Understanding Natural Cause: Children's Explanations of How Objects and Their Properties Originate

An understanding of natural cause includes the realization that events can occur independently of human activity or intentions. It also often entails realizing that causal mechanisms can be nonobservable or nonobvious. The present research investigated to what extent children ages 4-7 have developed a concept of natural cause. Study 1 examined children's understandings of object origins (e.g., how the sun began); Study 2 probed children's causal understandings of object behaviors and properties (e.g., why rabbits hop and have long ears). In both studies, children by age 4 were sensitive to the natural kind-artifact distinction in their explanations. They mentioned human intervention for human-made artifacts but rarely for naturally occurring things. Moreover, subjects at all ages were able to identify specific kinds of natural cause, including intrinsic causes (such as growth) and inborn nature. Finally, subjects understood the link between nonobvious, internal parts and self-generated activity (e.g., that bones are important for the flight of a bird). Altogether, these results suggest that even preschool children realize that natural causes exist. They contradict Piaget's characterization of young children as artificialistic (believing that naturally occurring things are created by people) and as focused on observable properties.