How do children and adults perceive teleological thinking? -The adaptive values of children\'s teleological thinking-
AUTHOR : 신혜은,최경숙
INFORMATION : page. 53~68 / 2008 Vol.15 No.2
ABSTRACT
Teleological thinking assumes that objects or events occur for a purpose. Such thinking is not only a central component of children in the pre-operational period but is also a common feature of adults\' everyday psychological and biological thought. This study examined the perception of children and adults in relation to children\'s teleological thinking and finds adaptive values of preoperational thinking which have been considered as an example of cognitive immaturity. Ninety 3rd graders, sixty 6th graders, and ninety one adults were given a set of questionnaires with two scenarios describing a teleological child and non-teleological child. Participants were then to select which child that best reflected each of 10 different psychological characteristics, which were organized into five constructs: cute, sneaky, dependent, creative, and intelligent and to select one child who they want to stay with. We hypothesized that the child displaying teleological explanations would be judged as more cute, less sneaky, more dependent, more creative, and less intelligent than those displaying logical and scientific explanations, reflecting an adaptive advantage of teleological intuition for young children. Our results revealed that there were some similarities between child and adult perceptions toward child\'s teleological thinking although there were some differences with age groups. It also showed that children\'s teleological explanations might have an adaptive role in socio-emotional contexts. The implication of this research for notions of a teleological stance were discussed from the perspective of evolutionary development.