Computational Cognitive Development Lab

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Computational Cognitive Development Lab Check out https://linktr.ee/cocodev.lab to learn more! We live in a world rich with causal structure.

The Computational Cognitive Development Lab is a developmental psychology lab at Brown University studying how children learn and what they understand about the world. Events do not just occur randomly around us, they result from causal relationships – rain falling makes the ground slippery, flipping a switch makes the light turn on, turning a doorknob makes the door open. From learning to flip a light switch to using a remote control, as children grow up a major challenge they face is uncovering the world’s causal structure, including understanding the causes and consequences of other people’s behaviour. How do children learn these kinds of causal relationships, especially when the world presents them with sparse, ambiguous data or with multiple, conflicting sources of evidence? Are these sophisticated abilities unique to humans, or are they shared with other animals? Our lab aims to answer these questions, using experimental and computational techniques to understand children’s causal and social reasoning abilities. By focusing on social and causal learning, we can address one of the core questions of cognition: How do humans construct sophisticated representations from relatively simple percepts, and how do these cognitive abilities develop?

10/07/2026

Come check out our table at the CoPsy Lab Fair today 4:30-6:30 in the Petteruti Lounge!

Welcome our new UTRA research assistant, Nema! She's a junior at Brown University studying Cell and Molecular Biology an...
10/01/2026

Welcome our new UTRA research assistant, Nema! She's a junior at Brown University studying Cell and Molecular Biology and is currently on the Pre-med track!

Nema is interested in exploring the trajectory of social and emotional development among only children and is excited to work with CoCoDev lab to investigate how children’s environments shape their minds!

Outside of the lab, Nema enjoys going on side quests with her friends, watching horror movies, trying out new restaurants, and baking it up!

Are you looking for an activity for your child?The Computational Cognitive Development Lab at Brown University is lookin...
07/27/2026

Are you looking for an activity for your child?

The Computational Cognitive Development Lab at Brown University is looking for kids ages 5-12 to participate in a 20-45 minute study session answering questions about groups of animals and objects!

👁️ Your child will see pairs of objects or animals on an iPad and answer questions about which they think best matches the category.

🎁 Children receive a small prize for participating, and families will receive $5 for their time!

Interested? Learn more at https://sites.brown.edu/cocodev/critter/ or contact us through the Linktree in our bio!

07/14/2026

This past Thursday, we went to the Armory Park Farmers’ market to meet families in the community and share what we study with them! ☀️🐢

We'll be hosting a table at the Hope St Farmer's Market 9am-1pm on Saturday, July 11th. Stop by to learn more about our ...
07/10/2026

We'll be hosting a table at the Hope St Farmer's Market 9am-1pm on Saturday, July 11th. Stop by to learn more about our research!

We'll be hosting a table at the Armory Park Farmer's Market 3-7pm. Stop by to learn more about our research!
07/08/2026

We'll be hosting a table at the Armory Park Farmer's Market 3-7pm. Stop by to learn more about our research!

Say hi to our new UTRA research assistant, Nadya! She is a rising Junior at Brown concentrating in Psychology.She is exc...
06/15/2026

Say hi to our new UTRA research assistant, Nadya! She is a rising Junior at Brown concentrating in Psychology.

She is excited to work with children and gain valuable research skills in cognitive development. She hopes to be a clinical psychologist and continue to work with children in the future.

Outside of the lab, Nadya enjoys walking her dog, listening to music, going for a hike, and spending time with friends.

We will be hosting a table and doing our research games with kids this Saturday from 10am to 2pm at the Park Zoo! Stop ...
06/11/2026

We will be hosting a table and doing our research games with kids this Saturday from 10am to 2pm at the Park Zoo! Stop by our table to participate and learn more about our research!

Let's welcome our new UTRA research assistant, Frances! She is a rising Junior at Brown concentrating in Cognitive Neuro...
06/08/2026

Let's welcome our new UTRA research assistant, Frances! She is a rising Junior at Brown concentrating in Cognitive Neuroscience.

She is excited to work with children while also gaining research skills in the CoCoDev Lab, and hopes to become a pediatric psychologist one day.

Outside of the lab, Frances enjoys reading, exploring the greater Providence area, and FaceTiming her two cats in Arizona.

Come chat with researchers from Brown's Computational Cognitive Development Lab to find out more about our upcoming stud...
06/05/2026

Come chat with researchers from Brown's Computational Cognitive Development Lab to find out more about our upcoming studies for toddlers and children!

Address

190 Thayer Street
Providence, RI
02912

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 7pm
Saturday 9am - 7pm
Sunday 9am - 7pm

Telephone

+14018632070

Website

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