Toddlers learn faster after witnessing 'impossible' events

Did you think only adults factor in possibilities and probabilities in their daily lives? Think again. According to recent findings, toddlers as young as two and three years old have an innate understanding of how possibilities work, enabling them to learn from surprising events.

Toddlers can distinguish between events that are impossible, those that are possible but not probable, and their excitement for the impossible is profound.

Toddlers learning possibilities

As adults, we consider possibilities and probabilities every single day. Ever thought about your chances of winning the lottery after buying a ticket? Or packed an umbrella because there might be a chance of rain?

A recent study suggests that toddlers might also be part of the possibility gang, even before they have the language to describe these mental states. The findings are the first to demonstrate this phenomenon.

“Even young toddlers already think about the world in terms of possibilities,” said co-author Lisa Feigenson, co-director of the Johns Hopkins University Laboratory for Child Development.

“Adults do this all the time and here we wanted to know whether even toddlers think about possible states of the world before they’ve had years of experience and before they have the language to describe these mental states.”

When the unexpected happens

A group of two- and three-year-olds were shown a gumball-type machine filled with toys. Some kids saw a blend of pink and purple toys, while others saw that the machine was filled only with purple toys. Each child then got a coin to drop into the machine to draw a toy.

Some children who saw the machine filled with only purple toys drew out a pink toy. This, of course, defies logic, because how could they possibly draw a pink toy from a machine offering solely purple ones?

Now, after they received their toys, all the kids were taught the name of the toy – a made-up word – and asked to recall the name later.

The results were astonishing. Kids who experienced this “impossible” scenario learned the name significantly better than the rest.

Toddler learning patterns

The researchers believe that encountering impossible events spurs toddlers to seek explanations, boosting their learning.

“One possibility was that they would learn well from the improbable events, but even better from the impossible events,” said Aimee Stahl, a former doctoral student in Feigenson’s lab who is now an associate professor of psychology at The College of New Jersey.

“But what we found was that they actually don’t learn from the unlikely, improbable events. They only learn if they experienced the impossible event.”

New approach to education

This discovery opens up incredible possibilities for educators and parents, enabling them to create learning strategies centered around these “heightened moments.”

Feigenson suggests that parents and teachers should design opportunities for children to ponder over intriguing concepts, thereby creating powerful learning moments.

Implications for cognitive development

The implications of these findings on cognitive development are profound. They challenge the existing perception of early childhood learning, suggesting that even preverbal children are capable of engaging with complex cognitive processes.

The fact that toddlers can comprehend and respond to improbable events implies that their minds are ripe for a more advanced learning than previously appreciated.

This challenges educators and developmental psychologists to reconsider the scope of educational materials suitable for young learners.

By integrating scenarios that defy expectations, educational content can harness this innate curiosity, potentially accelerating cognitive growth during formative years.

Developing through surprises

Going deeper into the science, this phenomenon can be tied to broader theories of cognitive development. The work of Jean Piaget, long regarded as foundational, suggested that children’s mental models evolve through interaction with the world, constantly being tested against new experiences.

The discovery by Feigenson and Stahl hints at a burgeoning field of study focusing on ‘possibility thinking’ – a concept where children learn by assessing the bounds of reality through trial and error.

This challenges scientists to further investigate how early exposure to “impossible” events might not just spur learning but may also shape the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that underpin inventive and adaptive intelligence.

Learning in a toddler’s world

As surprising as it may seem, this study demonstrates that the world of toddlers is far from simplistic. Their minds are constantly dissecting possibilities and impossibilities, enabling them to better understand their surroundings.

Can you imagine the impact on education if we could harness this natural curiosity? We must reconsider how we approach early education and create possibilities around the concept of the “impossible.”

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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