Three studies (N = 171) examined preschool children's tendency to use category information to make inferences about ambiguous behavior. Children heard stories in which category information about story characters was manipulated and behavioral information was held constant. Participants were asked to evaluate, explain, and determine the significance of the behavior in question. Children tended to be harsher judges of the same ambiguous behaviors when performed by (a) humans as compared to animals, (b) boys compared to girls, and (c) older children compared to younger children. Results suggest that young children hold differentiated notions of the mental states and dispositions that underlie behavior and that these notions vary as a function of category membership. These findings support the conclusion that even young children can hold and use multiple folk psychologies.

中文翻译：

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何时为打翻的牛奶哭泣：幼儿使用类别信息来指导对模棱两可行为的推断

三项研究（N = 171）检查了学龄前儿童使用类别信息对模棱两可的行为进行推断的倾向。孩子们听到的故事中，关于故事人物的类别信息被操纵，而行为信息则保持不变。参与者被要求评估、解释和确定相关行为的重要性。当（a）人类与动物相比，（b）男孩与女孩相比，以及（c）年龄较大的儿童与年幼的儿童相比时，儿童往往对相同的模棱两可的行为做出更严厉的判断。结果表明，幼儿对行为背后的心理状态和倾向持有不同的概念，并且这些概念随着类别成员的不同而变化。