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Forces and Motion: How Young Children Understand Causal Events
Author(s) -
Göksun Tilbe,
George Nathan R.,
HirshPasek Kathy,
Golinkoff Roberta M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.12035
Subject(s) - psychology , motion (physics) , developmental psychology , causal model , cognitive psychology , representation (politics) , medicine , pathology , artificial intelligence , politics , computer science , political science , law
How do children evaluate complex causal events? This study investigates preschoolers' representation of force dynamics in causal scenes, asking whether (a) children understand how single and dual forces impact an object's movement and (b) this understanding varies across cause types (Cause, Enable, Prevent). Three‐and‐a half‐ to 5.5‐year‐olds ( n = 60) played a board game in which they were asked to predict the endpoint of a ball being acted upon by one or two forces. Children mostly understood the interactions of forces underlying each type of cause; only 5.5‐year‐olds could integrate two contradictory forces. Children perceive force interactions underlying causal events, but some concepts might not be fully understood until later in childhood. This study provides a new way of thinking about causal relations.