The development of bases for trait attribution: Children's understanding of traits as causal mechanisms based on desire.

Two studies investigated 4- to 7-year-old children's understanding that traits can be causal mechanisms based on desires, as well as mere summaries of behavioral regularities. In Experiment 1, children made predictions given trait information. Children from 5 years made different emotion predictions about the same situation for actors with different traits, thus appreciating traits as psychological causes. For behavior prediction, children over age 4 generalized across situations. In Experiment 2, accurate emotion prediction by 3- to 7-year-olds was linked to understanding desire as a subjective mental property. The results suggest that children change from viewing traits as behavioral regularities to understanding them as internal mediators, and that advances in understanding desire underlie this change. These changes in understanding traits extend research on theory of mind beyond the basic concepts of desire and belief. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children reason about shared preferences.

Two-year-old children’s reasoning about the relation between their own and others’ preferences was investigated across two studies. In Experiment 1, children first observed 2 actors display their individual preferences for various toys. Children were then asked to make inferences about new, visually inaccessible toys and books that were described as being the favorite of each actor, unfamiliar to each actor, or disliked by each actor. Children tended to select the favorite toys and books from the actor who shared their own preference but chose randomly when the new items were unfamiliar to or disliked by the two actors. Experiment 2 extended these findings, showing that children do not generalize a shared preference across unrelated categories of items. Taken together, the results suggest that young children readily recognize when another person holds a preference similar to their own and use that knowledge appropriately to achieve desired outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conditional probability versus spatial contiguity in causal learning: Preschoolers use new contingency evidence to overcome prior spatial assumptions.

This study examines preschoolers' causal assumptions about spatial contiguity and how these assumptions interact with new evidence in the form of conditional probabilities. Preschoolers saw a toy that activated in the presence of certain objects. Children were shown evidence for the toy's activation rule in the form of patterns of probability: The toy was more likely to activate either when objects made contact with its surface (on condition) or when objects were several inches above its surface (over condition). In Experiment 1, 61 three-year-olds saw a deterministic activation rule. In Experiments 2 and 3, 48 four-year-olds saw an activation rule that was probabilistic. In Experiment 4, 30 four-year-olds saw a screening-off pattern of activation. In all 4 experiments, children used new evidence in the form of patterns of probability to make accurate causal inferences, even in the face of conflicting prior beliefs about spatial contiguity. However, children were more likely to make correct inferences when causes were spatially contiguous, particularly when faced with ambiguous evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of category-based induction: Reexamining conclusions from the induction then recognition (ITR) paradigm.

Three studies examined the development of category-based induction using an induction then recognition (ITR) procedure in which participants make category-based predictions about study items and are then given a surprise recognition test that requires discrimination between old and new category members. Exposure duration for study items was either self-paced (Experiment 1) or fixed for 5-year-olds and adults (Experiments 2a-b). Adults always showed a decrement in recognition performance following induction. Children showed the same decrement when exposure duration was equated across age groups. These results show that both young children and adults spontaneously access category-level information during induction. When study exposure time is self-paced, however, children may process additional, noncategorical aspects of study stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children's representation of spatial information acquired from maps.

The early development of the ability to acquire integrated knowledge of a space from a map was investigated in 130 children, 4 to 7 years of age. Experiment 1 demonstrated that all 6- and 7-year-olds and many 4- and 5-year-olds could learn the layout of a large playhouse composed of six adjoined rooms by memorizing a map. Children who learned the map before entering the playhouse more quickly learned a route through it than children who were not exposed to the map, and older children performed significantly better than younger children. In Experiment 2 preschoolers learned a map of a space that contained six spatially separated small rooms within one large room. Children could therefore view the entire configuration of smaller rooms as they traveled around the larger room. Preschoolers performed significantly better in Experiment 2 than in Experiment 1, and the majority of them performed perfectly or almost perfectly. Taken together, the findings help to clarify young children's map-reading abilities in several respects and suggest that preschoolers' abilities are more substantial than has been assumed or demonstrated previously. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal status and coherence in causal-based categorization.

