The Early Learning and Cognition Lab, led by Dr. Caren Walker, investigates basic questions about the mechanisms underlying learning, and in particular, how children come to acquire abstract concepts and theories about the world. We approach this through the lens of scientific thinking—studying children’s reasoning about cause and effect under conditions of uncertainty. Most recently, we have been exploring how features of the learning context impose specific constraints on children’s causal inferences.

Prospective Students

If you are interested in becoming a graduate student or post-doctoral researcher in the ELC Lab, please email Dr. Walker at carenwalker@ucsd.edu.

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Want to Volunteer?

We welcome applications for undergraduate research assistants to contribute to ongoing lab work for course credit.

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Our Research

Our lab primarily investigates children's ability to build abstract knowledge. Learn more about current projects in the ELC Lab here.

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Announcements

May, 2024: Jessica Benson, undergraduate research assistant and honors student, wins the UCSD Award for Excellence in Child Development Research!

May, 2024: Emily Songvilay, undergraduate research assistant, wins the UCSD Award for Excellence in Research Collaboration!

July, 2023: Liz Lapidow, 2023 Ph.D. graduate, starts a postdoctoral position at the University of Waterloo!

July, 2023: Jamie Amemiya, former postdoctoral scholar, starts a tenure-track faculty position at Occidental College!

July, 2023: Alex Carstensen, former postdoctoral scholar, starts a tenure-track faculty position at Arizona State University!

July, 2023: Alexis Burke starts as new lab manager!

July, 2023: Aarthi Popat, lab manager, is off to Yale University to begin her PhD in developmental psychology!

June, 2023: Dr. Walker has received the 2024 APA Boyd McCandless Award for distinguished early-career contributions to developmental psychology!

May, 2022: Amberley Stein, undergraduate research assistant and honors student, wins the UCSD Award for Excellence in Child Development Research!

November, 2021: Postdoctoral scholar, Jamie Amemiya, won the UCSD Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholars!

August, 2021: Dr. Walker has been awarded a 2021 CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study early diversity in the emergence of abstract thought!

July, 2021: Aarthi Popat starts as new lab manager!

July, 2021: Trisha Katz, lab manager, is moving on to her new adventure as a PhD student at Duke University!

October, 2020: Dr. Walker has been named a 2021-2023 Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow! Click here to learn more about the Jacobs Foundation.

October, 2019: Ph.D. student, Liz Lapidow, is funded by the NDSEG (National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship).

October, 2019: Ph.D. student, Alex Rett, is funded by the NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada).

July, 2019: Trisha Katz starts as new lab manager!

July, 2019: Nicky Sullivan, lab manager, is off to Stanford University to start his PhD!