Which object is about to fall? Development of young children's intuitive knowledge about physical support relations as assessed in an active search task

• Published in: European journal of developmental psychology Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 56 - 70
• Main Authors: Krist, Horst, Krüger, Markus, Buttelmann, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hove Routledge 02.01.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Action planning; active measure; Children & youth; cognitive development; early competencies; intuitive physics; naive statics
• ISSN: 1740-5629; 1740-5610
• DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2018.1536606

Previous studies measuring looking-time suggested that already infants possess intuitive knowledge about physical support. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether children were able to apply this knowledge in an active search task. Two- to five-year-olds (N = 105) were presented with pairs of identical blocks positioned on the left- and right-hand side of an elevated platform with only one of the blocks sufficiently supported. At test, one of the blocks fell into one of two chutes adjacent to the platform out of children's view. Children's task was to retrieve the block they thought had fallen. Results revealed that while children aged 3 years or older searched reliably in the correct chute with symmetrically-shaped blocks, only 4- and 5-year-olds did so with asymmetrical blocks. Thus, intuitions about support do not appear to become accessible in action before children can use them to make verbal predictions.