| Abstract: | Five-year-olds, 9-year-olds, 13-year-olds, and adults were tested for their understanding that people have only limited control over their mental activity. The adolescents and adults understood much better than the children that a child who sees a shot needle while awaiting a shot will automatically think about getting a shot, and that a child who hears a strange noise will automatically wonder what it is, even if these children did not want to think or wonder about anything. There were also significant increases with age in the recognition that a person would not be able to go for three days without thinking or wondering about anything, that one sometimes has thoughts one does not want to have, and that unwanted thoughts one tries to get rid of often come back. Arguments were made for the adaptive value of learning that the mind has a mind of its own. |
