Young Children's Use of the Scheme for Multiple Sufficient Causes in the Attribution of Real and Hypothetical Behavior

SHULTZ, THOMAS R., and BUTKOWSKY, IRWIN. Young Children's Use of the Scheme for Multiple Sufficient Causes in the Attribution of Real and Hypothetical Behavior. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 464-469. The scheme for multiple sufficient causes implies that either of 2 causes is sufficient to produce an effect. Given information that an effect has occurred and that 1 possible cause is either present or absent, the scheme enables inferences about the presence or absence of the other possible cause. Research on the child's attribution of another person's hypothetical behavior has indicated that this scheme does not appear until about 7-9 years of age. Yet other research has suggested that children as young as 4 years may use this scheme in attributing their own behavior. The results of the present study indicated that this discrepancy can be accounted for on the basis of the distinction between real and hypothetical behavior. It was found that 5-year-olds used the scheme to analyze the real behavior of others as portrayed on videotape but failed to use it when the same information was presented in the form of hypothetical stories. Various theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of this finding were discussed.