Harrie Boelens is assistant professor in the unit Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University.

More information about Harrie Boelens

Harrie Boelens is assistant professor in the unit Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University.

"A magic trick seems to take place somewhere in the second half of the second year of life. The outcome of this trick is real communication: talking, in sentences, about things not present here and now."

During his undergraduate studies, he became interested in the roles of the consequences of behavior in learning new behavior. The universities of Utrecht, Tilburg, and Leiden have allowed him to express that interest in studies of various creatures. For his master's degree, he examined the ways machines can learn grammars. For his PhD, he studied self-control and choice behavior in pigeons. Leiden University has offered him the opportunity to study, and teach about, young children.   

Harrie is especially interested in the beginnings of grammar learning, which usually take place at the end of the second year of life. He is the student advisor for the master students in the specialisation Child and Adolescent Psychology.

Publications

Publications