Research has documented two effects of interfeature causal knowledge on classification. A causal status effect occurs when features that are causes are more important to category membership than their effects. A coherence effect occurs when combinations of features that are consistent with causal laws provide additional evidence of category membership. In this study, we found that stronger causal relations led to a weaker causal status effect and a stronger coherence effect (Experiment 1), that weaker alternative causes led to stronger causal status and coherence effects (Experiment 2), and that “essentialized” categories led to a stronger causal status effect (Experiment 3), albeit only for probabilistic causal links (Experiment 4). In addition, the causal status effect was mediated by features' subjective category validity, the probability they occur in category members. These findings were consistent with a generative model of categorization but inconsistent with an alternative model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A self-agency bias in preschoolers' causal inferences.

Preschoolers' causal learning from intentional actions—causal interventions—is subject to a self-agency bias. The authors propose that this bias is evidence-based, in other words, that it is responsive to causal uncertainty. In the current studies, two causes (one child controlled, one experimenter controlled) were associated with one or two effects, first independently, then simultaneously. When initial independent effects were probabilistic, and thus subsequent simultaneous actions were causally ambiguous, children showed a self-agency bias. Children showed no bias when initial effects were deterministic. Further controls established that children's self-agency bias is not a wholesale preference but rather is influenced by uncertainty in causal evidence. These results demonstrate that children's own experience of action influences their causal learning, and the findings suggest possible benefits in uncertain and ambiguous everyday learning contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Syntactic priming in 3- and 4-year-old children: Evidence for abstract representations of transitive and dative forms.

The current studies used a syntactic priming paradigm with 3- and 4-year-old children. In Experiment 1, children were asked to describe a series of drawings depicting transitive and dative relations to establish baseline production levels. In Experiment 2, an experimenter described a similar series of drawings using one of two syntactic forms (i.e., active/passive for transitive; double-object/prepositional for dative). Children were then asked to describe pictures identical to those shown in the corresponding baseline procedure. In both transitive and dative conditions, 4-year-old children were more likely to use a particular syntactic form if it had been used by the experimenter. Three-year-old children did not show priming effects, but their production of transitive sentences was higher following transitive primes than in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, an additional group of 3-year-olds participated in a procedure in which they repeated the experimenter's sentences before describing the pictures. This procedure yielded significant priming effects for transitive and dative forms. These results indicate that very young children possess abstract syntactic representations, but that their access to these representations is sensitive to task demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prior experiences and perceived efficacy influence 3-year-olds' imitation.

Children are selective and flexible imitators. They combine their own prior experiences and the perceived causal efficacy of the model to determine whether and what to imitate. In Experiment 1, children were randomly assigned to have either a difficult or an easy experience achieving a goal. They then saw an adult use novel means to achieve the goal. Children with a difficult prior experience were more likely to imitate the adult's precise means. Experiment 2 showed further selectivity--children preferentially imitated causally efficacious versus nonefficacious acts. In Experiment 3, even after an easy prior experience led children to think their own means would be effective, they still encoded the novel means performed by the model. When a subsequent manipulation rendered the children's means ineffective, children recalled and imitated the model's means. The research shows that children integrate information from their own prior interventions and their observations of others to guide their imitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preference for high salt concentrations among children.

Preference for salt (NaCl) in young children was examined in 2 experiments. In Experiment 1, 2 groups of 14 Black children were given paired-comparison tests with salted soups ranging between 0 and 1.8-M NaCl. Children tended to prefer higher salt concentrations than is typical for adults, but the range of salt concentrations used in testing influenced the distribution of children's preferred salt levels. Experiment 2 directly compared children with their parents, eliminated range effects through a preference-tracking procedure based on the paired-comparison technique, and compared Black and White children's preferences. Children (n?=?58) again preferred higher levels of salt than did adults (n?=?30). No differences between White and Black children were evident, nor was there an indication that degree of salt exposure determined expressed preferences. It appears that children exhibit maximal preference for more concentrated salty, as well as sweet, liquids than do adults. The basis for this age-related difference is not currently understood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preschoolers' understanding of mental and bodily reactions to contamination: What you don't know can hurt you, but cannot sadden you.

