Is
Subjective Appearance Altered by Verbal Information? Children's
Understanding of Colorblindness
M. W Cooper, R. Griffin, & E. Winner |
We
investigated children's understanding that visual perception is subjective
and not alterable by propositional information. Thirty-six children
(3.4 to 6.8 years) were tested in a screen condition (in which a
puppet views a colored toy through a differently colored screen),
and a colorblind condition in which a puppet (introduced as colorblind)
looks directly at the toy. Asked to name the color of the object
that the puppet sees, children under four fail in both conditions,
revealing difficulty grasping false perception. The puppet was then
told the correct color of the toy by E, and the child was again asked
to name the color the puppet sees. Even the oldest children failed
this question in the colorblind condition, revealing the misconception
that a label can alter a color's perception. Children as old as six
do not understand that although verbal information is an originator
of belief, it cannot alter perception. Key words: theory-of-mind, understanding visual perception |