title: Variability is the norm in performance, but not in beliefs.
abstract: Do children have coexisting but contradictory beliefs about things like magic? Some patterns of behavior that seem to reflect contradictory beliefs may stem from children's recognition that their knowledge about events is incomplete and therefore things may occur without them understanding how. In addition, children may hold certain beliefs that are inconsistent with the rest of their knowledge in a way that is very much like the premises of a game of make-believe. These beliefs are recognized to be "not really true" but children act as if they were true under specific circumstances. It is concluded that children do not hold contradictory beliefs except in this special sense.
authors.affiliation: University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2430 Campus Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. csophian@hawaii.edu
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sophian
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D003071:Cognition; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans