Objective Adults’ mental representations of the physical appearance of people that are “strong” and people that are “in charge” are remarkably similar. Some have explained this feature of adults’ thinking by positing innate mental representations. However, specific details about the nature and structure of these representations, and an appropriate empirical foundation for these claims has been lacking. In this review, my objective is to provide a high-level summary of recent research exploring infants’ and young children’s intuitions about the physical manifestations of power. I argue that the social responses and judgments of these young participants are more informative about the existence and nature of putatively innate mental content. Methods Narrative review of developmental studies. Results Preverbal infants exhibit a remarkably early sensitivity to the relative power of two agents. By early childhood, children exhibit increasingly adult-like intuitions about powerful appearance. However, there are significant revisions in the appearance-to-power correspondences that people detect between childhood and adulthood. Conclusions These complex developmental patterns are inconsistent with the idea that adults’ intuitions about the physical manifestations of power are straightforward outputs of an innate psychology. Rather, despite an early-emerging sensitivity to appearance-based cues to power, significant conceptual development and change precede adults’ judgments about powerful appearance.

中文翻译：

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概念发展和变化是成年人对有力外表的判断的先决条件

客观成年人对“强壮”的人和“负责”的人的外表的心理表现极为相似。有些人通过提出先天的心理表征来解释了成年人思维的这一特征。但是，缺乏有关这些陈述的性质和结构的具体细节，以及这些主张的适当的经验基础。在这篇评论中，我的目的是提供有关研究婴儿和幼儿关于力量的物理表现的直觉的最新研究的概括性总结。我认为，这些年轻参与者的社会反应和判断力对于假定的先天性心理内容的存在和性质更为有益。方法对发展研究进行叙述性回顾。结果言语婴儿对两种药物的相对功效表现出明显的早期敏感性。到儿童早期，儿童就表现出越来越强的外表像成年人的直觉。但是，人们发现了从童年到成年之间的外表与力量的对应关系。结论这些复杂的发展模式与成人关于力量的身体表现的直觉是先天心理学的直接输出这一观点不一致。相反，尽管对基于外观的线索对权力的敏感性已经出现了早期，但是在成年人对有力的外观的判断之前，重要的概念发展和变化就已经开始。但是，人们发现了从童年到成年之间的外表与力量的对应关系。结论这些复杂的发展模式与成人关于力量的身体表现的直觉是先天心理学的直接输出这一观点不一致。相反，尽管对基于外观的线索对权力的敏感性已经出现了早期，但是在成年人对有力的外观的判断之前，重要的概念发展和变化就已经开始。但是，人们发现了从童年到成年之间的外表与力量的对应关系。结论这些复杂的发展模式与成人关于力量的身体表现的直觉是先天心理学的直接输出这一观点不一致。相反，尽管对基于外观的线索对权力的敏感性已经出现了早期，但是在成年人对有力的外观的判断之前，重要的概念发展和变化就已经开始。