Institutions: McGill University, Department of Psychology
Research interests: Language processing; Language acquisition; Phonological development; Infant social cognition
Kris Onishi’s research investigates how we become competent language users – how we learn the relevant sound and conceptual structures for language and how we map between the two. Her research has examined (1) how infants (and adults) learn about the sound structures of their native language. For example, how do speakers of English learn that “fing” is a more likely word than “ngif”?; and (2) what types of representations infants possess that enable language learning. For example, do infants understand that other people act on the basis of goals and beliefs.