Moore C, Gilbert C, Sapp F
Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
J Child Lang. 1995 Oct;22(3):687-701. doi: 10.1017/s030500090001000x.
Two experiments examined the development of children's understanding of the difference between want and need. In experiment 1, children were tested on their knowledge that want represents an intrinsic desire whereas need represents an instrumental desire. Forty-five children between three and five years of age heard four stories in which one character encountered a problem, while another did not. A desirable object which could alleviate the problem was then introduced, and after both characters requested the object, the children were asked whether each character wants the object or needs it. Three-year-olds were unable to differentiate the two terms in such contexts, whereas four- and five-year-olds were significantly more likely to say that the character experiencing the problem needed the object, while the other wanted it. In experiment 2, 45 subjects between three and five years of age were tested on their understanding that a request employing need expresses a stronger desire than one employing want. Subjects were required to give an object to one of two characters, one of whom asked for it using need and the other using want. In this experiment, three-year-olds were equally likely to give the object to the character using want as to the one using need. Both four- and five-year-olds were significantly more likely to give the object to the character who used need. The results from these two experiments show that the understanding of the semantic and pragmatic difference between want and need develops at about four years of age.
两项实验考察了儿童对“想要”和“需要”之间差异理解的发展情况。在实验1中，测试儿童是否知道“想要”代表内在欲望，而“需要”代表工具性欲望。45名3至5岁的儿童听了四个故事，其中一个角色遇到了问题，而另一个没有。然后引入一个可以缓解问题的理想物体，在两个角色都请求得到该物体后，问儿童每个角色是想要这个物体还是需要它。3岁儿童在这种情境下无法区分这两个词，而4岁和5岁儿童更有可能说遇到问题的角色需要该物体，而另一个角色想要它。在实验2中，对45名3至5岁的受试者测试他们是否理解使用“需要”提出的请求比使用“想要”表达的欲望更强烈。受试者被要求把一个物体给两个角色中的一个，其中一个用“需要”来请求，另一个用“想要”来请求。在这个实验中，3岁儿童把物体给用“想要”的角色和给用“需要”的角色的可能性是一样的。4岁和5岁儿童把物体给用“需要”的角色的可能性明显更大。这两项实验的结果表明，对“想要”和“需要”之间语义和语用差异的理解大约在4岁时发展起来。
