Positive valence increases children's teleological explanations of natural events

Children frequently explain the world using teleological reasoning, which is the assumption that things happen for a purpose. However, it is unclear if such reasoning is applied equally across domains, or how contextual characteristics such as valence might influence children's explanatory choices. In this study, we examined 5- to 7-year-old's teleological preferences for explaining events in nature (e.g., a tree shedding its leaves), and we investigated if valence affected children's endorsement of teleological versus physical-causal explanations. Overall, children showed a clear preference for physical-causal explanations of natural events. Although less common, endorsements of teleological explanations did vary significantly by age and valence with five-year-olds showing a stronger preference for teleological explanations than seven-year-olds and positive teleological explanations being preferred over negative or neutral ones. These findings diverge from children's broad teleological tendencies observed in other domains (e.g., living organisms, artifacts, natural objects) and support a nuanced view of teleology that can be sensitive to domain and context. These results have important implications for science education, suggesting that children may be receptive to science-based explanations of some natural phenomena from an early age.