Susan Carey

Susan Carey
Name	Susan Carey
Birth date	1954
Birth place	New York City
Nationality	United States
Fields	Psychology; Cognitive science; Developmental psychology
Workplaces	Harvard University; University of California, Berkeley; Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Alma mater	Harvard University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Doctoral advisor	Roger Brown
Known for	Theory of conceptual change; studies of conceptual development; fast mapping

Susan Carey

Susan Carey is an American cognitive psychologist noted for foundational work on conceptual development, modularity, and the origins of knowledge in infants and children. Her research integrates experimental studies with theoretical frameworks, linking empirical findings from developmental studies to debates involving scholars at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of California, Berkeley. Carey’s work has influenced conversations spanning Jean Piaget’s legacy, theories advanced by Elizabeth Spelke, and computational models advanced in cognitive science and philosophy of mind.

Early life and education

Carey was born in New York City and raised in a milieu deeply connected to the intellectual life of the United States. She earned an undergraduate degree at Radcliffe College affiliated with Harvard University and proceeded to doctoral studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she worked under advisors including Roger Brown. During graduate training she interacted with prominent figures such as Jerome Bruner, Noam Chomsky, and researchers at the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard University, situating her early scholarship at the intersection of experimental psychology and theoretical debates about innateness and learning. Her formative years overlapped with influential developments at institutions including Stanford University and Yale University, connecting her to broader networks of developmental researchers.

Academic and professional career

Carey joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania early in her career before moving to Harvard University, where she served as a professor in the Department of Psychology. She later held appointments at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and contributed to programs at Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley through visiting professorships and collaborative projects. Throughout her career she supervised doctoral students who went on to positions at institutions such as Princeton University, University of Chicago, Yale University, Stanford University, and University College London. Carey has been active in professional organizations including the American Psychological Association, the Cognitive Science Society, and the Association for Psychological Science, and she has participated in panels at the National Academy of Sciences and conferences such as the Jean Piaget Society meetings.

Research and theoretical contributions

Carey is best known for articulating a theory of conceptual change that addresses how children revise initial representational systems into adult-like concepts. Drawing on empirical paradigms developed in laboratories at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she proposed the existence of innate, domain-specific representations and informal theories guiding early cognition, a position that dialogued with work by Elizabeth Spelke on core knowledge and debates advanced by Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Carey introduced the notion of "conceptual change" processes including bootstrapping and theory change, integrating ideas from Noam Chomsky about innate structure and from computational modeling traditions found at Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her experimental discoveries on infants’ numerical and object representations engaged with findings by researchers at Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth College on early number sense and object permanence. Carey’s work on fast mapping and word learning connected to studies by Steven Pinker and Mark Johnson and influenced models developed at Oxford University and University of California, San Diego.

Major publications

Carey authored influential monographs and articles that shaped contemporary developmental theory. Her major works include a book-length treatment that articulated theory change and conceptual development, cited alongside classics by Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and Jerome Bruner. She published empirical articles in journals connected to editorial boards at Nature, Science, Psychological Review, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Carey’s chapters appear in volumes edited by scholars at Harvard University Press and MIT Press, and her publications have been discussed in commentators’ works from Princeton University and Cambridge University Press.

Awards and honors

Carey has received recognition from institutions and societies including election to the National Academy of Sciences and awards from the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. She has been honored with named lectureships at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received prizes from organizations such as the Guggenheim Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation-related programs. Her contributions have been recognized by fellowships at research centers including the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and invitations to contribute to panels at the National Science Foundation and the Royal Society.

Personal life and legacy

Carey’s personal engagements include mentoring generations of developmental psychologists who now occupy faculty positions at institutions such as University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Stanford University. Her legacy is evident in subsequent research programs at laboratories across North America and Europe, including centers at University College London, Oxford University, and Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. Debates she stimulated—about innateness, modularity, and the mechanisms of conceptual change—continue in symposia at venues like the Jean Piaget Society and the Cognitive Science Society, ensuring ongoing influence on contemporary work in psychology and philosophy of mind.

Category:American psychologists Category:Cognitive psychologists Category:Developmental psychologists