Affecting play: Awe increases preschooler’s exploration and discovery.

• In Event: 2-193 - Information Gain as a Guide for Decision-Making in Early Exploratory Learning

Integrative Statement

Information gain is characterized by opportunities to resolve uncertainty by carrying out particular actions. This framework predicts that any event that raises the perceived uncertainty of a situation increases information gain, which may lead to greater exploration and discovery. Here, we look at whether certain affective states may heighten an overall experience of uncertainty, and thus lead to preschooler’s greater exploratory behavior in general. Specifically, although awe appears to cause uncertainty and information-seeking in adults (Valdesolo, Shtulman, & Baron, 2017), no research to date has investigated whether awe may lead to general increases in information seeking across the lifespan. Might experiences of awe increase preschooler’s exploratory play? To test this question, we first verified novel video-stimuli that induces awe (or control states) in adults, created for better use with children. Second, in our primary study, we investigated whether inducing awe increases preschoolers’ exploration (compared to control states).

In our video-validation, 72 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk were randomly assigned to the Awe, Happy or Calm video-condition. Control stimuli elicited affective components (Happy, Calm) related to Awe. We measure “smallness of self” using the Circle-Task (Bai et al., 2017; Fig. 1a), given that awe leads to smaller self-size, compared to controls (Shiota, Keltner, & Mossman, 2007). Self-size ratings revealed significant differences across conditions (ANOVA, F(2,69)=6.85, p<0.01; Fig. 1b). Follow-up Tukey tests reveal participants in the Awe condition rated themselves as significantly smaller than controls, (Awe vs. Happy, t(46)=-3.14, p<0.01; Awe vs. Calm, t(46)=-2.56, p<0.05), validating the stimuli set for Experiment 2.

In our Awe manipulation, 100 preschoolers (Mage=56 mos) from local schools were randomly assigned to the Awe, Happy or Calm video-condition. Children learned about the Circle-Task, watched their condition’s emotion-eliciting video, then rated self-size. Finally, children observed one function on a novel toy (Fig. 2a) and their subsequent play was recorded. Children’s playtime and variability of actions with the toy were coded.

Self-size responses revealed that children in the Awe condition reported significantly smaller self-sizes than both the Happy or Calm conditions, (planned comparison, t(57)=-2.52, p=0.02; Fig. 1c). Furthermore, although a larger proportion of children played for the entire time across conditions, children in the Awe condition (55%) were marginally more likely to play for the entire period than children in the Joy (33%) or Neutral (26%) conditions (𝛸2=5.61, p=0.06; Fig 2d). Furthermore, children in the Awe condition explored marginally more variably than in control conditions (t(88)=1.45, p=0.07; Fig. 2b), and within the Awe condition, the degree to which awe was induced (via Circle-Task score) significantly correlated with their variability of play (Rs=-0.41, t(29)=-2.43, p=0.01; Fig. 2c). Finally, looking at children for whom awe was successfully induced (as measured by the circle task result) also revealed significant differences in variability of play, as compared to Joy and Calm conditions (t(74)=2.17, p=0.01).

Results suggest that the affective state of awe may elicit uncertainty and motivate information-seeking behaviors, consistent with a “global intervention” on perceived information gain.

Authors

• Joseph Anthony Colantonio, Graduate Student
  Presenting Author

• Elizabeth Bonawitz, Rutgers University
  Non-Presenting Author