SEEING IS BELIEVING - CHILDRENS EXPLANATIONS OF COMMONPLACE, MAGICAL,AND EXTRAORDINARY TRANSFORMATIONS

Children's magical explanations and beliefs were investigated in 2 stu dies. In Study 1, we first asked 4- and 5-year-old children to judge t he possibility of certain object transformations and to suggest mechan isms that might accomplish them. We then presented several commonplace transformations (e.g., cutting a string) and impossible events (magic tricks). Prior to viewing these transformations, children suggested p redominantly physical mechanisms for the events and judged the magical ones to be impossible. After seeing the impossible events, many 4-yea r-olds explained them as ''magic,'' whereas 5-year-olds explained them as ''tricks.'' In Study 2, we replaced the magic tricks with ''extrao rdinary'' events brought about by physical or chemical reactions (e.g. , heat causing paint on a toy car to change color). Prior to viewing t he ''extraordinary'' transformations, children judged them to be impos sible. After viewing these events, 4-year-olds gave more magical and f ewer physical explanations than did 5-year-olds. Follow-up interviews revealed that most 4-year-olds viewed magic as possible under the cont rol of an agent (magician) with special powers, whereas most 5-year-ol ds viewed magic as tricks that anyone can learn. In a third study, we surveyed parents to assess their perceptions and conceptions of childr en's beliefs in magic and fantasy figures. Parents perceived their chi ldren as believing in a number of magic and fantasy figures and report ed encouragig such beliefs to some degree. Taken together, these findi ngs suggest that many 4-year-olds view beliefs to some degree. beliefs to some degree. magic as a plausible mechanism, yet reserve magical e xplanations for certain real world events which violate their causal e xpectations.