Sharon M. Guten Colloquium Series: Dr. Hyowon Gweon, Stanford

Title: Curious, cooperative, and communicative: How we learn from others and help others learn

Presenter: Hyowon Gweon, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Stanford University

Abstract: Humans are not the only species that learns from others, but only humans learn and
communicate in rich, diverse social contexts, and build repertoires of abstract,
structured knowledge. What makes human social learning so distinctive, powerful,
and smart? In this talk, I argue that social learning is inferential at its core (inferential
social learning); rather than copying what others do or trusting what others say,
humans learn from others by drawing rich inferences from others’ behaviors, and
help others learn by generating evidence tailored to others’ goals and knowledge
states. I will present a series of studies that support this view and describe how they
reveal the remarkably curious minds of young children, not only about the physical
world but also about others and themselves; children are curious about what others
do & what their actions mean, what others know & what they ought to know, and
even what others think of them and how to change their beliefs. The results
collectively paint a picture of young children as active social learners who
voraciously yet intelligently gather useful information from others to learn about the
world, and generously share what they know with those around them.

Colloquia generously funded by the Sharon M. Guten Endowment Fund.

Register at https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrceqorDwoHNVbXksQSyXckOmzni9aY_6m.