Evidence of the operation of a biological theory might be found in children's distinction between mental (emotional) and bodily (illness) reactions to contamination. Study 1 explored whether children see emotions as voluntary but illness as outside of intentional control. Three- and 5-yr-olds judged that simple volitions were insufficient to alter either outcome. Study 2 suggested that children distinguish reactions mediated by representations from those mediated by physical interactions. Children indicated that knowledge determines mental reactions to contamination, but physical contact determines bodily reactions. Study 3 explored knowledge about particulars of emotional and illness reactions. Most preschoolers did not realize that illness takes time to develop. These data suggest that preschoolers do distinguish between physical and mental reactions to contamination but have a poor understanding of the actual bodily processes involved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Penetrating the geometric module: Catalyzing children's use of landmarks.

We used a reference memory paradigm to examine whether 4- and 5-year-old children could be trained to use landmark features to relocate targets after disorientation. In Experiment 1, half of the children were pretrained in a small equilateral triangle-shaped room. Each of the three walls was a different color, and the target was always in the middle of the yellow wall. These children and a control group were tested in a small rectangular room with three white walls and one yellow wall; the target was placed in one of the corners. Children with pretraining responded more frequently to the correct corner than to the diagonally congruent corner on their first set of four trials in the rectangular room, whereas the children in the control group used geometric cues exclusively. Three additional groups of children (Experiment 2) showed that the use of landmark features--both salient and subtle--can be learned in as few as four practice trials in a small rectangular room. The data support the view that both geometry and landmark features are adaptively combined in the same representation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acting and Planning on the Basis of a False Belief: Its Effects on 3-Year-Old Children's Reasoning About Their Own False Beliefs.

This study examined 3-year-olds' explanations for actions of theirs that were premised on a false belief. In Experiment 1, children stated what they thought was inside a crayon box. After stating "crayons," they went to retrieve some paper to draw on. Children were then shown that the box contained candles and were asked to (a) state their initial belief and (b) explain their action of getting paper. Children who were unable to retrieve their false belief were unable to correctly explain their action. Experiments 2 and 3 ruled out several alternative interpretations for these findings. In Experiment 4, children planned and acted on their false belief. Again, children who were unable to retrieve their false belief were unable to correctly explain their action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-modeling and children's cognitive skill learning.

We investigated self-modeling among children who had experienced arithmetic difficulties. In Experiment 1, some children observed peer models solve fraction problems. Others were videotaped while solving problems, after which they viewed their tapes. Observing self-model tapes raised achievement outcomes as well as viewing peer models; each treatment was more effective than a videotape control condition. In Experiment 2, children were videotaped solving easier problems or solving more difficult problems, after which they viewed their tapes. The two self-model treatments promoted achievement behaviors equally well and better than the videotape control and instructional control conditions. In Experiment 3, children were videotaped while learning to solve problems or after they had learned to solve the problems. Self-model subjects demonstrated higher achievement outcomes than videotape control children. Collectively, these results show that self-model tapes highlight progress in skill acquisition, which enhances self-efficacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual Behavioral Profiles and Predictors of Treatment Effectiveness for Children With Autism.

Differential responsiveness to intervention programs suggests the inadequacy of a single treatment approach for all children with autism. One method for reducing outcome variability is to identify participant characteristics associated with different outcomes for a specific intervention. In this investigation, an analysis of archival data yielded 2 distinct behavioral profiles for responders and nonresponders to a widely used behavioral intervention, pivotal response training (PRT). In a prospective study, these profiles were used to select 6 children (3 predicted responders and 3 predicted nonresponders) who received PRT. Children with pretreatment responder profiles evidenced positive changes on a range of outcome variables. Children with pretreatment nonresponder profiles did not exhibit improvements. These results offer promise for the development of individualized treatment protocols for children with autism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's use of frequency information for trait categorization and behavioral prediction.

