Explanations play an important role in learning and inference. People often learn by seeking
explanations, and they assess the viability of hypotheses by considering how well they …

Causal understanding is a defining characteristic of human cognition. Like many animals,
human children learn to control their bodily movements and act effectively in the …

Cognitive Development and Cognitive Neuroscience: The Learning Brain is a thoroughly
revised edition of the bestselling Cognitive Development. The new edition of this full-colour …

Young children develop causal knowledge through everyday family conversations and
activities. Children's museums are an informative setting for studying the social context of …

The construct of metacognition appears in an ever increasing number and range of contexts
in educational, developmental, and cognitive psychology. Can it retain its status as a useful …

Parents visiting a gear exhibit at a children's museum were instructed to encourage their
children (N= 65; ages 4–6) to explain, explore, or engage as usual. Instructions led to …

Canonical cases of learning involve novel observations external to the mind, but learning
can also occur through mental processes such as explaining to oneself, mental simulation …

Highlights•Explanation-seeking curiosity (ESC) motivates the pursuit of explanations.•ESC is
highly selective: it is not triggered merely by ignorance or uncertainty.•Children can acquire …

Why do some (and only some) observations prompt people to ask “why?” We propose a
functional approach to “Explanation-Seeking Curiosity”(ESC): the state that motivates …

As part of their early “essentialist” intuitions, young children view intergroup differences as
reflecting groups' intrinsic natures. In the present study, we explore the nature and …