NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1177378
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-May
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
"Will I Know More in the Future than I Know Now?" Preschoolers' Judgments about Changes in General Knowledge
Atance, Cristina M.; Caza, Julian S.
Developmental Psychology, v54 n5 p857-865 May 2018
An important aspect of perspective-taking ability is the appreciation that mental states such as beliefs, desires, and knowledge change over time. The current study focused specifically on 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds' understanding that they will have knowledge in the future that they do not currently possess--for example, that when they are grown-ups, they will know what the words on a newspaper say. We also compared this understanding to children's understanding that adults have knowledge that children do not. To address the possibility that children's correct responses stemmed from a general rule that "adults know everything," we also included questions to which adults could not know the answer. Results show that children's understanding that they will have knowledge in the future that they do not currently possess and that adults possess knowledge that children do not improves substantially during the preschool years. Moreover, only the 5-year-olds in our study acknowledged that certain things are "unknowable," even by adults. Finally, children's performance did not differ as a function of whether they were asked about their own future knowledge or an adult's current knowledge. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theories of perspective-taking and mental state reasoning, future thinking, and children's motivation to learn.
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A