Causal Learning Across Culture and Socioeconomic Status. Issue 3 (23rd August 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wente, Adrienne O.; Kimura, Katherine; Walker, Caren M.; Banerjee, Nirajana; Fernández Flecha, María; MacDonald, Bridget; Lucas, Christopher; Gopnik, Alison
• Is Part Of: Child development. Volume 90:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 859
• Page End: 875
• Publication Date: 2017-08-23
• Subjects: Child development -- Periodicals; Child psychology -- Periodicals; Child Development -- Periodicals; Child Development; Pediatrics -- Periodicals; Pedicatrics; 305.231
• DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12943
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-3920

Abstract

Abstract : Extensive research has explored the ability of young children to learn about the causal structure of the world from patterns of evidence. These studies, however, have been conducted with middle‐class samples from North America and Europe. In the present study, low‐income Peruvian 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds and adults, low‐income U.S. 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds in Head Start programs, and middle‐class children from the United States participated in a causal learning task ( N = 435). Consistent with previous studies, children learned both specific causal relations and more abstract causal principles across culture and socioeconomic status (SES). The Peruvian children and adults generally performed like middle‐class U.S. children and adults, but the low‐SES U.S. children showed some differences.