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- Title
Development of Teleological Explanations in Peruvian Quechua-Speaking and U.S. English-Speaking Preschoolers and Adults.
- Authors
Sánchez Tapia, Ingrid; Gelman, Susan A.; Hollander, Michelle A.; Manczak, Erika M.; Mannheim, Bruce; Escalante, Carmen
- Abstract
<bold>Unlabelled: </bold>Teleological reasoning involves the assumption that entities exist for a purpose (giraffes have long necks for reaching leaves). This study examines how teleological reasoning relates to cultural context, by studying teleological reasoning in 61 Quechua-speaking Peruvian preschoolers (Mage = 5.3 years) and adults in an indigenous community, compared to 72 English-speaking U.S. preschoolers (Mage = 4.9 years) and university students. Data were responses to open-ended "why" questions ("Why is that mountain tall?"). Teleological explanations about nonliving natural kinds were more frequent for children than adults, and for Quechua than U.S.<bold>Participants: </bold>However, changes with age were importantly distinct from differences corresponding to cultural variation. Developmental and cultural differences in teleological explanations may reflect causal analysis of the features under consideration.
- Subjects
PERU; UNITED States; TELEOLOGY; PRESCHOOL children; CHILDREN; QUECHUA children; CHILD development; COMPARATIVE studies; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL cooperation; RESEARCH; THOUGHT &; thinking; ETHNOLOGY research; EVALUATION research
- Publication
Child Development, 2016, Vol 87, Issue 3, p747
- ISSN
0009-3920
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1111/cdev.12497