Alvarez J M, Ruble D N, Bolger N
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York 10003, USA.
Child Dev. 2001 Sep-Oct;72(5):1409-25. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00356.
This study tested the hypothesis that in predicting the future behavior of an actor, older children rely on trait inferences, whereas younger children rely on global, evaluative inferences. Vignettes depicting actors engaging in trait-relevant behaviors were presented to 5- and 6-year-olds (N = 67) and 9- and 10-year-olds (N = 71). For each actor, children made predictions of future behavior, evaluated the goodness and badness of the actor, and rated each actor on a relevant trait. A mediational analysis found that the behavioral predictions of older children were mediated solely by trait ratings, whereas those of younger children were mediated by evaluative ratings. Furthermore, unlike older children, younger children made trait-like predictions only when they made an evaluation of the actor. These results suggest that young children utilize evaluative reasoning when making behavioral predictions, and therefore rely on an inferential process that is distinct from that of older children.
在预测一个行为者未来的行为时，年龄较大的儿童依赖特质推理，而年龄较小的儿童依赖整体的评价性推理。向5至6岁（N = 67）以及9至10岁（N = 71）的儿童呈现描述行为者做出与特质相关行为的短文。对于每个行为者，儿童要预测其未来行为，评价行为者的好坏，并根据相关特质对每个行为者进行评分。中介分析发现，年龄较大儿童的行为预测仅由特质评分介导，而年龄较小儿童的行为预测则由评价评分介导。此外，与年龄较大的儿童不同，年龄较小的儿童只有在对行为者进行评价时才会做出类似特质的预测。这些结果表明，年幼儿童在进行行为预测时会运用评价性推理，因此依赖于一种与年龄较大儿童不同的推理过程。
