Discuss the concepts of naive physics and biology. Be sure to both describe some of the common elements of thinking children use to differentiate living organism and inanimate objects. Also, describe the role of teleological explanations in this thought process

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The concept of naïve physics is that infants create a reasonably accurate theory of some basic properties of objects, a theory that helps them expect that objects such as toys will act in predictable ways. The concept of naïve biology is that children understand the specific properties associated with living things. (1) Movement: Children understand that animals can move themselves but that inanimate objects can be moved only by other objects or by people. (2) Growth: Children understand that animals get bigger and physically more complex but that inanimate objects do not change in this way. (3) Internal parts: Children know that the insides of animate objects contain different materials than the insides of inanimate objects. (4) Inheritance: Children realize that only living things have offspring that resemble their parents. (5) Illness: Preschoolers believe that relatively permanent conditions such as color blindness and food allergies are more likely to be inherited from parents but that temporary illnesses such as a sore throat and runny nose are more likely to be transmitted through contact with other people. (6) Healing: Children understand that when damaged, animate things heal by regrowth whereas inanimate things must be fixed by humans. A fundamental part of young children's theory of living things is a commitment to teleological explanations. Children believe that living things and parts of living things exist for a purpose.