LiLi DiMuzio

Is the Enemy of My Enemy My Friend? How Three- to Six-Year-Old Children Learn Transitivity in Social Relationships

Advisor: David Rakinson
Majors: Psychology and English
Minors: Music and Sustainability Studies

Abstract

Second order correlation learning (SOCL) is the ability to infer the relationship of two objects, features or events (A and C) based on previously-learned first-order correlations (A and B, B and C). In the proposed experiments, I will present social relationships as SOCLs to examine if and when children can use transitivity to learn about these relationships. Only a small number of studies have been conducted to test whether children seven years of age and older can understand transitivity in non-social context (Halford & Kelly, 1984; Riley, 1976). The experiment proposed here will test considerable younger children — those between three and six years of age — to determine if they too can learn transitivity, particularly when it comes to negative relationships among first-order correlations. In Experiment One, children will be shown a series of cartoon vignettes that depict different social relationships, both positive and negative. In a series of test trials, participants will see different combinations of social relationships of friends, non-friends and enemies (A-B and B-C). They will be asked to determine the relationship between the various characters of for each scenario. This research will provide us insight into whether or not preschool aged children can learn transitivity and, if they can, around what age they start to understand it. 

Bio

My name is LiLi, and I am majoring in English and Psychology, with a concentration in Child Development and minors in Music and Sustainability Studies. Since the summer of 2023, I have worked as a research assistant in David Rakison's Infant Cognition Lab. Outside of academics, I do a lot of extracurricular activities that revolve around event-planning and service. I have a passion for serving others which can range anywhere from performing my violin in the All University Orchestra to helping execute the events for Spring Carnival. I aspire to work in child advocacy in the future, particularly with children who have experienced abuse and trauma. In my free time, I love writing, learning new instruments and playing with my dog, Cannoli.