How computational models help explain the origins of reasoning

Developmental psychology is ready to blossom into a modern science that focuses on causal mechanistic explanations of development rather than just describing and classifying the skills that children show at different ages. Computational models of cognitive development are formal systems that track the changes in information processing taking place as a behavior is acquired. Models are generally implemented as psychologically constrained computer simulations that learn tasks such as reasoning, categorization, and language. Their principal use is as tools for exploring mechanisms of transition (development) from one level of competence to the next during the course of cognitive development. They have been used to probe questions such as the extent of ‘pre-programmed’ or innate knowledge that exists in the infant mind, and how the sophistication of reasoning can increase with age and experience