Linked Life Data

8990973

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/8990973

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
1997-2-21
pubmed:abstractText
Research on children's causal thinking has emphasized the perception of temporal and spatial contiguity between cause and effect. However, our causal judgements often involve a contrast between a perceived sequence (A, then B) and a counterfactual case (in the absence of A, then not B). In three experiments, children's capacity for such counterfactual thinking was assessed. In Experiment I, children aged 3-5 years observed a sequence such as A causing B. Subsequently, they replied quite accurately to a question about a counterfactual sequence, for example: "What if A had not occurred, then B or not B?". In Experiment 2, children were asked about two counterfactual antecedents, one that would not have caused B, and one that (like the actual antecedent) would also have caused B. Children differentiated between the two types of antecedent. Finally, in Experiment 3, children heard stories in which the protagonist chose a course of action that led to a minor mishap (e.g., drawing with a black pen and getting inky fingers), having rejected an option that would have prevented it in experimental stories (e.g., using a pencil) or an option that would have led to an equivalent outcome in control stories (e.g., using a blue pen). Children aged 3 and 4 years often cited the failure to adopt another course of action as the cause of the mishap and, particularly in experimental stories, they focused on the rejection of the alternative option. Children's use of counterfactual thinking is discussed in relation to contemporary accounts of causal reasoning.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
C
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0010-0277
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
61
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
233-59
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1996
pubmed:articleTitle
Children's use of counterfactual thinking in causal reasoning.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't