Open AccessChildren’s Perception of Animacy: Social Attributions to Moving Figures
Author(s) -
Ruth Hofrichter,
Megan E. Mueller,
M. D. Rutherford
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
perception
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.619
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1468-4233
pISSN - 0301-0066
DOI - 10.1177/03010066211010142
Subject(s) - animacy , attribution , psychology , perception , cognitive psychology , affect (linguistics) , developmental psychology , social psychology , communication , neuroscience
Adults describe abstract shapes moving in a goal-directed manner using animate terms. This study tested which variables affect school-aged children's descriptions of moving geometrical shapes. Children aged 5 to 9 years were shown displays of interacting geometrical shapes and were asked to describe them. Across participants, instructions, number of moving figures, whether a figure caught another, and complexity of the scene were manipulated. Nine-year-olds used significantly more animate phrases than 5-year-olds. Furthermore, we found an Age by Condition interaction. Five-year-olds made significantly more animate statements in the animate condition, while 7-year-olds and 9-year-olds were less affected by instructions. Scene complexity increased children's use of animate phrases. Number of agents present on the screen and whether a catch occurred did not impact children's animate attributions. Our results support the hypothesis that children, like adults, are attuned to animacy cues and describe chasing agents in animate terms.