Rebekah A Richert
Biographic Data
| ID | 1017339 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rebekah A Richert |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rebekah A |
| FAMILY NAME | Richert |
| SIGNATURE | RICHERT R A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Riverside |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0686-9378 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 53 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Parallel paths and developmental Divides
Does God Comfort You When You Are Sad? Religious Diversity in Children's Attribution of Positive and Negative Traits to God
Children actively construct their understanding of God in early childhood, an understanding that incorporates affect-laden mental representations often referred to as God images. To explore religious variations in children's association of positive and negative traits to God, 254 preschool-aged children from Protestant Christian, Catholic, Muslim, and Non-Affiliated religious backgrounds indicated their certainty that God scares them, punishes th…
Asking God for Help
By the end of early childhood, children indicate that prayer is more effective than wishes or magic to prevent an unwanted, negative outcome from occurring. However, research has not yet delineated whether children would ask God to resolve a problem by changing the internal state of the person facing the problem (e.g., changing someone's desires or emotions) or changing the external state of the world (e.g., physical or biological change). The cu…
Belief, culture, & development
The Nature of Humans
This chapter outlines how humans conceive of other humans and looks at the interacting roles of cognitive biases and cultural processes in the development of these conceptions. Extant prior research has argued that conceptions of other humans rely on folk theories of physics, biology, and psychology. Evidence from developmental psychology also indicates that children and adults have intuitions that individuals have a quintessence that confers a u…
The Cultural and Developmental Niche of Religious Cognitions
This chapter outlines how cultural practices support the development of both intuitive and explicit cognitive processes relevant to religious thinking. Cultural beliefs influence children’s religious thinking at a variety of levels. Parents and educators guide children’s learning of religious concepts and beliefs through direct instruction about religious doctrines; through guided participation in shared religious activities, such as prayer and r…
Depth vs. breadth
Digital gaming and metacognition in middle childhood
Does “Faith” in Science Correlate with Indicators of Well-Being
Religion has long been theorized to serve important functions for societies and individuals; specifically, as a source of knowledge about what is real and as a source of norms prescribing how individuals should behave. However, science and scientists appear to be playing an increasingly large role in public discourse. A majority of adults in the U.S. report interest in science and an increasing number are obtaining degrees in the sciences – more …
Perceptions of the Efficacy of Prayer and Conventional Medicine for Health Concerns
Socio-Cognitive and Cultural Influences on Children’s Concepts of God
The current study examined (a) the impact of religious socialization practices and parents’ concepts on the development of an abstract religious concept (i.e., God) in young children, and (b) whether or not children’s socio-cognitive ability moderates the relationship between their religious concept and sources of information about the concept. 215 parent-child dyads from diverse religious backgrounds (Protestant Christian, Roman Catholic, Muslim…
Do parents care about TV? how parent factors mediate US children’s media exposure and receptive vocabulary
Media exposure has the potential to impact young children’s language development, and both parents’ education level and parents’ attitudes about screen media has related to their preschool-aged children’s media exposure. The current study examined the extent to which 2- to 4-year-old children’s media exposure related to their receptive vocabulary, and whether parent education and attitudes about television as beneficial or harmful to learning, or…
US preschoolers’ trust of and learning from media characters
The current study examined the relations between children’s perceptions of character social realism, identification with characters, trust of characters as knowledgeable informants, and learning from media characters. Thirty-six 31⁄2- to 6-year-old children watched a short clip of an animated educational television program about a preschool-aged boy who enjoys learning about science. Participants provided ratings of the character’s social realism…
The essence of soul concepts
Current research on how humans conceptualize other humans has focused on the hypothesis that we have a dualistic conception of others, differentiating the functions of the body from the functions of the mind (Bloom, 2004). Recent criticisms of this approach have suggested that this characterization of cognition is insufficient to account for the common presence of a third intuition humans have about other humans, namely that other people have sou…
Babies, television and videos
Dualism Revisited
