Understanding the intentions of others: Re-enactment of intended acts by 18-month-old children.

TLDR

Eighteen‑month‑old children already distinguish people from inanimate objects by attributing goals and intentions, treating people within a psychological framework that separates surface behavior from underlying intentions. The study examined whether 18‑month‑olds would re‑enact an adult’s actual behavior or the adult’s intended behavior. Experiment 1 presented children with an adult who attempted but failed to perform target acts, while control groups observed the full act or other controls; Experiment 2 used a mechanical device that replicated the adult’s movements to test whether children’s responses differed for inanimate agents. Children successfully inferred the adult’s intended act from the failed attempts but did not produce the target acts when the same movements were performed by a mechanical device, indicating sensitivity to human intention.

Abstract

Investigated was whether children would re-enact what an adult actually did or what the adult intended to do. In Experiment 1 children were shown an adult who tried, but failed, to perform certain target acts. Completed target acts were thus not observed. Children in comparison groups either saw the full target act or appropriate controls. Results showed that children could infer the adult's intended act by watching the failed attempts. Experiment 2 tested children's understanding of an inanimate object that traced the same movements as the person had followed. Children showed a completely different reaction to the mechanical device than to the person: They did not produce the target acts in this case. Eighteen-month-olds situate people within a psychological framework that differentiates between the surface behavior of people and a deeper level involving goals and intentions. They have already adopted a fundamental aspect of folk psychology-persons (but not inanimate objects) are understood within a framework involving goals and intentions.