ERIC Number: EJ1045741
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
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Available Date: N/A
What Will I Like Best When I'm All Grown Up? Preschoolers' Understanding of Future Preferences
Bélanger, Michèle J.; Atance, Cristina M.; Varghese, Anisha L.; Nguyen, Victoria; Vendetti, Corrie
Child Development, v85 n6 p2419-2431 Nov-Dec 2014
Three experiments investigated 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds' (N = 240) understanding that their future or "grown-up" preferences may differ from their current ones (self-future condition). This understanding was compared to children's understanding of the preferences of a grown-up (adult-now condition) or the grown-up preferences of a same-aged peer (peer-future condition). Children's performance across all three conditions improved significantly with age. Moreover, children found it significantly more difficult to reason about their own future preferences than they did to reason either about an adult's preferences or the future preferences of a peer. These results have important implications for theories about future thinking and perspective-taking abilities, more broadly.
Descriptors: Preschool Children, Futures (of Society), Preferences, Adults, Comparative Analysis, Age Differences, Logical Thinking, Perspective Taking
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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