“Plan chunking” expands 3-year-olds' ability to complete multiple-step plans

Bibliographic Data

ID21301315
AuthorsTashauna L Blankenship (0000-0002-6649-8732, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts , Boston, Massachusetts, corresponding author), Melissa M Kibbe (0000-0002-9088-2523, Boston University)
Year2023
Volume94
Issue5
Pages1330-1339
Publication date2023-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueChild Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0009-3920 • E-ISSN: 1467-8624
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/cdev.13929
PMID37092570
OpenAlexW4366822696
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited39

The ability to use knowledge to guide the completion of goals is a critical cognitive skill, but 3-year-olds struggle to complete goals that require multiple steps. This study asked whether 3-year-olds could benefit from “plan chunking” to complete multistep goals. Thirty-two U.S. children (range = 35.75–46.59 months; 18 girls; 9 white, 3 mixed race, 20 unknown; tested between July 2020 and April 2021) were asked to complete “treasure maps,” retrieving four colored map pieces by pressing specific buttons on a “rainbow box.” Children completed more of the four-step sequence correctly when the steps were presented in a way that encouraged chunking the steps into pairs. These findings suggest a potential mechanism supporting memory-guided planning abilities in early childhood

Child development · Chunking (psychology) · Cognition · Cognitive development · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Plan (archaeology) · Child and Animal Learning Development · Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills · Educational and Psychological Assessments · Psychology

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