Natural pedagogy
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Four Temporary Waterslide Designs Adapted to Different Slope Conditions to Encourage Child Socialization in Playgrounds
Published on: December 9, 2022
Gergely Csibra1, György Gergely
1Department of Philosophy, Central European University, Nádor u. 9., H-1051 Budapest, Hungary. csibrag@ceu.hu
Abstract:
We propose that human communication is specifically adapted to allow the transmission of generic knowledge between individuals. Such a communication system, which we call 'natural pedagogy', enables fast and efficient social learning of cognitively opaque cultural knowledge that would be hard to acquire relying on purely observational learning mechanisms alone. We argue that human infants are prepared to be at the receptive side of natural pedagogy (i) by being sensitive to ostensive signals that indicate that they are being addressed by communication, (ii) by developing referential expectations in ostensive contexts and (iii) by being biased to interpret ostensive-referential communication as conveying information that is kind-relevant and generalizable.
Related Concept Videos
The Nativist Approach
Purposive Learning
Steps in the Modeling Process
Attention is the first necessary component for observational learning. It involves focusing on what the model is doing and saying. For example, if you decide to take a drawing class to enhance your skills, you need to pay close attention to the instructor's words and hand movements. The characteristics of the model significantly...
Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov observed that dogs salivated...
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development from Childhood into Adulthood
Schemata: Building Blocks of Knowledge
Schemata...
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other