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The Development of Children's Prelife Reasoning: Evidence From Two Cultures
Author(s) -
Emmons Natalie A.,
Kelemen Deborah
Publication year - 2014
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.12220
Subject(s) - psychology , personhood , indigenous , developmental psychology , perception , theory of mind , privilege (computing) , cognition , cognitive development , afterlife , cognitive psychology , epistemology , neuroscience , ecology , philosophy , computer security , computer science , biology
Two studies investigated children's reasoning about their mental and bodily states during the time prior to biological conception—“prelife.” By exploring prelife beliefs in 5‐ to 12‐year‐olds ( N = 283) from two distinct cultures (urban E cuadorians, rural indigenous S huar), the studies aimed to uncover children's untutored intuitions about the essential features of persons. Results showed that with age, children judged fewer mental and bodily states to be functional during prelife. However, children from both cultures continued to privilege the functionality of certain mental states (i.e., emotions, desires) relative to bodily states (i.e., biological, psychobiological, perceptual states). Results converge with afterlife research and suggest that there is an unlearned cognitive tendency to view emotions and desires as the eternal core of personhood.