Representational momentum in displacement tasks: Relative object weight matters in toddlers’ search behavior

Abstract

Various developmental studies have demonstrated that implied object weight is a key variable in children’s interpretations of motion, such as predicting the objects’ speeds. An additional bias in predictions of object motion is representational momentum (RM), where objects are anticipated to be found in a location farther along in the direction of motion from where they actually are. The present study aimed to evaluate when children begin to be sensitive to relative weight in a RM-related search task. Toddlers ( N = 60) aged 2, 2½ and 3 years first visually and manually experienced a heavy ball, a light ball, or both balls at the same time. They then watched one of the balls roll down a ramp and behind a screen with four doors, with a visible barrier placed along the ramp in various positions that would stop the ball’s motion, after which the toddlers were allowed to search for the ball by opening one of the doors. Search accuracy generally increased with age but the accuracy also depended on condition. Relative heaviness in particular led to reduced search accuracy. Further analyses revealed relative heaviness to lead to more searches farther beyond the barrier, adding to the expected RM effect.

Moving attention along the mental number line in preschool age: Study of the operational momentum in 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children's non‐symbolic arithmetic

“…Arithmetic operations are represented as moving of attentional focus along mental number line from the first operand position and proportionally to the second operand, but ‘overshooting’ the expected outcome position. This resembles the phenomenon of 'representational momentum' observed in adults and young children (Freyd & Finke, 1984; Hast, 2019; Hubbard, Matzenbacher, & Davis, 1999) whereby the expected final position of the moving (or apparently moving) object is typically overestimated in the direction of movement. Per analogiam , addition moves attention along the number line toward larger numbers and the 'momentum' of this movement produces overestimation bias, whereas subtraction directs attention toward smaller numbers, and the 'momentum' produces underestimation bias (cf.…”

Acquisition of naïve and scientific conceptions: How linguistic context matters in Singaporean children’s understanding of “animal”

“…Allen's (2015) study on toddlers illustrates this by showing that 3-yearolds appear to possess a slightly less archetypal definition of "animal" than 5-year-olds do. This also coincides with the suggestion that the explicit formation of scientific misconceptions begins to show first signs before 3 years of age, and that the development of language plays a key role in the generation of such conceptions (Hast, 2018(Hast, , 2019Mandler, 2004). Beyond this early stage, a range of studies in different linguistic contexts have demonstrated there is subsequently no single definition for the "animal" category in later development.…”

“…This seems to be in line with the suggestion that more restrictive archetypal scientific definitions begin to emerge at around 3 to 4 years of age (cf. Hast, 2018Hast, , 2019Mandler, 2004). The older children's significantly improved performance can be associated with educational experience as their testing occurred after having been taught about animals in school, as per the national syllabus in Singapore (MOE, 2014).…”

The Formation of Scientific Conceptions in Early Childhood: A Result of “Over”-Development?

“…Children exhibit a wide range of ideas regarding the functioning of the world (Hast, 2020a;Hast & Howe, 2012). These ideas emerge early in their developmental trajectory, typically surfacing by the age of 3 years (see e.g., Hast, 2018Hast, , 2019Povinelli et al, 2012). Notably, it remains a well-established observation that changing such conceptions continues to pose challenges, even for educators themselves (Hast, 2017).…”