Vladimir Sloutsky, a professor of developmental psychology in The Ohio State University Department of Psychology, has received a $3 million award from the National Institutes of Health to conduct new research about the role of language in conceptual organization, a key part of cognitive development. 

Over five years, Sloutsky and three collaborators will study how systematic combinations of words – like the use of the adjective “furry” to describe a dog, and “juicy” to describe an apple – can lead humans to form mental frameworks that aid in further learning. Researchers will also examine whether the ability to recognize and apply these language patterns emerges during infancy and childhood. Their work will involve both short- and long-term experimental studies.

The research project is poised to have a significant impact in the developmental psychology field, Sloutsky said, and will deepen understanding of the roles that language plays in early cognitive development and intellectual growth. But he is particularly excited for where the results could lead, including research on conceptual development, language and memory in infancy. 

“People forget by their early preschool years almost every specific experience encountered during infancy, while learning and retaining meanings of words and concepts,” he explained. “Solving this paradox will be an important next step in understanding cognitive development.” 

Joining Sloutsky on the NIH research project are Olivera Savic, visiting assistant professor at Ohio State and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Researcher at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language in Spain; Layla Unger, visiting assistant professor at Ohio State and assistant professor of psychology at the University of York in the United Kingdom; and Brandon Turner, a professor of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience at Ohio State. 

Developmental psychology is one of nine research areas and training programs in the Ohio State Department of Psychology, as well as one of its oldest, and focuses on the development of cognition and social processes. Conceptual development and language, the focus of Sloutsky’s project, are some of the program’s greatest strengths.

Sloutsky has previously received developmental psychology research support from the NIH, which is one of the Department of Psychology’s largest and most consistent funders. As the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, the NIH supports studies that advance fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems, and that apply this knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life and reduce illness and disability.