Abstract
Participants were interviewed about the biological and psychological
functioning of a dead agent. In Experiment 1, even 4- to
6-year-olds stated that biological processes ceased at
death, although this trend was more apparent among 6- to
8-year-olds. In Experiment 2, 4- to
12-year-olds were asked about psychological functioning.
The youngest children were equally likely to state that both cognitive and
psychobiological states continued at death, whereas the oldest children
were more likely to state that cognitive states continued. In Experiment
3, children and adults were asked about an array of psychological
states. With the exception of preschoolers, who did not
differentiate most of the psychological states, older children and adults
were likely to attribute epistemic, emotional, and desire states to
dead agents. These findings suggest that developmental mechanisms
underlie intuitive accounts of dead agents' minds.