معرفی
Frank Keil is the Charles C. and Dorathea S. Dilley Professor of Psychology and Linguistics at Yale University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania (1977). His research explores how individuals—particularly children and adults—construct causal interpretations of the world, simplify complex causal information into 'coarse causal gists,' and evaluate knowledge gaps and expert credibility. His work bridges cognitive psychology, developmental science, and folk scientific understanding.
Research interests include causal reasoning, developmental cognition, folk science, and the interplay between functional and mechanistic explanations. He directs the Cognition and Development lab, emphasizing how early competencies form foundations for adult causal understanding and the role of domain-specific vs. domain-general processes (e.g., folkbiology vs. folkphysics).
Publications from 2024-2023 reveal trends in mechanistic learning, explanation preferences, social group perception, and cognitive biases in judgment. Notable themes include the illusion of consensus, trade-offs between functional and mechanistic explanations, and children’s ability to infer information sources from goals. His work underscores cognitive heuristics in simplifying complexity and evaluating knowledge validity.
No scientific awards are explicitly listed. Advising and grants are not detailed in the provided text. His lab focuses on collaborative projects addressing causal cognition, with implications for education and social dynamics.
