Epistemic states and traits: preschoolers appreciate the differential informativeness of situation-specific and person-specific cues to knowledge

Previous research has demonstrated that preschoolers can use situation-specific (e.g., visual access) and person-specific (e.g., prior accuracy) cues to infer what others know. The present studies investigated whether 4- and 5-year-olds appreciate the differential informativeness of these types of cues. In Experiment 1 (N = 50), children used others' prior labeling accuracy as a cue when learning labels for, but not the visual identity of, hidden objects. In Experiment 2 (N = 64), with both cues present, children attended more to visual access than prior accuracy when learning the visual identity of, but not labels for, hidden objects. These findings demonstrate that children appreciate the difference between situation- and person-specific cues and flexibly evaluate these cues depending on what information they are seeking.     

A conceptual model of taste receptors

Of all the senses, that of taste is perhaps the hardest to define and quantify and elucidation of the underlying mechanisms is unrespondingly difficult. This article describes a conceptual model — at the molecular level — for the four basic taste modalities, using apparent specific volume as a fundamental parameter. It also considers possible practical applications.     

PARALLELS OF PROGRESS IN RELIGION AND EDUCATION∗

The careful distinctions in this article assist in clarifying the tasks of educators