The Giggling Robot and Toddlers

A researcher at the University of California at San Diego discovered that toddlers bonded with a giggling robot more than an inanimate robot of similar construction. Moreover, the toddlers displayed behavior toward the giggling robot one would expect toward a human. Read more details at New Scientist.

A Note on How Young Toddlers Thinking

Parents of young toddlers need to understand that young toddlers tend to learn objects as whole units instead as a series of parts. This distinction is important when teaching young children because as adults we often focus on parts and may expect young children to do the same. Researchers at Purdue University studied forty-eight 12- and 19-month-olds. Common objects as a cup with a lid, a shoe with laces, and wood cutouts were used with a focus on visual appeal to the children. The researches discovered that the children attended more often to entire objects more than parts. Read more about this research at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071017174331.htm.