Children Play Like Scientists Work – Katie Scott – Wired Science

July 28 2011, 10:17pm

Young children play like scientists work, according to a new research project at MIT and Stanford University.

The findings, which were published in the journal Cognition, reveal how 4- and 5-year-olds approach games methodically.

They were given a specially designed toy “that lit up and played music when the child placed certain beads on it,” says Nature. The cognitive scientists found that, when the children didn’t know which beads would activate the toy — namely they had been given what the team defined as “ambiguous evidence” — they tested each variable in turn.

Laura Schulz, a professor at MIT draws the analogy of someone trying unsuccessfully to open a door with a key: “You might change the position of the key, you might change the key, but you’re not going to change both at once,” she told Nature. Read more