Planes, trains, automobiles--and tea sets: Extremely intense interests in very young children.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 44(1) of Developmental Psychology (see record 2007-19851-021). The DOI for the supplemental materials was printed incorrectly. The correct DOI is as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1579.supp.] Some normally developing young children show an intense, passionate interest in a particular category of objects or activities. The present article documents the existence of extremely intense interests that emerge very early in life and establishes some of the basic parameters of the phenomenon. Surveys and interviews with 177 parents revealed that nearly one third of young children have extremely intense interests. The nature of these intense interests is described, with particular focus on their emergence, commonalities in the content of the interests, and the reactions of other people to them. One of the most striking findings is a large gender difference: Extremely intense interests are much more common for young boys than for girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)