An investigation into the origins of thought: Studies in infant cognitive and socio-emotional development

This PhD project aims to explore preverbal babies’ understandings of the world around them, specifically, what they understand about the social/emotional world, and the physical world, and whether the roots of thought in humans has evolutionary origins. Fascinating evidence has emerged that suggests that babies as young as neonates can represent different numbers of objects, for example, and babies as young as 6 months, understand when someone is being good, or bad, that is, the beginnings of moral judgments.

In addition to these themes, questions regarding the intrinsic relationship between concepts and language arise, esp. when studying preverbal babies. This directly links to questions about the evolutionary development of cognitive abilities in humans, in comparison with the cognitive and social abilities of nonverbal species.

We are hoping to build on this research so that we may better understand how children’s understanding develops, that is, by exploring how early concepts emerge, we will be in a better position to troubleshoot when some children encounter difficulties as they grow older. Not only that, this research sheds light onto the origins of human and nonhuman thought.

The BabyLab at Kingston University London welcomes babies in a project that addresses the origins of human knowledge. A team of researchers and students investigate the young babies’ understanding of the physical world surrounding them, and infants’ understanding of people. New methodologies such as visual attention measures, including a state-of-the-art Tobii Fusion/Pro eye-tracker, and reaching/grasping measures, tell us a lot about the young baby’s perception and conception of the world.

Funding

The faculty has been committed to supporting all postgraduate research students, for example by helping to fund conference attendance. We hope to continue with such funding initiatives in the future.

Applications

Applications accepted all year round. Intakes are in October 2024 and March 2025

How to apply for a research degree (PhD, Professional Doctorate, MPhil, MA/MSc by Research) – Kingston University London