Social Pragmatics: Preschoolers Rely on Commonsense Psychology to Resolve Referential Underspecification

• Jara-Ettinger, Julian ^[1] ; Floyd, Sammy ^[2] ; Huey, Holly ^[3] ; Tenenbaum, Joshua B. ^[4] ; Schulz, Laura E. ^[4]
  1. [1] Yale University

     Yale University

     Town of New Haven, Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] Princeton University

     Princeton University

     Estados Unidos

     
  3. [3] University of California, San Diego

     University of California, San Diego

     Estados Unidos

     
  4. [4] MIT

  Mostrar afiliaciones +
• Localización: Child development, ISSN 0009-3920, Vol. 91, Nº. 4, 2020, págs. 1135-1149
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Four experiments show that 4- and 5-year-olds (total N = 112) can identify the referent of underdetermined utterances through their Naïve Utility Calculus?an intuitive theory of people?s behavior structured around an assumption that agents maximize utilities. In Experiments 1?2, a puppet asked for help without specifying to whom she was talking (?Can you help me??). In Experiments 3?4, a puppet asked the child to pass an object without specifying what she wanted (?Can you pass me that one??). Children?s responses suggest that they considered cost trade-offs between the members in the interaction. These findings add to a body of work showing that reference resolution is informed by commonsense psychology from early in childhood.