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Explain This, Explore That: A Study of Parent–Child Interaction in a Children's Museum
Author(s) -
Willard Aiyana K.,
Busch Justin T.A.,
Cullum Katherine A.,
Letourneau Susan M.,
Sobel David M.,
Callanan Maureen,
Legare Cristine H.
Publication year - 2019
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.13232
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , psychological intervention , task (project management) , social psychology , psychiatry , management , economics
Parents visiting a gear exhibit at a children's museum were instructed to encourage their children ( N = 65; ages 4–6) to explain, explore, or engage as usual. Instructions led to different patterns of play at the exhibit: Encouragement to explain led to greater discussion of gear mechanisms, whereas encouragement to explore led to more time connecting gears. In the explain condition, parents’ questions predicted their children's discussion and further testing of gears. Questions also predicted the amount of time children spent on a follow‐up task. Parents’ exploration predicted an increase in exploration by their children. These data indicate that minimal interventions impact parent–child interaction at a museum exhibit and that prompts to explore or explain uniquely influence parent and child behavior.