YOUNG CHILDRENS UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSITY IN PRETENSE

Four studies probed preschoolers' understanding of diversity in the do main of pretense. In Study 1, 3- and 4-year-olds were shown video skit s in which two characters pretended different things with the same obj ect. To assess preschoolers' understanding that the mind is involved i n pretense, thought bubbles were superimposed over the actors' heads. Results of this study indicated that both 3- and 4-year-olds appreciat e the potential for diversity in pretense, and understand pretense to be a mental activity. Results of Study 2 replicate Study 1, and argue against alternative explanations for participants' good performance in that study. Studies 3 and 4 compared the unique contributions made by dialogs and thought bubbles and revealed that 3-year-olds relied more on actors' mental contents than on their actions or dialogs when reas oning about pretense. Results of the studies are discussed in terms of children's developing understanding of the subjective and mental aspe cts of pretense, and the implications of this understanding for the de velopment of their understanding of mind more generally.