From an evolutionary perspective children are, literally, designed to learn. Childhood is a special period of protected immaturity. It gives the young… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
I think, at the end of the century we'll have a generation of parents and a generation of children who won't have… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
Becoming an adult means leaving the world of your parents and starting to make your way toward the future that you will… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
For better or worse, we live in possible worlds as much as actual ones. We are cursed by that characteristically human guilt… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
In most places and times in human history, babies have had not just one person but lots of people around who were… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
One of the things I say is, 'You want to know what it's like to be a baby? It's like being in… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
What's it like to be a baby? It's like being in love in Paris for the first time after you've had three… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
“It’s not that children are little scientists — it’s that scientists are big children. Scientists actually are the few people who as… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
Philosophers and psychologists have long puzzled over the question of how we know as much as we do despite our limited experiences. One way… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
Adults often assume that most learning is the result of teaching and that exploratory, spontaneous learning is unusual. But actually, spontaneous learning is more… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
Adults tend to think they have much free will. Kids younger than six are less sure. They may be more realistic! — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
From an evolutionary perspective children are, literally, designed to learn. Childhood is a special period of protected immaturity. It gives the young breathing time… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
There is a tension between our desire to get our kids to turn out a particular way versus letting them develop to be their… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
“Instead, it may be that experience itself has changed our brains so that we perceive and interpret the world in a certain way. Once… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
Caring for children has always been one of the deepest and most satisfying things that a human being does, and yet it is hard… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
Imaginary friends are one of the weirder forms of pretend play in childhood. But the research shows that imaginary friends actually help children understand… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
“Like their parents, the Korean children used more verbs than the English-speaking kids, while the English-speaking kids used more nouns. But in addition, the… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
“We decided to become development psychologists and study children because there aren't any Martians. These brilliant beings with the little bodies and big heads… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
Each new generation of children grows up in the new environment its parents have created, and each generation of brains becomes wired in a… — Alison Gopnik Copy Share Image
