Abstract
Young children are at risk for poisoning and choking accidents. We examined two potential cognitive bases for the ingestion of inappropriate objects—children's understanding of the nature of deceptive and nondeceptive objects, and a confusion between the appearance and reality of objects. Forty-eight 3- to 5-year-olds were presented with nondeceptive (common food and nonfood objects) and deceptive (e.g., a magnet that looks like candy) objects. For each of 18 objects, children were asked what the object looks like, what the object really is, and whether it is okay to eat. Four- and 5-year-olds clearly understood the edibleness of nondeceptive objects, but 3-year-olds did not. Deceptive objects were problematic for all ages, with correct judgments being made only about 50% of the time. Correctly distinguishing between the appearance and reality of deceptive objects was related strongly to correct edibleness judgments.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
