Scale Errors: A New Dimension of Cognitive Development in Young Children

Abstract

The stories of ‘Alice in Wonderland' and ‘Gulliver's Travels' have always managed to intrigue adults and children alike. No wonder children are amazed to know the predicaments of Alice and Gulliver in different worlds where they are much larger or too small to live in. In the stories of Ramayana Hanuman changes size several times. From enlarging himself to the size of a mountain to that of a cat, his shape shifting character manages to fascinate one and all. In Development Psychology, a similar phenomenon called ‘Scale errors' has been observed in children when they deal with sizes in real life. Researchers observed children's tendency to get into or onto objects which are too small for them to act upon in that manner (DeLoache, Uttal & Rosengren, 2004). It was found that children made efforts to sit in a miniature chair or to get into a small car. Hitherto researchers have observed children's pretend play with replicas or other objects. Discovery of scale errors provides a scope for a complete new enquiry about play behaviour of children which is clearly distinguishable from pretend play and provides us with new perspectives on children's thinking. This paper will explore the scope of scale errors as an important characteristic of children's cognitive development and its possibility as a cultural process of learning through action.