One of the biggest challenges of language acquisition for babies is having to learn words and expressions referring to abstract concepts. Words related to absence such as nothing, zero, gone or no are special exemplars of this: as it follows from their meaning, we use them in the absence of those objects, events or conditions that they refer to, making them exceptionally difficult to grasp. Remarkably, however, babies manage to decipher the meaning of such words quite early: CEU researchers Eszter Szabó and Ágnes Kovács found that infants already understand verbal negation at one and a half years of age.

We strive for efficient communication, sharing exactly as much information as our partners need. When making plans with a friend, for example, we can simply agree to meet at our place at six. In comparison, if we get a new sofa delivered, we must also provide our city and postal code, while the company should specify if the package arrives at six AM or six PM. Effective communication starts with assessing our partner's knowledge. Failing to do so can lead to either boring them with redundant details or omitting crucial information. Researchers Tibor Tauzin, György Gergely, and Josep Call investigated whether babies also consider their partner's knowledge and adjust their communication accordingly, even before learning to speak.

Human creativity has no boundaries: it has taken us to the moon and allows us to cure deadly diseases. What is the origin of such productivity of the human mind? Are such core abilities already present early in development? New research suggests so: CEU scientists found that babies can creatively combine concepts even before they can speak. These groundbreaking results were just published in one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world.

Uncertainty is a natural part of our everyday life: we usually can’t fully understand the present or precisely predict the future. To manage this uncertainty, we imagine different possibilities, we contrast them and then make decisions. But when does the ability to imagine multiple possibilities emerge?

What makes it possible for us humans to use language - alone in the whole animal kingdom, even among the communicative species?

How do babies interpret what they see on a screen? Can they differentiate between virtual and real objects, characters, and events?

Our ability to make inferences allows us to get new information even without direct observation or proof.

While learning English, learning new words from context is probably not the hardest part...

Imitation is a fundamental form of social learning that helps us acquire new knowledge and skills quickly and effectively.