Children understand important regularities about intentional behavior from a very young age. However, even three year olds make some mistakes when it comes to interpreting whether or not a behavior is intentional

Question

Describe one finding that demonstrates young children's precocious understanding of intentional behavior and one finding that demonstrates that even three-year-old children do not have a fully developed understanding of intentional behavior.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Fourteen-month-old toddlers are more likely to imitate an adults' action if the action is marked as intentional ("There!") than if the action is marked as unintentional ("Whoops!"). Additionally, eighteen-month-old toddlers imitate the actions of an adult who tries to achieve something (e.g., push a button with a stick), even if they fail. However, three-year-old children often confuse mistakes or reflexes with intentional behavior. For example, after being hit with a reflex hammer and performing the reflexive knee-jerk movement, three-year-old children claimed that they meant to move their leg. In general, three-year-olds often assume that an action is intentional if it leads to positive outcomes.