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Children's understanding of sleep and death: Implications of intentional persistence for theory of mind and the theory theory/simulation debate
Title
Children's understanding of sleep and death: Implications of intentional persistence for theory of mind and the theory theory/simulation debate.
Creator
Cormier, Christopher A., Florida Atlantic University, Bjorklund, David F.
Abstract/Description
Bering and Bjorklund (2004) reported that (1) the knowledge that conscious mental states cease with the onset of death (discontinuity reasoning, "DR") emerges developmentally; and (2) DR for some states (emotions, desire, epistemic) is more difficult than others (psychobiological, perceptual). In the current study, preschool/kindergarteners, 2nd/3 rd graders, 5th/6th graders and adults viewed a puppet story in which an anthropomorphized juvenile mouse character was explicitly enriched with a...
Show moreBering and Bjorklund (2004) reported that (1) the knowledge that conscious mental states cease with the onset of death (discontinuity reasoning, "DR") emerges developmentally; and (2) DR for some states (emotions, desire, epistemic) is more difficult than others (psychobiological, perceptual). In the current study, preschool/kindergarteners, 2nd/3 rd graders, 5th/6th graders and adults viewed a puppet story in which an anthropomorphized juvenile mouse character was explicitly enriched with a variety of mental states prior to falling asleep; the results were highly similar to those of Bering and Bjorklund. Statistical comparison of these data with those of Bering and Bjorklund demonstrates that DR for emotions, desires and epistemic contents is equally difficult for both death and sleep, and suggests the influence of both simulation and implicit theoretical factors. An evolved adaptation designed to maintain vigilance in the presence of immobile agents, but that also likely underlies intuitive dualism (intentional persistence) is proposed.
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Date Issued
2005
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13279
Subject Headings
Developmental psychology, Philosophy of mind in children, Cognition in children, Thought and thinking
Format
Document (PDF)
The effects of predatory status on developing understanding of mental state functioning subsequent to death
Title
The effects of predatory status on developing understanding of mental state functioning subsequent to death.
Creator
Cormier, Christopher A., Bjorklund, David F., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description
Bering and colleagues (2004, 2005) reported that the expectation that conscious mental states cease with the onset of death (discontinuity reasoning) emerges developmentally, and discontinuity reasoning for some states (emotions, desire, epistemic) remains lower than for others (psychobiological, perceptual). Cormier (2005) reported very similar findings for the context of sleep and proposed a modular explanation of these effects (“intentional persistence”) and suggested that intentional...
Show moreBering and colleagues (2004, 2005) reported that the expectation that conscious mental states cease with the onset of death (discontinuity reasoning) emerges developmentally, and discontinuity reasoning for some states (emotions, desire, epistemic) remains lower than for others (psychobiological, perceptual). Cormier (2005) reported very similar findings for the context of sleep and proposed a modular explanation of these effects (“intentional persistence”) and suggested that intentional persistence represents an evolved adaptation designed to maintain vigilance and behavioral preparedness while in the presence of animals of ambiguous agency status (e.g., death, sleep, hibernation, feigned death). The current study extended this line of research to realistic animal characters. Although results revealed patterns of discontinuity reasoning and intentional persistence that were consistent with those of previous studies, the prediction that intentional persistence would be more pronounced for predators was not fulfilled. A newly proposed evolutionary product, “Cooptation,” was introduced to further explain the results.
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Date Issued
2014
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004094
Subject Headings
Cognitive neuroscience, Developmental psychology, Mental representation, Philosophy of mind, Thought and thinking
Format
Document (PDF)