Pedagogically instructed preschoolers perform fewer kinds of actions and discover fewer non-demonstrated functions of a novel toy than children in non-pedagogical conditions¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2011 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Children in the Pedagogical condition performed fewer different kinds of actions on the toy than children in the Interrupted, Naive, or Baseline conditions. → Bonawitz Elizabeth 2011 q3 i? Children in the Pedagogical condition discovered fewer non-demonstrated target functions during free play than children in the other conditions. → Bonawitz Elizabeth 2011 (2)

Evidence¶

Bonawitz Elizabeth 2011¶

Bonawitz Elizabeth, Shafto Patrick, Gweon Hyowon, Goodman Noah D., Spelke Elizabeth, Schulz Laura. (2011). The Double-edged Sword of Pedagogy: Instruction limits spontaneous exploration and discovery. Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.10.001

q3 · i? · causal · r2

In Experiment 1's free-play coding, unique action kinds performed on the four-affordance toy were compared across the four conditions via planned linear contrast; the Pedagogical group performed "fewer different kinds of actions," F(1,81)=9.39, p<0.01. The effect held when only the first 60 seconds of play were analyzed (F(1,81)=7.18, p<0.05).

"Children in the Pedagogical condition also performed fewer different kinds of actions on the toy (M=4.00) than children in the Interrupted (M=5.30), Naïve (M=5.90) or Baseline (M=6.15) conditions, F(1,81)=9.39, p<0.01)."

Bonawitz Elizabeth 2011 (2)¶

Bonawitz Elizabeth, Shafto Patrick, Gweon Hyowon, Goodman Noah D., Spelke Elizabeth, Schulz Laura. (2011). The Double-edged Sword of Pedagogy: Instruction limits spontaneous exploration and discovery. Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.10.001

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Experiment 1 scored discovery of the three non-demonstrated functions (light, music, mirror) on a 0–3 scale during free play. The Pedagogical condition "discovered fewer of these target functions" than all three non-pedagogical conditions, F(1,81)=4.58, p<0.05.

"Children in the Pedagogical condition discovered fewer of these target functions (M=0.72) than children in the Interrupted (M=1.3), Naïve (M=1.2), or Baseline (M=1.15) conditions, F(1,81)=4.58, p<0.05."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Preschoolers given a pedagogical demonstration of a toy function play for less time than children in interrupted, naive, or baseline conditions — related
• Preschoolers constrain exploration after direct instruction and after overhearing instruction to another child, but not after overhearing instruction to an adult or a non-pedagogical intentional action — related
• Children structure their play to reduce uncertainty and deconfound causal variables — related