Effects of probing children's phenomenistic explanations of cause and effect.

Berzonsky, Michael D.

doi:10.1037/h0030035

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…A second consideration has to do with whether or not subjects are required to explain their responses: "Why do you say that is not alive?" Berzonsky (1970) found significantly more nonnaturalistic re sponding in 6-year-olds when explanations were solicited than when they were not. (This latter condition is comparable to the one employed in the present investigation.)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

The Relationship between Children's Judgments of Animacy and Sentiency: Another Look

Berzonsky

Miller

Woody-Ramsey

et al. 1988

The Journal of Genetic Psychology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

The Relationship between Children's Judgments of Animacy and Sentiency: Another Look

Berzonsky

Miller

Woody-Ramsey

et al. 1988

The Journal of Genetic Psychology

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“…Rather, the majority of the children's explanations involved discussion of physical and natural mechanisms. Other researchers, however, have reported that it is common for children to use nonnaturalistic or magical explanations for unfamiliar events (Baldwin, 1955;Berzonsky, 1970Berzonsky, , 1971Nass, 1956;Russell, 1956). In this research, familiarity has been equated with knowledge of the underlying mechanism causing the event.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeing Is Believing: Children's Explanations of Commonplace, Magical, and Extraordinary Transformations

Rosengren¹,

Hickling²

1994

Child Development

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Children's magical explanations and beliefs were investigated in 2 studies. In Study 1, we first asked 4- and 5-year-old children to judge the possibility of certain object transformations and to suggest mechanisms that might accomplish them. We then presented several commonplace transformations (e.g., cutting a string) and impossible events (magic tricks). Prior to viewing these transformations, children suggested predominantly physical mechanisms for the events and judged the magical ones to be impossible. After seeing the impossible events, many 4-year-olds explained them as "magic," whereas 5-year-olds explained them as "tricks." In Study 2, we replaced the magic tricks with "extraordinary" events brought about by physical or chemical reactions (e.g., heat causing paint on a toy car to change color). Prior to viewing the "extraordinary" transformations, children judged them to be impossible. After viewing these events, 4-year-olds gave more magical and fewer physical explanations than did 5-year-olds. Follow-up interviews revealed that most 4-year-olds viewed magic as possible under the control of an agent (magician) with special powers, whereas most 5-year-olds viewed magic as tricks that anyone can learn. In a third study, we surveyed parents to assess their perceptions and conceptions of children's beliefs in magic and fantasy figures. Parents perceived their children as beliefs in magic and fantasy figures. Parents perceived their children as believing in a number of magic and fantasy figures and reported encouraging such beliefs to some degree. Taken together, these findings suggest that many 4-year-olds view magic as a plausible mechanism, yet reserve magical explanations for certain real world events which violate their causal expectations.

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“…Second, several methodological limitations may have led Piaget to underestimate children's abilities. Work following Piaget has found earlier competence in other areas with changes in wording (Nass, 1956), testing procedure (Berzonsky, 1970), and items (Berzonsky, 1971). However, no studies on artificialism that we know of tested children below school age, focused on object origins, or examined nonnatural causes to see if children can distinguish them from natural causes.…”

Section: Rationale For the Present Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Natural Cause: Children's Explanations of How Objects and Their Properties Originate

Gelman¹,

Kremer²

1991

Child Development

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An understanding of natural cause includes the realization that events can occur independently of human activity or intentions. It also often entails realizing that causal mechanisms can be nonobservable or nonobvious. The present research investigated to what extent children ages 4-7 have developed a concept of natural cause. Study 1 examined children's understandings of object origins (e.g., how the sun began); Study 2 probed children's causal understandings of object behaviors and properties (e.g., why rabbits hop and have long ears). In both studies, children by age 4 were sensitive to the natural kind-artifact distinction in their explanations. They mentioned human intervention for human-made artifacts but rarely for naturally occurring things. Moreover, subjects at all ages were able to identify specific kinds of natural cause, including intrinsic causes (such as growth) and inborn nature. Finally, subjects understood the link between nonobvious, internal parts and self-generated activity (e.g., that bones are important for the flight of a bird). Altogether, these results suggest that even preschool children realize that natural causes exist. They contradict Piaget's characterization of young children as artificialistic (believing that naturally occurring things are created by people) and as focused on observable properties.

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Effects of probing children's phenomenistic explanations of cause and effect.

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

The Relationship between Children's Judgments of Animacy and Sentiency: Another Look

The Relationship between Children's Judgments of Animacy and Sentiency: Another Look

Seeing Is Believing: Children's Explanations of Commonplace, Magical, and Extraordinary Transformations

Understanding Natural Cause: Children's Explanations of How Objects and Their Properties Originate

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