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Like disappearance and causality, categorization seems to be a particularly important problem for babies in the first three years. Even very young infants already can discriminate between different objects and make generalizations about them in some ways. We saw that babies will get bored if they are shown a succession of similar things and perk up
... See moreAlison Gopnik, Andrew N. Meltzoff, • The Scientist In The Crib: Minds, Brains, And How Children Learn
The second important thing about the influence of other people is that the most significant behavior seems almost entirely unintentional. Parents don’t deliberately set out to imitate their babies or to speak motherese; it’s just what comes naturally. Our instinctive behaviors toward babies and babies’ instinctive behaviors toward us combine to
... See moreAlison Gopnik, Andrew N. Meltzoff, • The Scientist In The Crib: Minds, Brains, And How Children Learn
Very young children tend to play in parallel rather than interact with each other,
Robin Dunbar • Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships
Maybe for this reason, Gabe’s parents, Joe and Barbara, had become important to Nishad. “They were the first grown-ups who took me seriously,” he said. “And it made me take myself seriously.” Gabe’s older brother, on the other hand, might as well have not existed. In high school, Sam didn’t seem to have much to do with Gabe or anyone else; he
... See moreMichael Lewis • Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
He may realize he is the youngest of many siblings, and learn his social identity from the way his brothers and sisters treat him.
Anodea Judith • Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System As a Path to the Self
“Children have an initial inclination to help, but extrinsic rewards may diminish it. Socialization practices can thus build on these tendencies, working in concert rather than in conflict with children’s natural predisposition to act altruistically.”
Jessica C. Flack • Worlds Hidden in Plain Sight: The Evolving Idea of Complexity at the Santa Fe Institute, 1984–2019 (Compass)
although a learner may be able to locate, and sometimes learn from, the most successful or skilled person in his community (say, the best hunter in a foraging band), many young learners will be too inexperienced or ill-equipped to take advantage of the nuances and fine points that distinguish the top hunters. Instead, by focusing on older children,
... See moreJoseph Henrich • The Secret of Our Success
One thing that science tells us is that nature has designed us to teach babies, as much as it has designed babies to learn.
Alison Gopnik, Andrew N. Meltzoff, • The Scientist In The Crib: Minds, Brains, And How Children Learn
Our goal is a teachable child who is able to collaborate with the adult in discovering the world.