Prof. Dr. Henrike Moll (University of Southern California)
Humans enter the world in a state of utter helplessness and a total dependence on others, a condition sometimes referred to as “altriciality.” The extreme altriciality of human infants, while implying a great degree of risk, gives children ample opportunity to learn from others. Social learning is essential for a being who needs to internalize the cultural practices of their community. In this talk, I approach social learning in a new way by focusing on the initiative young children take in making this learning happen. Experiments on help-seeking will be presented which demonstrate that children take ownership in their cognitive growth and development. The experiments indicate that children deploy the strategy of help-seeking with the goal of achieving mastery. In sum, the presentation provides a window into children’s awareness of their status as social learners and of the important role of others as scaffolds during the learning process.
