PANTHEON
ExploreBuild My Library
© 2026 Pantheon — an atlas of the ideas that shaped how we think.
person1990s-present

Karen Wynn

Disciplines:
cognitive science
developmental psychology

Summary

Canadian developmental psychologist who demonstrated that 5-month-old infants have basic numerical expectations — violating additions and subtractions produced surprise responses.

Core Contribution

Addition and subtraction by human infants (1992): 5-month-olds expected 1+1=2 and 2-1=1 — the first experimental evidence that infants have core numerical knowledge. Provided empirical support for the core knowledge hypothesis.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • The 1992 Nature paper showing infant arithmetic was one of the most cited papers in developmental psychology — it transformed the debate about numerical cognition from a purely philosophical to an empirical question.

Notable Works & Achievements

Addition and subtraction by human infants

Historical Influences

Prentice Starkey Elizabeth Spelke

Intellectual Lineage

Developmental Psychology Cognitive Science

Contemporaries & Peers

Elizabeth Spelke Susan Carey

Minds Influenced

Susan Carey Markus Pantsar

Intellectual Posterity

Infant Numerical Cognition

Discussing

Karen Wynn

Ask anything about Karen Wynn — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.

Sign in to start a conversation.