Lucia Sweeney Conference Summary

Lucia Sweeney

Ph.D. Candidate

Cognitive Science

Cognitive Development Society (CDS) Biennial

Louisville, KY

October 17-19, 2019

This month I attended the Cognitive Development Society (CDS) Biennial Meeting held in Louisville, Kentucky. At this conference, I was exposed to a wide variety of research on cognitive development in early childhood. I attended several poster sessions throughout the meeting, and during these sessions I discovered more about recent theories of language acquisition. along with new methods of data collection that I can incorporate into my own research. In addition to learning about new topics of inquiry and experimental methods, I was also introduced to leading researchers in the field of child development, including Dr. Haley Vlach and Dr. Nora Newcombe. My time at the conference was greatly beneficial to advancing my career. I gained exposure in the field by presenting original data during a symposium that was widely attended. My attendance also gave me the opportunity to network and discuss some of my puzzling and null results with leaders in the field who encouraged me to continue with my efforts to publish, despite the fact that we did not find what we expected. Overall, attending the CDS Biennial Meeting was an excellent opportunity for me to gain exposure in the field and expand my knowledge regarding cognitive development research.