The goal of our research is to understand what babies know and how they develop.

Well before they speak their first words, babies are active learners discovering how the world works and building relationships.

We investigate how babies explore, learn, and communicate. We are especially interested in how babies learn the words for objects, actions, and people. This research is important in three ways. First, speech development and literacy skills build on babies' early experiences with language. Second, families use language as they build positive relationships with babies. Third, babies' word learning shows us some of the intuitive ways that we think and discover. Research on these topics is often featured in news articles.

We invite all families in the area to participate in our research studies. We are glad to talk with you and look forward to learning from your baby! Learn more about how to participate.