Children’s evaluations of comparison use in teaching about novel animals
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: This project investigates whether 4- to 7-year-old children positively evaluate and prefer to learn from teachers who use familiar comparisons (e.g., comparing to a familiar referent) rather than unfamiliar comparisons (e.g., comparing to an unfamiliar referent) or no comparison at all. We additionally ask whether providing a comparison alone or a comparison with additional information impacts children’s evaluations. The study also examines whether children's evaluations depend on the amount of information provided about the animals. Children will be randomly assigned to either a Feature Rich condition, in which additional descriptive information about the animals will be provided, or a Feature Poor condition, in which only labels of the novel animals will be provided. By examining children's preferences across these different contexts, this study aims to better understand how children evaluate the usefulness of comparisons as a learning strategy and how they identify effective sources of information when learning about novel categories.
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7165556031