The Relation between Essentialist Beliefs and Evolutionary Reasoning

Autor/inn/en	Shtulman, Andrew; Schulz, Laura
Titel	The Relation between Essentialist Beliefs and Evolutionary Reasoning
Quelle	In: Cognitive Science, 32 (2008) 6, S.1049-1062 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0364-0213
Schlagwörter	Evolution; Student Attitudes; Historians; Children; Beliefs; Science Education; College Students; Animals; Animal Behavior; Anatomy; Interviews; Questionnaires; Comparative Analysis; Preschool Children + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schülerverhalten; Historian; Historiker; Child; Kind; Kinder; Belief; Glaube; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Collegestudent; Animal; Tier; Tiere; Tierverhalten; Anatomie; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Fragebogen; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule
Abstract	Historians of science have pointed to essentialist beliefs about species as major impediments to the discovery of natural selection. The present study investigated whether such beliefs are impediments to learning this concept as well. Participants (43 children aged 4-9 and 34 adults) were asked to judge the variability of various behavioral and anatomical properties across different members of the same species. Adults who accepted within-species variation--both actual and potential--were significantly more likely to demonstrate a selection-based understanding of evolution than adults who denied within-species variation. The latter demonstrated an alternative, incorrect understanding of evolution and produced response patterns that were both quantitatively and qualitatively similar to those produced by preschool-aged children. Overall, it is argued that psychological essentialism, although a useful bias for drawing species-wide inductions, leads individuals to devalue within-species variation and, consequently, to fail to understand natural selection. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.) (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