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What makes the windows task difficult for young children: rule inference or rule use?
Andrew Simpson1, Kevin J Riggs, Muriel Simon
1Department of Psychology, London Metropolitan University, Old Castle Street, London, England E1 7NT, UK.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|February 6, 2004
Summary
Young children struggle with the windows task because they find it hard to infer the rule, not use it. This developmental psychology study shows rule inference is the main challenge for children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Development
- Child Psychology
Background:
- The windows task assesses children's ability to infer and use rules.
- This task involves understanding that pointing to an empty box wins a treat from the other box.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether difficulty in the windows task stems from inferring the rule or using it.
- To differentiate the cognitive demands of rule inference versus rule application in young children.
Main Methods:
- Compared 3.5-year-old children's performance on the standard windows task, a modified windows task (rule use without inference), and two day-night tasks (rule use without inference).
- Analyzed task performance and correlations to isolate cognitive requirements.
Main Results:
- Children demonstrated significant difficulty inferring the rule needed to succeed in the windows task.
- Children showed less difficulty applying a rule once it was understood, suggesting rule inference is the primary obstacle.
- Limited evidence indicated that inhibition is a major factor in the standard windows task.
Conclusions:
- The primary challenge for young children in the windows task is inferring the correct rule.
- Rule utilization and inhibition appear less problematic than the initial rule inference process for this age group.