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Three- and 5-year-old children's understanding of how to dissolve a joint commitment.

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Date
2019-08
Authors
Kachel, Ulrike
Svetlova, Margarita
Tomasello, Michael
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Abstract
When young children form a joint commitment with a partner, they understand that this agreement generates obligations. In this study, we investigated whether young children understand that joint commitments, and their associated obligations, may likewise be dissolved by agreement. The participants (3- and 5-year-olds; N = 144) formed a joint commitment with a puppet to play a collaborative game. In one condition, the puppet asked permission to break off and the children agreed; in a second condition, the puppet notified the children of his or her leaving; and in a third condition, the puppet just left abruptly. Children at both ages protested more and waited longer for the puppet's return (and said that the puppet deserved scolding and no prize at the end) when the puppet left abruptly than in the other two conditions (with "asking permission" leading to the least protest of all). Overall, 3-year-olds protested more, and waited longer for the partner's return, than 5-year-olds. Preschool children understand that the obligations of a joint commitment may be dissolved by agreement or, to a lesser degree, by notification.
Type
Journal article
Subject
Collaboration
Cooperation
Joint action
Joint commitment
Preschoolers
Social cognition
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19169
Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/j.jecp.2019.03.008
Publication Info
Kachel, Ulrike; Svetlova, Margarita; & Tomasello, Michael (2019). Three- and 5-year-old children's understanding of how to dissolve a joint commitment. Journal of experimental child psychology, 184. pp. 34-47. 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.03.008. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19169.
This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Scholars@Duke

Svetlova

Margarita Lvovna Svetlova

Assistant Research Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.
Tomasello

Michael Tomasello

James F. Bonk Distinguished Professor
Major research interests in processes of social cognition, social learning, cooperation, and communication from developmental, comparative, and cultural perspectives. Current theoretical focus on processes of shared intentionality. Empirical research mainly with human children from 1 to 4 years of age and great apes.
Alphabetical list of authors with Scholars@Duke profiles.
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