The effects of stimulus incongruity upon children's attention,choice, and expressed preference

Children of 3, 5, and 7 years were given the opportunity to view pictures differing in amount of incongruity. They were permitted to choose the type of picture they wished to view and to view as long as they wished. Thus measures of attention, preference and choice were quite distinct, and obtained independently of each other. Incongruity was found to influence attention at all ages, but its effect upon choice was negligible. Children of seven expressed a clear preference for the incongruous; those of five showed this more ambiguously and those of three showed no reliable preference at all. A further experiment indicated that the lack of preference in the youngest Ss was not entirely attributable to limits upon memory.