RESUMEN
The invention of imaginary worlds ("paracosms") is a creative activity of middle childhood that has previously been investigated primarily with retrospective adult reports and biographical accounts. In descriptions collected from 8- to 12-year-old children, the prevalence was 16.9% in Study 1 (n = 77) and 17.4% in Study 2 (n = 92). Children with and without paracosms did not differ in verbal comprehension, divergent thinking (Studies 1 and 2) or working memory (Study 2). However, children with paracosms had more difficulty with inhibitory control (Study 2) and had higher creativity scores on a story-telling task (Studies 1 and 2). Paracosms provided a vehicle for stories associated with imaginary companions and/or for developing complex narratives alone or with friends.
Asunto(s)
Desarrollo Infantil/fisiología , Comprensión/fisiología , Creatividad , Imaginación/fisiología , Inhibición Psicológica , Memoria a Corto Plazo/fisiología , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , MasculinoRESUMEN
Children's math learning (N = 217; Mage = 4.87 years; 63% European American, 96% college-educated families) from an intelligent character game was examined via social meaningfulness (parasocial relationships [PSRs]) and social contingency (parasocial interactions, e.g., math talk). In three studies (data collected in the DC area: 12/2015-10/2017), children's parasocial relationships and math talk with the intelligent character predicted quicker, more accurate math responses during virtual game play. Children performed better on a math transfer task with physical objects when exposed to an embodied character (Study 2), and when the character used socially contingent replies, which was mediated by math talk (Study 3). Results suggest that children's parasocial relationships and parasocial interactions with intelligent characters provide new frontiers for 21st century learning.
Asunto(s)
Dibujos Animados como Asunto , Aprendizaje/fisiología , Matemática/educación , Juegos de Video , Dibujos Animados como Asunto/psicología , Niño , Desarrollo Infantil/fisiología , Preescolar , Comunicación , Comprensión/fisiología , Estudios de Factibilidad , Femenino , Amigos/psicología , Humanos , Inteligencia , Relaciones Interpersonales , Pruebas del Lenguaje , Masculino , Apego a Objetos , Juego e Implementos de Juego/psicología , Interfaz Usuario-Computador , Juegos de Video/psicología , Realidad VirtualRESUMEN
This research investigated children's ability to recognize gaps in their knowledge and seek missing information from appropriate informants. In Experiment 1, forty-five 4- and 5-year-olds were adept in assigning questions from 3 domains (medicine, firefighting, and farming) to corresponding experts (doctor, firefighter, or farmer). However, when given the options of answering the same questions themselves or assigning them to an expert (Experiment 2), only 6-year-olds were consistently able to recognize when they did not know answers and then assign test questions correctly. Four- and 5-year-olds tended to overestimate their own knowledge or assign questions to the wrong expert. This result was replicated in Experiment 3, in which 5-year-olds were given incentives for correct answers.