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Ahl RE, Amir D, Keil FC. The world within: Children are sensitive to internal complexity cues. J Exp Child Psychol. 2020;200:104932doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104932.
Ahl, R. E., Amir, D., & Keil, F. C. (2020). The world within: Children are sensitive to internal complexity cues. Journal of experimental child psychology, 200104932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104932
Ahl, Richard E, et al. "The world within: Children are sensitive to internal complexity cues." Journal of experimental child psychology vol. 200 (2020): 104932. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104932
Ahl RE, Amir D, Keil FC. The world within: Children are sensitive to internal complexity cues. J Exp Child Psychol. 2020 Dec;200:104932. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104932. Epub 2020 Aug 09. PMID: 32783914.
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J Exp Child Psychol. 2020 Dec;200:104932. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104932. Epub 2020 Aug 09.

The world within: Children are sensitive to internal complexity cues.

Journal of experimental child psychology

Richard E Ahl, Dorsa Amir, Frank C Keil

Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  2. Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
  3. Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.

PMID: 32783914 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104932

Abstract

When reasoning about the mechanisms of complex entities, it is important to consider their internal parts. Previous research has shown that young children view "insides" as critical to how objects function. However, whether children hold specific expectations regarding complex objects' insides remains an open question. Here, children (n = 378) and adults (n = 124) made internal and causal complexity judgments regarding real-world objects. In Study 1, 5- and 6-year-olds, but not 4-year-olds, succeeded at internal complexity judgments and matched complex artifacts with complex insides. All age groups succeeded at causal complexity judgments and identified complex artifacts as causally complex. Study 2 tested whether the internal complexity cues of number/area, diversity, and connections of internal parts conveyed complexity to children. The 5-year-olds were sensitive only to number/area of internal parts as a complexity cue, but the older children and adults were sensitive to all three cues plus number of parts when controlling for area (Study 3). Despite limited exposure to insides, even young school-age children hold detailed and abstract expectations concerning internal complexity.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Artifacts; Causal reasoning; Insides; Mechanisms; Scientific education

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