Young children's learning and transfer of biological information from picture books to real animals.

Preschool children (N = 104) read a book that described and illustrated color camouflage in animals (frogs and lizards). Children were then asked to indicate and explain which of 2 novel animals would be more likely to fall prey to a predatory bird. In Experiment 1, 3- and 4-year-olds were tested with pictures depicting animals in camouflage and noncamouflage settings; in Experiment 2, 4-year-olds were tested with real animals. The results show that by 4 years of age, children can learn new biological facts from a picture book. Of particular importance, transfer from books to real animals was found. These findings point to the importance that early book exposure can play in framing and increasing children's knowledge about the world. © 2011 The Authors. Child Development © 2011 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Citation

Patricia A Ganea, Lili Ma, Judy S Deloache. Young children's learning and transfer of biological information from picture books to real animals. Child development. 2011 Sep-Oct;82(5):1421-33

Mesh Tags

PMID: 21679177

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