A large, diverse sample of adults was interviewed about their conception of the ontological and functional properties of the mind as compared to the soul. The existence of the mind was generally tied to the human lifecycle of conception, birth, growth and death, and was primarily associated with cognitive as opposed to spiritual functions. In contrast, the existence of the soul was less systematically tied to the lifecycle and frequently associat…
The Ghost in My Body
Two experiments were conducted to explore whether children, who have been exposed to the concept of the soul, differentiate the soul from the mind. In the first experiment, 4- to 12-year-old children were asked about whether a religious ritual affects the mind, the brain, or the soul. The majority of the children claimed that only the soul was different after baptism. In a follow-up study, 6- to 12-year-old children were tested more explicitly on…
The Ability to Distinguish Ritual Actions in Children[1]
Research on children's religious understanding has recently focused on outlining how and when children develop a variety of religious concepts, however there is a noticeable lack of research into children's understanding of religious rituals. We present three studies exploring children's developing understanding of religious rituals. In Experiment 1, children ages 5 to 11 were told stories about novel actions that were done for functional reasons…
Research
The present study investigated predictions from the preparedness hypothesis that children's God concepts may not be strictly anthropomorphic along certain dimensions. In particular, 39 American children (ages 3 to 7) predicted the visual, auditory, and olfactory perspectives of humans, animals with special senses, and God. Results revealed that preschoolers distinguished God and the special animals as having greater perceptual access than humans …
When Seeing Is Not Believing
To explore 3- to 7-year-old children's developing understanding of human and non-human minds, a battery of "background knowledge" tasks was administered to 51 American children. The children were asked to speculate about how three other intentional agents (mother, dog, and God) would understand various visual displays. First, children answered when they themselves did not understand the displays, then they answered after they had been given infor…
Anthropomorphism or Preparedness? Exploring Children's God Concepts
Historically, the development of God concepts in human cognition has been explained anthropomorphically. In other words, for children especially, God is a big, super-human who lives in the sky. Recent empirical research on the development of these concepts may suggest an alternative hypothesis. In this paper, we review this research and outline the "preparedness hypothesis," which suggests that children may be cognitively equipped to understand s…
Children's understanding of the knowledge prerequisites of drawing and pretending
Many young children will claim that someone is pretending to be something even when the person does not know what that something is. To examine whether children's failure to take knowledge prerequisites into account is part of a more fundamental problem in recognizing how mental representations constrain external ones, the authors asked children whether an artist who did not know what something was, yet whose drawing bore resemblance to it, was d…
Anthropomorphism or Preparedness? Exploring Children's God Concepts
Historically, the development of God concepts in human cognition has been explained anthropomorphically. In other words, for children especially, God is a big, super-human who lives in the sky. Recent empirical research on the development of these concepts may suggest an alternative hypothesis. In this paper, we review this research and outline the "preparedness hypothesis," which suggests that children may be cognitively equipped to understand s…
Research
The present study investigated predictions from the preparedness hypothesis that children's God concepts may not be strictly anthropomorphic along certain dimensions. In particular, 39 American children (ages 3 to 7) predicted the visual, auditory, and olfactory perspectives of humans, animals with special senses, and God. Results revealed that preschoolers distinguished God and the special animals as having greater perceptual access than humans …
Dualism Revisited
A large, diverse sample of adults was interviewed about their conception of the ontological and functional properties of the mind as compared to the soul. The existence of the mind was generally tied to the human lifecycle of conception, birth, growth and death, and was primarily associated with cognitive as opposed to spiritual functions. In contrast, the existence of the soul was less systematically tied to the lifecycle and frequently associat…
When Seeing Is Not Believing
To explore 3- to 7-year-old children's developing understanding of human and non-human minds, a battery of "background knowledge" tasks was administered to 51 American children. The children were asked to speculate about how three other intentional agents (mother, dog, and God) would understand various visual displays. First, children answered when they themselves did not understand the displays, then they answered after they had been given infor…
The Ghost in My Body
