Bernstein, Debra L.
(2007)
Searching for Signs of Intelligent Life: An Investigation of Young Children's Beliefs About Intelligence and Animacy.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The goal of this research project is to identify the source of children's ideas about the intelligence capabilities of robots. If children's beliefs are influenced by naïve biology theories, there is likely to be a strong relationship between animacy judgments (whether an entity is alive or not) and judgments of intelligence. However, if children's beliefs are influenced by prior experience with robots, there is no reason to assume intelligence and animacy would be related; rather, degree of prior exposure to robots would influence children's beliefs about robots' intelligence capabilities. Results suggest a relationship between animacy judgments and intelligence for children with little prior exposure to robots. For children with greater exposure, there is less of a relationship between intelligence and animacy judgments. Additionally, children with greater exposure attributed more intelligence to the robots than children with little exposure. It would seem that children with little robot experience are guided by their naïve theories of biology, while children with significant robot experience use ideas gathered from their prior experiences to make judgments about the intelligence capabilities of robots.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Bernstein, Debra L. | dlb36@pitt.edu | DLB36 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
23 January 2007 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
22 November 2005 |
| Approval Date: |
23 January 2007 |
| Submission Date: |
1 December 2006 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Psychology |
| Degree: |
MS - Master of Science |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
; intelligence; robots; technology |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12012006-144827/, etd-12012006-144827 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 20:07 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:52 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9916 |
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