Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
The Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Child Dev. 2023 May;94(3):734-751. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13895. Epub 2023 Feb 8.
Why do infants and toddlers prefer helpers? Four experiments (conducted from 2019-2022; n = 136, 66% White, 15% Asian, 4% Black, 2% Hispanic/Latino, 13% multiracial, majority USA) investigated whether infants and toddlers favor agents whose actions allow others to achieve their goals. In the key experiment, 8-month-old infants and 15-month-old toddlers viewed a protagonist who tried and failed to open a box that contained a toy while two other agents (helpers) observed; then the toys were exchanged and the helpers opened different boxes. Infants and toddlers differently evaluated the two helpers, consistent with their developing means-end understanding. Together, the present four experiments connect infants' and toddlers' evaluations of helping to their understanding of goal-directed behavior.
为什么婴儿和幼儿更喜欢帮手？四项实验（2019-2022 年进行；n = 136，66%为白人，15%为亚洲人，4%为黑人，2%为西班牙裔/拉丁裔，13%为多种族，大多数来自美国）调查了婴儿和幼儿是否更喜欢那些行为可以让他人实现目标的代理人。在关键实验中，8 个月大的婴儿和 15 个月大的幼儿观看了一个主角试图打开一个装着玩具的盒子但失败了，而另外两个代理人（帮手）在观察；然后交换了玩具，助手们打开了不同的盒子。婴儿和幼儿对两个助手的评价不同，这与他们正在发展的目的手段理解一致。总的来说，这四项实验将婴儿和幼儿对帮助的评价与他们对目标导向行为的理解联系起来。