Two experiments were conducted to explore whether children, who have been exposed to the concept of the soul, differentiate the soul from the mind. In the first experiment, 4- to 12-year-old children were asked about whether a religious ritual affects the mind, the brain, or the soul. The majority of the children claimed that only the soul was different after baptism. In a follow-up study, 6- to 12-year-old children were tested more explicitly on…
Socio-Cognitive and Cultural Influences on Children’s Concepts of God
The current study examined (a) the impact of religious socialization practices and parents’ concepts on the development of an abstract religious concept (i.e., God) in young children, and (b) whether or not children’s socio-cognitive ability moderates the relationship between their religious concept and sources of information about the concept. 215 parent-child dyads from diverse religious backgrounds (Protestant Christian, Roman Catholic, Muslim…
Children's understanding of the knowledge prerequisites of drawing and pretending
Many young children will claim that someone is pretending to be something even when the person does not know what that something is. To examine whether children's failure to take knowledge prerequisites into account is part of a more fundamental problem in recognizing how mental representations constrain external ones, the authors asked children whether an artist who did not know what something was, yet whose drawing bore resemblance to it, was d…
The Ability to Distinguish Ritual Actions in Children[1]
Research on children's religious understanding has recently focused on outlining how and when children develop a variety of religious concepts, however there is a noticeable lack of research into children's understanding of religious rituals. We present three studies exploring children's developing understanding of religious rituals. In Experiment 1, children ages 5 to 11 were told stories about novel actions that were done for functional reasons…
Children's understanding of the knowledge prerequisites of drawing and pretending
Many young children will claim that someone is pretending to be something even when the person does not know what that something is. To examine whether children's failure to take knowledge prerequisites into account is part of a more fundamental problem in recognizing how mental representations constrain external ones, the authors asked children whether an artist who did not know what something was, yet whose drawing bore resemblance to it, was d…
When Seeing Is Not Believing
To explore 3- to 7-year-old children's developing understanding of human and non-human minds, a battery of "background knowledge" tasks was administered to 51 American children. The children were asked to speculate about how three other intentional agents (mother, dog, and God) would understand various visual displays. First, children answered when they themselves did not understand the displays, then they answered after they had been given infor…
Anthropomorphism or Preparedness? Exploring Children's God Concepts
Historically, the development of God concepts in human cognition has been explained anthropomorphically. In other words, for children especially, God is a big, super-human who lives in the sky. Recent empirical research on the development of these concepts may suggest an alternative hypothesis. In this paper, we review this research and outline the "preparedness hypothesis," which suggests that children may be cognitively equipped to understand s…
Research
The present study investigated predictions from the preparedness hypothesis that children's God concepts may not be strictly anthropomorphic along certain dimensions. In particular, 39 American children (ages 3 to 7) predicted the visual, auditory, and olfactory perspectives of humans, animals with special senses, and God. Results revealed that preschoolers distinguished God and the special animals as having greater perceptual access than humans …
The Ghost in My Body
Two experiments were conducted to explore whether children, who have been exposed to the concept of the soul, differentiate the soul from the mind. In the first experiment, 4- to 12-year-old children were asked about whether a religious ritual affects the mind, the brain, or the soul. The majority of the children claimed that only the soul was different after baptism. In a follow-up study, 6- to 12-year-old children were tested more explicitly on…
The Ability to Distinguish Ritual Actions in Children[1]
Research on children's religious understanding has recently focused on outlining how and when children develop a variety of religious concepts, however there is a noticeable lack of research into children's understanding of religious rituals. We present three studies exploring children's developing understanding of religious rituals. In Experiment 1, children ages 5 to 11 were told stories about novel actions that were done for functional reasons…
Dualism Revisited
A large, diverse sample of adults was interviewed about their conception of the ontological and functional properties of the mind as compared to the soul. The existence of the mind was generally tied to the human lifecycle of conception, birth, growth and death, and was primarily associated with cognitive as opposed to spiritual functions. In contrast, the existence of the soul was less systematically tied to the lifecycle and frequently associat…
