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The research investigates how children select tools for learning based on the potential to gain broader knowledge beyond immediate samples.

May 8, 2026Developmental ScienceOpen Access

Learning for the Long Run: Children Increasingly Prioritize Generalizable Knowledge in Tool Selection

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Randomized trial examines how children choose tools for learning based on future knowledge gain, suggesting growth in strategic thinking.

The research investigates how children select tools for learning based on the potential to gain broader knowledge beyond immediate samples.
Two experiments involving 60 children aged 5-9 and 151 older children (7-14) and adults.
Participants chose between tools that provided localized information versus those supporting global knowledge gain.
Assessment of children's reliance on tool versatility versus broader learning opportunities.
Children consistently selected tools that supported global information gain, regardless of age.
Younger children favored tool versatility, while older children prioritized tools for broader inference.
The tendency to consider global yield in tool selection increased with age.

Walker et al. (2026) studied this question.

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