Can children resist making interpretations when uncertain?
In two experiments, we examined young children's ability to delay a response to ambiguous input. In Experiment 1, 5- and 6-year-olds performed as poorly when they needed to choose between basing an interpretation on ambiguous input and delaying an interpretation as when making explicit evaluations of knowledge, whereas 7- and 8-year-olds found the former task easy. In Experiment 2, 5- and 6-year-olds performed well on a task that required delaying a response but removed the need to decide between strategies. We discuss children's difficulty with ambiguity in terms of the decision-making demands made by different procedures. These demands appear to cause particular problems for young children.
Beck
Sarah R
SR
School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. s.r.beck@bham.ac.uk
Robinson
Elizabeth J
EJ
Freeth
Megan M
MM
D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003210:Concept Formation; D003463:Cues; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D018187:Personal Construct Theory; D011340:Problem Solving