Across 3 experiments, we found evidence that information about who owns an artifact influenced 5- to 10-year-old children's and adults' judgments about that artifact's primary function. Children's and adults' use of ownership information was underpinned by their inference that owners are typically familiar with owned artifacts and are therefore…

Examined whether and when children use information about others' mental states to invent or select persuasive strategies in three studies. Found older children, but not preschoolers, used belief information in stories to select arguments; and kindergartners' and first-graders' reasoning on false belief tasks suggested the failure to consider…

Five experiments examined children's use of eye gaze information for inferring another person's desire. Found that 4-year olds used another's eye direction to infer desires, while 3-year olds could use other nonverbal cues. Two- and 3-year olds used eye gaze for desire inference when presented dynamically with other scaffolding cues. When…