Abstract:

Young children’s ability to accurately distinguish between improbable events and impossible events is important for individual cognitive development. To explore the effect of fantasy orientation and event types on young children’s reality judgments, a mixed experimental design of 2 (age group: 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds)×2 (fantasy orientation: high fantasy orientation, low fantasy orientation)×3 (event type: ordinary event, improbable event, impossible event) was used in this study. Results showed that: 6-year-olds were better at judging the reality of all three types of events than were 5-year-olds; children were better at judging the reality of ordinary and impossible events as compared to improbable events; children with low fantasy orientation performed better at judging the reality of events than those with high fantasy orientation; and children used more factual and hypothetical justifications when explaining ordinary events, and more redundant justifications when explaining impossible events. This study revealed that 5- and 6-year-old children have difficulty in judging the reality of improbable events, and older children and children with low fantasy orientation are better at judging the reality of events.

Key words: reality judgment, fantasy orientation, possibility judgments, young children

摘要：

幼儿准确区分低概率与不可能事件是个体认知发展的重要能力。本研究采用2(年龄：5岁、6岁)×2(虚幻倾向：高虚幻倾向、低虚幻倾向)×3(事件类型：日常事件、低概率事件、不可能事件)的混合实验设计探讨虚幻倾向与事件类型对幼儿真实性判断的影响。结果发现：6岁幼儿比5岁幼儿更善于判断三种事件的真实性；相比低概率事件，幼儿更善于判断日常与不可能事件；低虚幻倾向幼儿比高虚幻倾向幼儿在真实性判断上表现得更好；幼儿更多地使用事实性与假设性解释来解释日常事件，使用冗余性解释来解释不可能事件。研究揭示了5岁与6岁幼儿在判断低概率事件的真实性上有难度，且6岁幼儿与低虚幻倾向幼儿更善于真实性判断。

关键词: 真实性判断, 虚幻倾向, 可能性判断, 幼儿