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10 months ago in Cognitive Development By Nirav

How do researchers measure decision-making and scientific reasoning in preschoolers?

Are there reliable scales or tools to assess decision-making and scientific reasoning in very young children?

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By Vipul Answered 5 months ago

Yes, but they look very different from adult “scales.” For decision-making, researchers usually use simple choice games where children pick between options and their patterns are observed. Scientific reasoning is commonly measured through hands-on tasks and guided interviews (like predicting whether objects sink or float), which reveal early hypothesis testing and causal thinking in an age-appropriate way.

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