Inference neglect and ignorance denial

Young children seem to overextend a 'seeing = knowing rule' so that they ne glect to notice that people gain knowledge from inferring as well as from s eeing. Yet that cannot be a sufficient explanation of children's problems w ith conceptualizing knowledge, because rule underextension occurs in childr en's claims to know something that they have not seen (nor inferred). The t wo errors were studied together with pairs of children aged 4 and 5 years. Each child had their own box, items on the table were shared out into the b oxes, and either both children, or neither, or one of them, looked in their own box. Children were asked if they and the other knew what was in each o ther's box; and were asked for explanations and predictions. About a quarte r of the children showed full competence. In others, overextension and unde rextension occurred; yet almost all children explained that inference was i nvolved in knowing, without bias towards giving such explanation more for s elf than for other. Error-patterns were not predictable from a test for und erstanding the term 'know'. It is suggested that children have a framework conception of 'knowing' in which another's mind is treated as similar co ow n mind, but problems arise in implementing that insight before children man age to conceptualize constraints on knowledge.