Development of beliefs about storybook reality Jacqueline D. Woolley The University of Texas

Is it real?

The credulity view “ Children are especially credulous, especially gullible, especially prone toward acceptance and belief…” (Gilbert, 1991, p. 111) “Children are naturally credulous… it is easy to see why natural selection… might penalize an experimental and skeptical turn of mind and favor simple credulity in children” (Dawkins, 1995, p ).

Children and storybooks “Any time children share a book about an experience that they have not personally had, or about a place they have not been, they are undoubtedly learning something new about the world.” VanKleeck (2003) How do children make sure they’re learning about the real world?

3 questions 1. What do children believe about the reality status of characters and events in storybooks? 2. How do children reason about the reality status of novel entities in storybooks? 3. How do parents talk to children about novel entities in storybooks?

Study 1: 3 types of book Realistic (e.g., Owen and the Mountain) Fantastical (e.g., There’s Something in my Attic) Religious (e.g., Daniel in the Lion’s Den)

1. Event question: Owen climbed a mountain with his grandfather. Could that really happen in real life or just in the story? 2. Character question: Is Owen just a person in the book or is he a real person?

Mean number claims events could happen Woolley and Cox, in press

Mean number claims the character is real Woolley and Cox, in press

Senses of reality Factuality - real in actuality, historically real. Character really existed. Event really happened. Possibility - representative of reality. Someone like character could exist. That type of event could happen.

Character questions Factuality: “Is Owen a real person or is he just a person in the story?” Possibility: “In real life, could there be someone who is like Owen…or not?” Event questions Factuality: “Did Owen climb the mountain in real life or just in the story?” Possibility: “In real life, could someone climb a mountain or is that just in the story?”

Mean number claims character is real (Factuality question) Woolley and Cox, in press

Mean number claims events did happen (Factuality question) Woolley and Cox, in press

Mean number claims events could happen (Possibility question) Woolley and Cox, in press

Study 3: Book types Girl in ocean Mermaid in ocean Girl in enchanted sea Mermaid in enchanted sea Character Status RealFantastical Real Setting Status Fantastical

Study 3 results 1. Children were skeptical of the reality status of the novel entities. 2. The reality status of the character did not affect judgments about the reality status of the novel entity. 3. The reality of the setting did affect judgments.

Study 3: Mean claims novel entity is real by context condition

Conclusions 1. Young children are skeptical of the reality status of storybook characters and events. 2. By age 3, children differentiate between different types of storybooks in terms of their reality status. 3. With age, children increasingly accept more storybook content as real or realistic. 4. By age 5, children can use storybook context to reason about novel entities.

Current studies Parents read storybooks to children In half, parents believe novel entity to be real. In half, parents believe novel entity to be pretend. How do parents talk to children about the stories?