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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
14:38
Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
Published on: November 2, 2012
Early understanding of perception as a source of knowledge
1University of Minnesota, Center for Research in Learning, Perception, and Cognition, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|February 1, 1989
Summary
Preschool children understand that seeing an object leads to knowing its properties. By age three, children grasp that perception is a key source of knowledge.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Theory of Mind
- Epistemology
Background:
- Preschool children's understanding of others' mental states is crucial for social interaction.
- Investigating children's ability to infer knowledge based on perceptual experience provides insight into early theory of mind development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine preschool children's ability to infer another person's knowledge based on their perceptual experience.
- To determine the age at which children understand perception as a source of knowledge.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted with preschool children (ages 3 and 4).
- Children were questioned about their own and a puppet's knowledge and perceptual access to hidden objects.
- Children identified which puppet, having seen a hidden object, would know its properties.
Main Results:
- Three- and 4-year-olds correctly attributed knowledge and perceptual experience to individuals who had viewed a hidden object.
- Children demonstrated an understanding that not seeing an object results in ignorance.
- Children accurately identified the puppet with perceptual experience as the one who could report the object's color.
Conclusions:
- Understanding perception as a source of knowledge is present by age 3.
- These findings support the early development of theory of mind, specifically the link between perception and knowledge acquisition.
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