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LAURA NAMY
Associate Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology
Ph.D in Cognitive Psychology, Northwestern University, 1998
OFFICE: Psychology Building, Rm 375
EMAIL: lnamy@emory.edu
PHONE: 404-727-6878
A specialist in early language acquisition, Prof. Namy has been an
active member of the Program in Linguistics since arriving at Emory in
1998. She developed and continues to serve as coordinator of the Joint
Major in Psychology and Linguistics, and organizes numerous events for
the students in this program of study.
Prof. Namy's research program focuses on early word learning and
categorization in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, and forms part
of larger movement in cognitive psychology which is seeking to relate
language learning to more general learning abilities. She has two
primary areas of research. First, she is interested in infants' ability
to acquire words as it relates to the ability to use other kinds of
symbols. How do infants come to understand the symbolic function of
language? Is language a special form of symbolic communication from the
onset of development? How does the relation between words and
non-verbal symbols, such as gestures, change over development? Second,
Dr. Namy is interested in the role of comparison processes in
conceptual development. She is interested in the notion that general
cognitive processes such as active comparison of two or more entities
from the same category may facilitate insight into the category's
structure.
Prof. Namy is a very active researcher, and has published over two
dozen research articles and chapters. In 2005 she was honored with the
Editor's Choice Award for Best Article in the Journal of Cognition and
Development for her paper entitled "The changing role of iconicity in
non-verbal symbol learning: a U-shaped trajectory in the acquisition of
arbitrary gestures", with Aimee Campbell and Michael Tomasello. The
award is given to the article which best exemplifies criteria of broad
relevance, rigor and substance of argument, quality of expression and
ingenuity.
Prof. Namy is also an inspiring instructor, regularly teaching
Linguistics 316 Language Acquisition as well as other courses in
Psychology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Prof. Namy's Psychology Faculty Page
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