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SUMMARY:Noise in knowledge: How do we study variability in cognitive devel
 opment? - Sara Baker
DTSTART:20121122T131000Z
DTEND:20121122T140000Z
UID:TALK39249@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Sven Friedemann
DESCRIPTION:The field of psychology frequently trades on the ambiguous rel
 ationship between theoretical models of individuals and theoretical models
  of groups.  Making the inference from one to the other implies being able
  to put variance in data in its just place.  In research on cognitive deve
 lopment\, where we are concerned with dynamic processes rather than static
  ones\, it can be even more difficult to decipher the noise from the true 
 picture.  Due to reliance on traditional statistical methods to extract si
 gnificant results\, most discussions of learning and development are based
  on aggregated group data\, even though developmental processes reflect ch
 anges in an individual brain.  In this talk\, I will illustrate some of th
 e problems with group averages for really understanding a developmental pr
 ocess\, focusing on the example of how young children develop social aware
 ness.  Then I will give an overview of a new method I have adopted from th
 e animal learning literature to overcome these challenges: Bayesian change
  point analysis.  Developmental change in a child’s understanding is evi
 dent in a cumulative record when the slope of the curve changes. Using Bay
 esian methods of analysis allows us to determine both the presence and the
  absence of change points in individual records\, and to look at the types
  of profiles represented across a group. Results show striking variability
  in developmental-change patterns.  Bayesian change point algorithms open 
 up new ways of quantifying variability in development\, both within and be
 tween individuals.  
LOCATION:1 Newnham Terrace\, Darwin College
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