Children aged 2-4 infer causal structure from covariation and use it to design effective interventions¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2–r3 · q2–q3
Currency · newest study 2012 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds used patterns of covariation between objects and a machine's activation to infer the machine's causal structure and to design interventions that made it go or stop. → Gopnik 2012 q2 i? Infants as young as 16 months show similar abilities to infer causation from covariation. → Gopnik 2012 (2)

Evidence¶

Gopnik 2012¶

Gopnik, A., & Wellman, H. M. (2012). Reconstructing constructivism: Causal models, Bayesian learning mechanisms and the theory theory. Psychological Bulletin, 138(6), 1085-1108. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028044

q3 · i? · review · r3

In Gopnik et al. (2001) blicket-detector experiments, children observed which object combinations activated the machine and were then asked to design an intervention. Children added or removed only the causally relevant block, going beyond association as the interventionist account predicts.

"2-, 3- and 4-year-olds could use the pattern of covariation between the blocks and the machine’s activation to infer the causal structure of the machine. Then they could use that causal knowledge to figure out how to make the machine go or stop."

Gopnik 2012 (2)¶

Gopnik, A., & Wellman, H. M. (2012). Reconstructing constructivism: Causal models, Bayesian learning mechanisms and the theory theory. Psychological Bulletin, 138(6), 1085-1108. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028044

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports, citing Gweon and Schulz (2011), covariation-based causal inference in 16-month-old infants, extending the finding below the preschool ages tested in the blicket studies.

"Gweon and Schulz (2011) found similar abilities to infer causation from covariation in infants as young as 16 months."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

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