processes of change in brain and cognitive development.  Oxford University Press.
• Markson, L., & Spelke, E.S. (2006). Infants' rapid learning about self-propelled objects. Infancy, 9, 45-71.
• Markson, L., Diesendruck, G., & Bloom, P. (2008). The shape of thought.  Developmental Science, 11, 204-208.
• Fawcett, C.A., & Markson, L. (2010). Children reason about shared preferences. Developmental Psychology, 46, 299-309
• Diesendruck, G., Carmel, N., & Markson, L. (in press). Children's sensitivity to the conventionality of sources. Child Development.
• Fawcett, C.A., & Markson, L. (in press). Similarity predicts liking in three-year-old children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

Departments

Courses

• Cognitive Development
• Development of Social Cognition
• Developmental Psychology