The role of individual differences in executive function on the child?s acquisition of intuitive biology

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In this EAGER proposal, the investigators seek to discover factors that affect developmental learning processes when children begin to acquire concepts of basic biology.The investigators hypothesize that individual differences in children's learning of intuitive biology are partly due to differences in their executive function (EF) abilities. EF includes the set of general cognitive processes, such as working memory, conflict monitoring, and inhibition. The research will include testing young children's and elder Americans' knowledge of natural selection as well as their executive functioning capabilities. The hypothesis will be tested by administering a battery of cognitive tests (to examine differences in EF) and through interviews with children ages 5-8 and elder adults about basic biological concepts such as the life cycle and properties of living things. If this hypothesis proves to be true, it would suggest a new or competing explanation for how misconceptions are formed and possibly be "corrected" throughout the life span. The project is potentially transformative in its position relative to the research literature and in terms of the implications it may have for instructional materials, teaching, and learning.