In experiments involving more than 300 US and Chinese children, 18-48 months of age, Chinese 3-year-olds outperformed their US counterparts at inferring same-different relationships despite similar success among the youngest children from both countries, suggesting that declining performance in older US children is based on a learned bias and that the development of abstract thinking does not follow a universal trajectory but is instead influenced by cultural contexts.
Article #18-18365: "Context shapes early diversity in abstract thought," by Alexandra Carstensen et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Alexandra Carstensen, University of California, San Diego, CA; tel: 619-985-7634; e-mail: abcarstensen@stanford.edu; Caren Walker, University of California, San Diego, CA: tel: 607-761-8020; email: carenwalker@ucsd.edu
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