Insightful problem solving and social learning in children's tool making: Exploring the role of napping, night sleep, age, and gender
Acta Psychologica, cilt.267, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 267
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107003
- Dergi Adı: Acta Psychologica
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Periodicals Index Online, Linguistic Bibliography, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Development, Insight, Napping, Problem-solving, Tool innovation
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Insight and innovation are two crucial components of our problem-solving capacity to create novel tools. In this study, we explored the possible contribution of task break (napping or wakeful), age (3-to-5-year-olds), gender, napping duration, and night sleep problems and durations on 69 habitually napping preschoolers' tool-innovation and tool-manufacture abilities. Beyond gaining immediate insight in a pre-test, the contribution of insightful or social learning was also tested in three further post-test conditions: innovation and two social learning conditions. Only four children could solve the task in the pre-test, spontaneously. Age, napping duration, and gender (boys) significantly predicted tool-making scores, including pre-test. Two further children showed insight into the task in the post-test, both in the task break groups. Age, napping (short durations), and gender (boys), but not task break group, predicted children's success in the post-test phases. We suggested some hypotheses (to be tested in the future) related to the role of insight, culture and gender, development, and nap durations on the tool innovation capacity.