1996
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01726.x
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Abstract: 4 studies investigated the broad claim that preschoolers understand biological inheritance. In Study 1, 4-7-year-old children were told a story in which a boy was born to one man and adopted by another. The biological father was described as having one set of features (e.g., green eyes) and the adoptive father as having another (e.g., brown eyes). Subjects were asked which man the boy would resemble when he grew up. Preschoolers showed little understanding that selective chains of processes mediate resemblance… Show more

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Cited by 91 publications
(92 citation statements)
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“…For example, preschoolers are less selective in their essentialist thinking than older children and adults. They tend to overestimate similarity to birth parents and underestimate environmental influences when attributing properties in a switched-at-birth task, whereas older children and adults are more likely to differentiate between physical properties (e.g., hair color or height) and psycho-behavioral properties (e.g., being good at math or believing in an afterlife), attributing the former to "nature" and the latter to "nurture" (Solomon, Johnson, Zaitchik, & Carey, 1996;Taylor, 1996;Taylor, Rhodes, & Gelman, 2009). Likewise, younger children tend to project a wide range of properties based on taxonomic category membership, whereas older children and adults restrict taxonomic inferences to intrinsic properties (Coley, 2012).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…For example, preschoolers are less selective in their essentialist thinking than older children and adults. They tend to overestimate similarity to birth parents and underestimate environmental influences when attributing properties in a switched-at-birth task, whereas older children and adults are more likely to differentiate between physical properties (e.g., hair color or height) and psycho-behavioral properties (e.g., being good at math or believing in an afterlife), attributing the former to "nature" and the latter to "nurture" (Solomon, Johnson, Zaitchik, & Carey, 1996;Taylor, 1996;Taylor, Rhodes, & Gelman, 2009). Likewise, younger children tend to project a wide range of properties based on taxonomic category membership, whereas older children and adults restrict taxonomic inferences to intrinsic properties (Coley, 2012).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…When asked if the second and third animals shared the first animal's characteristic, children attributed the characteristic to the baby more frequently than to the friend. However, Solomon et al (1996) argued that such evidence indicates that young children understand that offspring resemble their parents, but does not necessarily demonstrate that children understand biological inheritance. experience.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Carey and colleagues (Carey, 1985(Carey, , 1988Solomon, Johnson, Zaitchik, & Carey, 1996) have argued that young children (a) do not recognize biology as a distinct and coherent conceptual domain, and (b) do not understand inheritance as the biological transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring. According to this view, young children recognize family resemblance (i.e., children expect offspring to resemble their parents), but do not understand resemblance as resulting from a biological causes, rather than social or environmental conditions.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
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