Episodic foresight beyond the very next event in 3 ‐ and 4‐year‐old children

Abstract Testing episodic foresight in children generally involves presenting them with a problem in one location (e.g., Room A) and, after a spending a delay in a different location, telling them they will be returning to Room A. Before they go, children are presented with a number of items, one of which will allow them to solve the problem in Room A. At around 3 to 4 years of age children display episodic foresight, selecting the item that will allow them to solve the problem. To date, however, no study has assessed whether 3‐ and 4‐year‐old children can plan beyond the very next event, selecting the correct item when there is a delay before returning to Room A. Here, we show that 3‐ and 4‐year‐old children can pass when a delay is imposed but that their performance is significantly worse than when they are planning for an immediate event.
Source: Developmental Psychobiology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: BRIEF REPORT Source Type: research