How is the child's worldview different from that of an adult?

Science has proven that children's worldviews will stabilize by the time they're 11 years old, at which point they'll be able to judge the world as an adult, solve problems, and even make plans for themselves. for the future.

Before the age of 11, children perceive the world completely differently than adults do. Children still don't have enough experience and knowledge to understand how the world works, that's why they see things from a different perspective than we adults do. Scientists have found a difference between the worldview of children and adults.

The world through the eyes of a child is completely different from that of an adult, very clear and full of imagination.

1. Children's imagination

Until a certain age, young children cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality. That is why children are sure that the stories they have created in their mind really exist in reality. Although, it is worth noting that if a child comes up with something on his own, he will not suspect it is only in their imagination. However, if a child hears something that doesn't seem right from another person, they won't completely deny it like an adult. Some tests show that there is a very thin line between fantasy and reality in a child's perception because they still don't understand which knowledge is true and which is false.

2. Lack of abstract thinking

It is a proven fact that children under the age of 11 can only think about reality in the present and cannot think abstractly.

Psychologist Rudolph Schaffer conducted an experiment where he asked two groups of children to find a place on their bodies to place a third eye. All the children of the 9-year-old group pointed to their foreheads because there were already two eyes there. The second group consisted of 11-year-olds, who could think abstractly, so they started making different choices like putting their eyes on the palm of their hand because they thought this way they could see. visible in the back.

3. Learn a new language

Children can learn languages ​​quite easily while for adults it is a bit more difficult. Linguist Noam Chomsky explains it, the fact that there is a common toolbox built into the human brain that connects all the syntactic rules of all existing languages. In addition, millions of brain cells are responsible for the perception and reproduction of speech, building up complex conduction systems. These systems stop developing by the time a child is 10 years old. That's why the older you are, the harder it is for you to learn a new language compared to younger children.

4. Fixed objects

Children under one year of age firmly believe that an object they cannot see means that the object is gone forever. Psychologist Jean Piaget developed a theory of fixed objects and demonstrated that children's perception develops with age. A small child is too inexperienced to understand that objects they cannot see will continue to exist. That's why you can see your baby hiding in the curtains with her feet outside and trusting that no one will find her.

5. Identification

Scientists believe that newborn babies cannot distinguish faces because they have not met many people, so they cannot tell the difference. In addition, the baby's vision is out of focus and seeing objects is blurred.

One particular experiment proved that babies under 6 months old are not able to distinguish the faces of different people, but by the age of 9 months they can adapt and start to see the difference between different people. the faces of those they know and those they don't know. By the age of 1 year, their vision becomes focused and they can see sharp and colorful objects.

6. Inversion

Children lack a sense of inversion. That's why if you put two glasses of different sizes in front of a child and pour water from a tall glass into a lower but larger glass, the child will be sure that the amount of water has become more. . Until the age of 7, children believe that if the shape of a glass changes, so does the amount of water inside. It is also believed that children cannot combine height and width until a certain age, but can only focus their attention on one of them.

7. Drawings

It is an obvious fact that children's motor functions are not fully developed, so compared to adults, children cannot use pencils in their hands well.

However, there is another very interesting fact that was discovered in an experiment. Several children aged 5 to 9 were given the task of drawing a cup placed in such a way that they could see its handle. Despite the fact that the handle is out of sight, all children under 7 years of age add it to the drawing. In contrast, children over 7 years of age drew cups without a handle.

Psychologists conclude that this is the difference between a child and an adult. If an adult is tasked with drawing an object they see, they will draw exactly what they see, while children will add elements they don't see but know it has.

8. Distinguish good from bad

Children's understanding of morality is different from that of adults. Adults know what is good and bad, as well as universally accepted standards that they can sometimes break themselves.

When it comes to morality, young children understand the matter very simply. Initially, the behavior of young children was based on the desire not to be punished by adults for doing something wrong. Older children understand that doing good is rewarding behavior. At each stage of growing up, children understand more about the moral principles of adults.

The results of the study confirmed this fact. Children participating in the study were asked: 'Which is worse between intentionally breaking one glass or accidentally breaking two?' Most children would answer that a person who broke a lot of glasses is worse because they did more harm than someone who broke just one pair.

9. Theory of mind

Theory of mind says that not everyone has the same information and experience as you. For children, this way of thinking only emerges at a certain age.

This was discovered in an experiment called Sally Anne: there are two adults and a child in a room, when the first adult leaves the room, the other will hide the toy. And when the first adult comes back, the child asks where to find the toy. Experiments show that children under the age of 3 are only concerned with the location of the toy, not the fact that the first adult does not know where the item has been hidden.