Two experiments examined young children's use of behavioral frequency information to make behavioral predictions and global personality attributions. In Experiment 1, participants heard about an actor who behaved positively or negatively toward 1 or several recipients. Generally, children did not differentiate their judgments of the actor on the basis of the amount of information provided. In Experiment 2, the actor behaved positively or negatively toward a single recipient once or repeatedly. Participants were more likely to make appropriate predictions and attributions after exposure to multiple target behaviors and with increasing age. Overall, children's performance was influenced by age-related positivity and negativity biases. These findings indicate that frequency information is important for personality judgments but that its use is affected by contextual complexity and information-processing biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of drawing on memory performance in young children.

In Experiment 1, 32 5- to 6-year-old boys and girls participated in a unique event and were interviewed about that event 1 day later. Half of the children were asked to draw what happened during the event and half were asked to tell what happened. In both conditions, only children's verbal behavior was scored. Children in the draw group were as accurate and reported more information than children in the tell group, especially in response to direct questions. In Experiment 2, 32 5- to 6-year-olds and 32 3- to 4-year-olds participated in the same event used in Experiment 1 and were interviewed 1 month later. The 5- to 6-year-olds in the draw group reported more information than the 5- to 6-year-olds in the tell group after the 1-month delay. Drawing did not, however, increase the amount of information reported by 3- to 4-year-olds. These findings have important theoretical implications for memory development and important practical implications for children's eyewitness testimony. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the intentions of others: Re-enactment of intended acts by 18-month-old children.

Investigated whether children would re-enact what an adult actually did or what the adult intended to do. In Experiment, 1 children were shown an adult who tried, but failed, to perform certain target acts. Completed target acts were thus not observed. Children in comparison groups either saw the full target act or appropriate controls. Results showed that children could infer the adult's intended act by watching the failed attempts. Experiment 2 tested children's understanding of an inanimate object that traced the same movements as the person had followed. Children showed a completely different reaction to the mechanical device than to the person: They did not produce the target acts in this case. Eighteen-mo-olds situate people within a psychological framework that differentiates between the surface behavior of people and a deeper level involving goals and intentions. They have already adopted a fundamental aspect of folk psychology—persons (but not inanimate objects) are understood within a framework involving goals and intentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Filial therapy: An intervention for parents of children with chronic illness.

Describes the use of filial therapy as an intervention with families of chronically ill children. Filial therapy is an extension of play therapy which uses the behaviors of the client-centered play therapist in a family skills training program. Ss were 5 29–36 yr old mothers of 4.5–8.0 yr old children with chronic illnesses. Parents completed the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory and Parental Acceptance Scale (B. R. Porter, 1952) before and after participating in filial therapy sessions. Children completed the Child Anxiety Scale. Results show that filial therapy can have a positive impact on parents of children with chronic illness. Parents were better able to accurately judge their child's level of anxiety and reported differentiation between themselves and their children. Qualitative reports of outcomes indicate that the parents believed that the course had a positive impact on their relationships with their children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Returning to the scene: Reminders and context reinstatement enhance children's recall.

Two studies examined the efficacy of context reinstatement as a reminder in enhancing 5- to 7-year-old children's recall. In Experiment 1, children who had been interviewed shortly after an event were reinterviewed 6 months later. Children exposed to a context reminder 24 hr before the 6-month interview and children interviewed in the event context did not differ but reported significantly more information in a verbal interview than children receiving a standard interview. A control group experienced the reminder but not the event and established that the effects of the reminder were not due to new learning. There was no effect of the reminder on accuracy and no effect in reenactment. In Experiment 2, children were interviewed for the first time after 6 months, and effects of the reminder were found for both verbal recall and reenactment. Nonverbal reminders may effectively enhance the amount of information children report without decreasing accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)