Joint and individual tool making in preschoolers: From social to cognitive processes

Goenuel G., Hohenberger A., Corballis M., Henderson A. M. E.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, vol.28, no.4, pp.1037-1053, 2019 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 28 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2019
  • Doi Number: 10.1111/sode.12373
  • Journal Name: SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.1037-1053
  • Keywords: culture, divergent thinking, dyadic interaction, hierarchical representation, tool innovation, tool making, YOUNG-CHILDREN, INNOVATION, ONTOGENY, INSIGHT, BRAIN, TIME
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Tool making has been proposed as a key force in driving the complexity of human material culture. The ontogeny of tool-related behaviors hinges on social, representational, and creative factors. In this study, we test the associations between these factors in development across two different cultures. Results of Study 1 with 5-to-6-year-old Turkish children in dyadic or individual settings show that tool making is facilitated by social interaction, hierarchical representation, and creative abilities. Results of a second explorative study comparing the Turkish sample with a sample of 5-to-6-year-old children in New Zealand suggest that tool innovation might be affected by culture, and that the role of cognitive and creative factors diminishes through social interaction in tool making.