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The trajectory of counterfactual simulation in development
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Kominsky, Jonathan F., Gerstenberg, Tobias, Pelz, Madeline, Sheskin, Mark, Singmann, Henrik, Schulz, Laura and Keil, Frank C. (2019) The trajectory of counterfactual simulation in development. In: 41st Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Montréal, Cananda, 24-27 Jul 2019. Published in: Proceedings of the 41st Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (Unpublished)
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Official URL: https://cognitivesciencesociety.org/program/
Abstract
Previous work has argued that young children do not answer counterfactual questions (e.g. “what would have happened?”) by constructing simulations of alternative possibilities in the way adults do. Here, we propose that children can engage in simulation when answering these questions, but consider different counterfactual possibilities than adults. While most previous research has relied on narrative stimuli, we use causal perception events, which are understood even in infancy. In Experiment 1, we replicate earlier findings that children struggle with counterfactual reasoning, but show that they are capable of conducting the required simulations in a prediction task. In Experiment 2, we use a novel multiple-choice method that allows us to study not only when children get it right, but also how they get it wrong. We find evidence that 4-year-olds engage in simulation, but preserve only some features of what actually happened and not others.
| Item Type: | Conference Item (Paper) | ||||||
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| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology L Education > LB Theory and practice of education |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Perception, Counterfactuals (Logic), Causation, Child development | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Proceedings of the 41st Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society | ||||||
| Publisher: | The Cognitive Science Society | ||||||
| Official Date: | 10 May 2019 | ||||||
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| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
| Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||
| Conference Paper Type: | Paper | ||||||
| Title of Event: | 41st Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society | ||||||
| Type of Event: | Conference | ||||||
| Location of Event: | Montréal, Cananda | ||||||
| Date(s) of Event: | 24-27 Jul 2019 | ||||||
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