Two-Year-Olds Selectively Seek Help in the Context of Problem-Solving

• In Event: Social Learning and Information Processing

Abstract

Historically, help-seeking had a negative connotation due to its association with low self-esteem and learned helplessness (Fisher et al., 1982; Murphy, 1962). Today, developmentalists think of help-seeking in children as an adaptive strategy that learners intentionally deploy to improve their learning (Ames, 1983; Nelson-Le Gall, 1981). By requesting help, children express awareness that social learning is key for their cognitive growth. Children as young as two years old have been found to seek help selectively based on others’ demonstrated competence (Cluver et al., 2013; Rowles & Mills, 2018). However, questions remain regarding when and from whom toddlers seek others’ help.
In three online experiments (N = 146, 73 female), we examined whether 2-year-olds (M = 31 months, range = 26-36 months) selectively seek help when they are unfamiliar, rather than familiar, with a task and whether they selectively turn to biologically mature, rather than immature, others. Additionally, we examined whether toddlers selectively seek help from knowledgeable over ignorant helpers.
In Experiment 1, we examined whether toddlers selectively seek help based on their familiarity with a problem and helper maturity. Children were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In the Familiar Condition, children completed practice tasks similar to the target task and were thus familiar with the target task presented to them in the test phase. In the Unfamiliar Condition, children completed practice tasks unrelated to the target task and were, therefore, unfamiliar with the target task. All children had the chance to request help by pressing a button during the test phase. If children requested help, they were asked to decide between one of two helpers: adult or infant. As hypothesized, two-year-olds sought help more often when completing an unfamiliar task than a familiar task, p < .001. Against the prediction, two-year-olds showed no significant preference for adult over infant helpers, p = .99.
In Experiment 2, toddlers selected help in a two-step process. They first chose between a peer or adult helper, and, in a second step, they chose between a knowledgeable or ignorant peer/adult. As predicted, toddlers requested help at a higher rate from knowledgeable over ignorant helpers, p < .01. However, toddlers again showed no preference for mature (adult) helpers, p = .59; they turned to peers and adults equally often for help.
In Experiment 3, toddlers were not shown cartoon images but photographs of real agents to choose from. In two out of four trials, children selected between an infant and an adult, and in the remaining trials, they selected between a peer and an adult. The results again yielded no significant preference for adult over infant or peer helpers, ps = .17.
Taken together, the experiments advance our understanding of how children guide their own learning by selectively seeking help when encountering the limits of their knowledge. The results will be discussed in the context of social learning theories.

Authors

• Alexandra Raport, University of Southern California
  Presenting Author

• Canan Ipek, University of Southern California

• Joanna Park, University of Southern California

• Kevin Ma

• Henrike Moll, University of Southern California