Games and learning in young children

Research has demonstrated that young children know a great deal about causality and that their causal knowledge changes with age. However, this research has not fully explained how causal knowledge is represented, and more significantly, how it is learned. The aim of this project is to understand how causal knowledge is represented and how it is learned in a virtual environment. We are examining the origins of abstract constraints that guide future inferences. What ways do virtual environments and digital games promote the learning of these abstract constraints? How do players (and especially young players) learn causality in a game/virtual environment, such as elements of narrative, perceptual cues (or lack thereof), and exploration? And how can this learning be promoted?

Researchers

Games & Society Lab:
Joshua Juvrud
Magnus Johansson
Doris Rusch
Elias Faltin

Uppsala Child and Baby lab, Department of Psycology, Uppsala University:
Gustaf Gredebäck

Department of Education, Uppsala University:
Marcus Lindskog

Funding

Games & Society Lab