Animistic Thought in Young Children: Effects of Probing

Abstract

Piaget's norms for animistic thought have been criticized as too high. These critics have in turn been questioned for failing to obtain justifications for judgments. This study attempted to reconcile the differences between the two camps through a standardized questioning format which went a step beyond justification. Subjects, aged 3 to 6 yr., were given a task in which they judged the life qualities of a stimulus, justified their judgment, and judged again after being given an anomalous probe. Analysis indicated that younger children were unable to adhere to an original judgment when probed while older children were.