John Coley

John Coley

Expertise:

  • Cognitive Science

About John Coley

In my lab, we study a host of interrelated questions about the structure of knowledge, reasoning, and conceptual development. How do we organize what we know? How do we use what we know to make guesses about what we don’t know? How do people decide what kind of knowledge is relevant in a particular situation? How does the acquisition of expertise influence how people organize and use knowledge? How do knowledge and reasoning change as children develop? How does growing up in different environments lead to different ways of thinking and reasoning about the world?

We take an experimental approach to answering these questions by systematically examining overt reasoning behavior in children and adults, as well as the processing that underlies such reasoning. By looking at how people think about rich real-world knowledge domains like plants and animals, food, and people, we strive to characterize the breadth, depth, and flexibility of human cognition.

Contact

Mailing Address:

125 NI (Nightingale Hall), Boston, MA 02115
Institutes, Labs & Research Centers
Conceptual Organization, Reasoning, and Education Laboratory (CORE Lab)
Psychology

The CORE lab seeks to answer questions about basic cognitive processes like conceptual organization, reasoning, and conceptual development.

Faculty

Publications:

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