As part of the Advanced Seminar Series, Arlene Walker-Andrews, associate provost and professor of psychology at the University of Montana, will explore the importance of looking at infant development from a comparative perspective, in a public lecture on April 17, as part of the series "The Infant as an Integrated Whole", organized by York Professor Maria Legerstee.
Her talk, titled "The Situated Infant: Learning in Context", takes place from 4:30 to 5:30pm in the Harry Crowe Room, 109 Atkinson Building, Keele campus.
"Nowhere is it more critical to take a broad, comparative view that looks at development in context than during the period of infancy," says Walker-Andrews. "I will draw examples from my own work on infants' perception of expressions of emotion, and research on infants' intermodal perception to illustrate the importance of such an approach."
Right: Arlene Walker-Andrews
In her discussion at York, Walker-Andrews will look at how, for infants, perception appears to function optimally when the stimulus information is dynamic, naturalistic and multimodal. Consequently, to obtain an informed understanding of an infant's capabilities requires the use of such stimulus materials and a combination of multiple perspectives.
Walker-Andrews’ research concerns perceptual and cognitive development, particularly the development of the perception of emotions, intermodal perception during infancy and young children's understanding of pretense.
A faculty member at Rutgers University from 1981 to 2003 in the Psychology Department, Walker-Andrews has published more than 100 scientific papers and has been invited to lecture at universities around the world.
Part of an ongoing series of presentations, the lecture is sponsored by the Department of Psychology in York's Faculty of Health and the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. All are welcome.