Department of Psychology and Human Development's fortnightly research seminars
13 October 2011
13:00 to 14:00 , Nunn Hall
Dr Sarah Beck, University of Birmingham
Making tools isn't child's play: physical cognition and problem solving in young children.
Recent research with non-human animals suggests that tool making might be a mark of intelligence, potentially involving flexibility, planning and imagination. Despite a wealth of evidence that young children are extremely competent tool users, psychologists have neglected the question of whether children can make tools. I will present data from a series of experiments in which children had to make a simple tool to solve a task. We found that tool manufacture (making a tool having seen a demonstration) was remarkably easy even for 3-4 year olds, whereas tool innovation (making a novel tool without demonstration) was near impossible for 3-5 year olds. It was not until children were 8 years old.
For further information please contact Yvonne Griffiths : y.griffiths@ioe.ac.uk