The Role of Probability and Intentionality in Preschoolers' Causal Generalizations

Autor/inn/en	Sobel, David M.; Sommerville, Jessica A.; Travers, Lea V.; Blumenthal, Emily J.; Stoddard, Emily
Titel	The Role of Probability and Intentionality in Preschoolers' Causal Generalizations
Quelle	In: Journal of Cognition and Development, 10 (2009) 4, S.262-284 (23 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1524-8372
Schlagwörter	Preschool Children; Generalization; Probability; Inferences; Abstract Reasoning; Beliefs; Cognitive Ability; Experiments + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung; Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie; Inference; Inferenz; Abstraktes Denken; Denken; Belief; Glaube; Denkfähigkeit; Erprobung
Abstract	Three experiments examined whether preschoolers recognize that the causal properties of objects generalize to new members of the same set given either deterministic or probabilistic data. Experiment 1 found that 3- and 4-year-olds were able to make such a generalization given deterministic data but were at chance when they observed probabilistic information. Five-year-olds reliably generalized in both situations. Experiment 2 found that 4-year-olds could make some probabilistic inferences, particularly when comparing sets that had no efficacy with sets in which some members had efficacy. Children had some difficulty discriminating between completely effective sets and stochastic ones. Experiment 3 examined whether 3- and 4-year-olds could reason about probabilistic data when provided with information about the experimenter's beliefs about causal outcomes. Children who were more successful on standard false-belief measures were more likely to respond as if the data were deterministic. These data suggest that children's probabilistic inferences develop into early elementary school, but preschoolers might have some understanding of probability when reasoning about causal generalization. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10