Erin Hahn
Professor, Psychology
- Email: erin.hahn@furman.edu
- Phone: 864.294.3210
- Office: JH 206-I
Dr. Hahn joined the Furman faculty in 2005, soon after completing her Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University. Her laboratory, the Furman Learning Lab, is home to a number of research projects that broadly investigate cognitive development. She welcomes any student with an interest in child development to meet with her to discuss how they can become involved in research. She has overseen more than 90 research presentations involving undergraduates, and regularly supervises student thesis projects.
Dr. Hahn is committed to contributing to the high quality, liberal arts education that Furman offers its students. She is passionate about teaching and rountinely participates in workshops to develop new pedagogical techniques. In addition to her on-campus courses, Dr. Hahn also teaches a study-away course on Poverty and Child Development that is part of Furman’s southern Africa program.
Education
- Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University
- M.S., Carnegie Mellon University
- B.S., Carnegie Mellon University
Research
Broadly, I am interested in understanding how children learn about the objects in their environment. Coming from a background in language development, some of my research questions focus on early word learning, including why children don’t say the words they understand. I am also very interested in how children learn the actions associated with objects. How, for example, do children learn that crayons are for coloring and forks are for eating? Some of my research bridges these two domains by comparing the processes that are involved in word learning and action learning. I approach my research from the perspective that early learning operates using powerful, all-purpose processes.
Publications
- Hahn, E. R., & Garrett, M. K.* (2017). Preschoolers’ moral judgments of environmental harm and the influence of perspective taking. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 53, 11-19.
- Hunley, S. B.*, & Hahn, E. R. (2016). Labels affect preschoolers' tool-based scale errors. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 151, 40-50.
- Tonnsen, B. L. *, & Hahn, E. R. (2015). Adolescents’ attitudes toward a peer with autism spectrum disorder: Effects of social acceptance and physical inclusion. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities.
- Gershkoff-Stowe, L., & Hahn, E. R. (2013). Word comprehension and production asymmetries in children and adults. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 114, 489-509.
- Hahn, E. R., & Cantrell, L.* (2012) The Shape-Bias in Spanish-Speaking Children and its Relationship to Vocabulary. Journal of Child Language, 39, 443-455.
- Hahn, E. R., & Gershkoff-Stowe, L. (2010). Children and adults learn actions for objects more readily than labels. Language Learning and Development, 6, 1-26.
- Reed, J. A., Einstein, G., Hahn, E. R., Cross, G., & Kravitz, J. (2010). Examining the impact of integrating physical activity on fluid intelligence and academic performance in an elementary school setting: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 7, 343-351.
- Gershkoff-Stowe, L., & Hahn, E. R. (2007). Fast-mapping skills in the developing lexicon. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50, 682-697.
- Rakison, D. H., Cicchino, J. B., & Hahn, E. R. (2007). Infants’ knowledge of the path that animals take to reach a goal. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 25, 461-470.
- Rakison, D. H. & Hahn, E. R. (2004). The mechanisms of early categorization and induction: Smart or dumb infants? In R. Kail (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Undergraduate collaborators are marked by *