Felix Wang investigates how humans acquire a language, and focuses specifically on how they solve two problems: 1) How do learners identify the elements and structures of a language from a linear sequence of sounds? 2) How do they map these elements, and their structure, onto the world so as to identify their meaning? My approach emphasizes how perceptual and conceptual constraints are brought to bear on the learning process, both in identifying distributional patterns within the language and in learning the meanings of these patterns. Methodologically, I build computational models of language acquisition and conduct behavioral experiments with infants, children, and college students.
Dr. Wang teaches courses on Language Acquisition and Developmental Psychology.
