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Children Seek Historical Traces of Owned Objects
Author(s) -
Gelman Susan A.,
Manczak Erika M.,
Was Alexandra M.,
Noles Nicholaus S.
Publication year - 2015
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.12453
Subject(s) - object (grammar) , psychology , representation (politics) , mental representation , developmental psychology , object permanence , cognitive psychology , cognition , cognitive development , artificial intelligence , computer science , politics , political science , law , neuroscience
An object's mental representation includes not just visible attributes but also its nonvisible history. The present studies tested whether preschoolers seek subtle indicators of an object's history, such as a mark acquired during its handling. Five studies with 169 children 3–5 years of age and 97 college students found that children (like adults) searched for concealed traces of object history, invisible traces of object history, and the absence of traces of object history, to successfully identify an owned object. Controls demonstrated that children (like adults) appropriately limit their search for hidden indicators when an owned object is visibly distinct. Altogether, these results demonstrate that concealed and invisible indicators of history are an important component of preschool children's object concepts.