The CEU Department of Cognitive Science cordially invites you to its talk
by:
Dr. *Ben Kenward* (Oxford Brookes University)
[web <https://www.brookes.ac.uk/templates/pages/staff.aspx?uid=p0078109>]
Title: *Children's conceptions of norms and their attitudes to norm
violations*
Date: Wednesday, 09 January 2019
Time: 17:00-18:30
Location: Department of Cognitive Science, CEU, Oktober 6 st. 7, room 10
Abstract:
This presentation will combine two approaches to understanding young
children’s conceptions of normativity. Firstly, a theoretical argument
integrating a large body of literature (including the well-established
protest paradigm) will be advanced, suggesting that the earliest
conceptions of what is right (normative) is not well-differentiated from
what is intended. For philosophers, an almost insurmountable challenge has
been to explain how what should be can be inferred from what is. For
psychologists, the challenge is instead to explain why humans in fact
routinely make that inference. This theory posits that the normativity
concept arises from the interaction between phylogenetically ancient
valence-based approach/avoid systems and more recent linguistic systems
supporting talk about good and bad. The conflation between what is and what
ought to be arises because of automatic connections between valence
judgement and intention generation systems. Secondly this talk will focus
on the presenter’s own program of empirical work examining children’s
responses to moral norm violations, with the ultimate aim of discovering
the proximate causes of children’s punishment motivation. Cross-cultural
similarities will be demonstrated in young children’s tendencies to inflict
punishment for norm violations. Unexpectedly, however, the most recent
findings suggest that children punish without enjoying it, and their
primary motivation is to deter norm violations, in contrast to the
conclusions from much adult work suggesting that adults are primarily
motivated by retribution.
We are looking forward to see you.
Cognitive Science Events at CEU:
http://cognitivescience.ceu.hu/events
______________________________________________
Subscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-subscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu
Unsubscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-unsubscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu