"Robots and Rodents: Children's Inferences About Living and Nonliving K" by Jennifer L. Jipson and Susan A. Gelman
 

Abstract

This study tests the firm distinction children are said to make between living and nonliving kinds. Three, 4-, and 5-year-old children and adults reasoned about whether items that varied on 3 dimensions (alive, face, behavior) had a range of properties (biological, psychological, perceptual, artifact, novel, proper names). Findings demonstrate that by 4 years of age, children make clear distinctions between prototypical living and nonliving kinds regardless of the property under consideration. Even 3-year-olds distinguish prototypical living and nonliving kinds when asked about biological properties. When reasoning about nonbiological properties for the full range of items, however, even 5-year-olds and adults occasionally rely on facial features. Thus, the living/nonliving distinction may have more narrow consequences than previously acknowledged.

Disciplines

Psychology

Publisher statement

Published by Wiley-Blackwell.

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URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/psycd_fac/44