Language & Cognition Lab

Department of Psychology
Queen's University, Kingston Ontario

Our Research

The research in the Language and Cognition Lab at Queen's University

(Kingston, ON) focuses on issues of language processing and learning, theory of mind development, and memory. We are exploring cognitive processes in relation to the social and cultural circumstances in which they unfold and the social competences they require. Our work bridges the domains of developmental, cognitive, and social psychology. It also draws on theories and findings from linguistics, philosophy, and sociology.

This website contains information about our current research, people in the lab, research opportunities for students, and the findings of our past studies with children. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Prospective Students

Interested in joining our lab as an undergraduate

or graduate student?

Information for Parents

Learn about how your child can participate in

our research studies!

Selected Publications

Children’s epistemic forecasting:

The case of knowledge loss

Do children understand the cognitive changes that happen with development? Two experiments examined whether 4- and 6-year-olds understand that, as time passes, children forget some of the things they currently know. In Experiment 1, children were taught the names of a new person and a new object and then were informed that contact with these items will discontinue. Children were asked whether they would know the names tomorrow and as grown-ups. Both age groups demonstrated awareness that forgetting might occur. In Experiment 2, children showed a similar pattern of judgments about a peer’s knowledge. The findings suggest that knowledge loss is integral to children’s future thinking and is part of their understanding of the mind as a dynamically changing system.

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