Learning About Germs in a Global Pandemic: Children’s Knowledge and Avoidance of Contagious Illness Before and After COVID-19
Year: 2021
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The present research investigates how a global pandemic may be affecting children’s understanding of contagion. In Study 1, 130 parents (85.4% White, 6.9% Hispanic, 3.8% Asian, 3.8% Black) of children ages 3-9 described discussions surrounding contagion pre- and post-pandemic. Content of these discussions focused on risks and preventative behaviors rather than causal mechanisms of contagion. In Study 2, US children tested during the pandemic (ages 4-7, N=60, 51.7% males) were compared to a sample tested before the pandemic (ages 4-5, N=30, 50% males) on tasks of contagion-related declarative knowledge and causal reasoning. Greater declarative knowledge and causal reasoning in the pandemic sample suggests the effectiveness of informal learning experiences in young children.
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4205556100