Article
Effects of context on judgments concerning the reality status of novel entities.
Child Development
(2006)
Abstract
Three studies examined the effects of context on decisions about the reality status of novel entities. In Experiment 1 (144, 3- to 5-year-olds), participants less often claimed that novel entities were real when they were introduced in a fantastical than in a scientific context. Experiment 2 (61, 4- to 5-year-olds) revealed that defining novel entities with reference to scientific entities had a stronger effect on reality status judgments than did hearing scientifically oriented stories before encountering the novel entities. The results from Experiment 3 (192, 3- to 6-year-olds) indicated that definitions that support inferences facilitate reality status judgments more than do definitions that simply associate novel and familiar entities. These findings demonstrate that children share with adults an important means of assessing reality status.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2006
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00973.x
Citation Information
J D Woolley and Jennifer Van Reet. "Effects of context on judgments concerning the reality status of novel entities." Child Development Vol. 77 Iss. 6 (2006) p. 1778 - 1793 ISSN: 0009-3920 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jennifer-vanreet/14/