PSYC Seminar: “Developmental Perspectives on Causal Language, Causal Reasoning, and Counterfactual Thinking: A Mental Space Study”, Aslı Aktan-Erciyes (Kadir Has University), 12:30Noon November 5, 2026 (EN)

Developmental Perspectives on Causal Language, Causal Reasoning, and Counterfactual Thinking: A Mental Space Study

Aslı Aktan-Erciyes

Kadir Has University, Department of Psychology

Date: November 5, 2026

Time: 12:30-13:30

Venue: A130 Seminar Room

Abstract

Causal reasoning allows children to learn, explain, and make sense of their surroundings, and counterfactual thinking, imagining what would have happened otherwise, is closely tied to how causes are judged. Although infants are sensitive to causal events within the first year, causal language emerges gradually, and how causal language, causal reasoning, and counterfactual thinking relate to one another across development remains further investigation. This talk presents a TÜBİTAK-funded project that examines these abilities in Turkish-speaking children. In Study 1, we used a longitudinal corpus of naturalistic caregiver-child interactions from 8 to 36 months to investigate causal language in child-directed (CDS) and child speech (CS). Caregivers’ causal talk increased with child age and plateaued around 30 months, while children’s causal language grew steadily and was linked to how often caregivers used causal language. In Study 2, we tested 5- to 6-year-olds and 9- to 10-year-olds on causal language production, causal verb production, language-based and force-dynamics causal reasoning, and counterfactual reasoning. Children’s causal reasoning was associated with the causal verbs they produced, but not with how much causal language they used. Together, these findings suggest that the specific causal meanings encoded in language, rather than the amount of causal talk, are tied to how children reason about causes. They also raise new questions about the role of counterfactual thinking in this relationship.

Speaker Biography

Aslı Aktan-Erciyes is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Kadir Has University, where she coordinates the Studies in Language and Bilingualism Lab (SiLaB). She received her B.A. in Business Administration, M.A. in Developmental Psychology, and Ph.D. in Psychology from Boğaziçi University. Her doctoral work examined the effects of second language acquisition on event perception and narrative skills. She completed her postdoctoral research at the Language and Cognition Lab at Koç University with Prof. Tilbe Göksun, working on a longitudinal project funded by the James S. McDonnell Foundation. Her research examines the interaction between language and cognition, focusing on causal and counterfactual reasoning, narrative development, and bilingual development, including how early and intensive exposure to a second language shapes the first. She has completed two TÜBİTAK-funded projects and currently leads a TÜBİTAK-funded project on the development of causal language, causal reasoning, and counterfactual thinking. She is a recipient of the 2025 Science Academy Young Scientists Award (BAGEP).