ABSTRACT

Understanding that hypothesis testing is aimed at seeking information rather than producing desirable outcomes is indispensable for designing informative experiments. This study investigated the developmental course of information seeking compared to producing an effect in young children. In a between-subjects design, 4- to 6-year-olds (N = 109) were presented with the same pattern of events and asked to choose an intervention to either seek information on whether a hypothesis is right or produce an effect. The results revealed a developmental change between 4 and 6 years of age. From 5.5 years and onwards, children selectively chose the correct interventions in both conditions, whereas 4- and younger 5-year-olds did not. Contrary to the general view that producing desirable outcomes developmentally precedes engaging in information seeking, the present findings indicate that they follow a similar developmental line in the early childhood years.

摘要

理解假设检验的目的是寻找信息而不是产生理想的结果对于设计信息丰富的实验是必不可少的。这项研究调查了幼儿信息寻求的发展过程与产生影响的比较。在受试者间设计中，4 至 6 岁的儿童 ( N = 109）被呈现相同的事件模式，并被要求选择一种干预措施，以寻求有关假设是否正确或产生效果的信息。结果显示4岁至6岁之间出现了发育变化。从 5.5 岁起，儿童在这两种情况下都会选择性地选择正确的干预措施，而 4 岁及 5 岁以下的孩子则不会。一般观点认为，在发展过程中产生理想的结果先于信息寻求，但目前的研究结果表明，他们在儿童早期遵循类似的发展路线。