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Laura Schulz, the John & Dorothy Wilson Professor at MIT, specializes in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Her extensive research focuses on human cognition, emphasizing commonsense understanding of the physical and social world rooted in early childhood development. Laura investigates how children infer concepts related to causal relations that aid in accurate prediction, explanation, and intervention. Her work also explores the social-communicative contexts that influence learning. Using computational models, particularly hierarchical Bayesian inference, she studies inferential processes, inductive biases, and their implications for effective learning, especially in children with limited prior knowledge. Her lab involves hands-on research with infants and children to better understand the origins of knowledge and fundamental learning principles. Laura teaches introductory and project-based courses on cognitive development, treating developmental psychology as 'applied philosophy' to address fundamental questions regarding the essence of knowledge acquisition. She advocates a focused curriculum on commonsense knowledge, examining evidence of innate representations that underpin conceptual change.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Cambridge, MA
Primary faculty member specializing in cognitive sciences, focusing on undergraduate education.