*H-180 Cognitive Development and Trust in Testimony
Paul L. Harris
The classical description of cognitive development implies that children are "stubborn autodidacts." Relying on their own firsthand observation of the world, and their own independent reflection, children are assumed to construct theories about the world in an autonomous fashion. By implication, children ignore the information or insights that adults can offer, especially when these conflict with what they assume to be true. If this claim is correct, it implies that teaching or indeed any form of testimony or instruction by adults must be tailored to constraints imposed by the child. There is not much likelihood of children stretching their ideas to accommodate what they are told. This course will examine and question this orthodox assumption and also consider the alternative possibility that children's ideas, from infancy onward, are infused with information supplied by other people. This course is intended for doctoral-level students. Master's students may take the course if they have had prior course work in cognitive development. Permission of the instructor is required.
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Prerequisite: Some prior course work in child development.