Premium
Preschool children's understanding of the desire and knowledge constraints on intended action
Author(s) -
Joseph Robert M.,
TagerFlusberg Helen
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1348/026151099165249
Subject(s) - psychology , ignorance , action (physics) , perception , cognition , outcome (game theory) , social cognition , developmental psychology , social psychology , cognitive psychology , social knowledge , epistemology , philosophy , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , physics , mathematics , mathematical economics
In two experiments, 3‐, 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds were tested on their ability to distinguish between intended and unintended actions on the basis of the agent's desire (wanting vs. not wanting the outcome) and/or the agent's knowledge state (having vs. not having the relevant knowledge to intend the outcome). Whereas all age groups had little difficulty imputing intention on the basis of desire, only about one‐half of 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds were able to impute intention on the basis of knowledge; mastery of this latter aspect of intention understanding was not in place until after the age of 5 years. Within‐subjects analyses confirmed these findings fully, and also showed that children were able to attribute ignorance and false beliefs on the basis of a lack of perceptual access before they were able to make judgments of intent on the basis of an agent's knowledge state. The relative lag in young children's appreciation of the knowledge constraints on intended actions is discussed in terms of cognitive, linguistic and social factors.