I study cognitive development with a focus on how humans learn words and concepts.

​My research explores why children find certain ideas - like numbers and other mathematical concepts - difficult to understand, how learning language shapes children understanding of these concepts, and the role that caregivers play in children's early cognitive development. 
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I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in Kristina Olson's Social Cognitive Development Lab at the University of Washington. ​
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Selected Publications

Gibson, D. J., Gunderson, E. A., & Levine, S. C. (2020) Causal Effects of Parent Number Talk on Preschoolers’ Number Knowledge. Child Development.
 
​Gibson, D. J., Gunderson, E. A., Spaepen, E., Goldin-Meadow, S. & Levine, S. C. (2019) Number gestures predict number word learning. Developmental Science.

Gunderson, E. A., Gibson, D.J., Spaepen, E., Goldin-Meadow, S. & Levine, S. C. (2018) Understanding of the successor function develops after the cardinal principle. Cognition.

Gibson, D. J., Congdon, E. L. & Levine, S. C. (2014). Effects of word-learning biases on children’s concept of angle. Child Development.