Babies, television and videos
The essence of soul concepts
Current research on how humans conceptualize other humans has focused on the hypothesis that we have a dualistic conception of others, differentiating the functions of the body from the functions of the mind (Bloom, 2004). Recent criticisms of this approach have suggested that this characterization of cognition is insufficient to account for the common presence of a third intuition humans have about other humans, namely that other people have sou…
US preschoolers’ trust of and learning from media characters
The current study examined the relations between children’s perceptions of character social realism, identification with characters, trust of characters as knowledgeable informants, and learning from media characters. Thirty-six 31⁄2- to 6-year-old children watched a short clip of an animated educational television program about a preschool-aged boy who enjoys learning about science. Participants provided ratings of the character’s social realism…
Do parents care about TV? how parent factors mediate US children’s media exposure and receptive vocabulary
Media exposure has the potential to impact young children’s language development, and both parents’ education level and parents’ attitudes about screen media has related to their preschool-aged children’s media exposure. The current study examined the extent to which 2- to 4-year-old children’s media exposure related to their receptive vocabulary, and whether parent education and attitudes about television as beneficial or harmful to learning, or…
Perceptions of the Efficacy of Prayer and Conventional Medicine for Health Concerns
Socio-Cognitive and Cultural Influences on Children’s Concepts of God
The current study examined (a) the impact of religious socialization practices and parents’ concepts on the development of an abstract religious concept (i.e., God) in young children, and (b) whether or not children’s socio-cognitive ability moderates the relationship between their religious concept and sources of information about the concept. 215 parent-child dyads from diverse religious backgrounds (Protestant Christian, Roman Catholic, Muslim…
Digital gaming and metacognition in middle childhood
Does “Faith” in Science Correlate with Indicators of Well-Being
Religion has long been theorized to serve important functions for societies and individuals; specifically, as a source of knowledge about what is real and as a source of norms prescribing how individuals should behave. However, science and scientists appear to be playing an increasingly large role in public discourse. A majority of adults in the U.S. report interest in science and an increasing number are obtaining degrees in the sciences – more …
Belief, culture, & development
The Nature of Humans
This chapter outlines how humans conceive of other humans and looks at the interacting roles of cognitive biases and cultural processes in the development of these conceptions. Extant prior research has argued that conceptions of other humans rely on folk theories of physics, biology, and psychology. Evidence from developmental psychology also indicates that children and adults have intuitions that individuals have a quintessence that confers a u…
The Cultural and Developmental Niche of Religious Cognitions
This chapter outlines how cultural practices support the development of both intuitive and explicit cognitive processes relevant to religious thinking. Cultural beliefs influence children’s religious thinking at a variety of levels. Parents and educators guide children’s learning of religious concepts and beliefs through direct instruction about religious doctrines; through guided participation in shared religious activities, such as prayer and r…
Depth vs. breadth
Does God Comfort You When You Are Sad? Religious Diversity in Children's Attribution of Positive and Negative Traits to God
Children actively construct their understanding of God in early childhood, an understanding that incorporates affect-laden mental representations often referred to as God images. To explore religious variations in children's association of positive and negative traits to God, 254 preschool-aged children from Protestant Christian, Catholic, Muslim, and Non-Affiliated religious backgrounds indicated their certainty that God scares them, punishes th…
Asking God for Help
By the end of early childhood, children indicate that prayer is more effective than wishes or magic to prevent an unwanted, negative outcome from occurring. However, research has not yet delineated whether children would ask God to resolve a problem by changing the internal state of the person facing the problem (e.g., changing someone's desires or emotions) or changing the external state of the world (e.g., physical or biological change). The cu…
Parallel paths and developmental Divides
Psychology (20 works) · Social Psychology (15 works) · Developmental psychology (14 works) · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology (12 works) · Epistemology (11 works) · Cognition (10 works) · Child and Animal Learning Development (9 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Religious Education and Schools (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works)