First PhD publication by Ellen Soeters!

Publication on tool use development in iScience

In this first publication from Ellen’s PhD, she examined the development of tool use in 31 children in Swiss daycares. All children frequently(!) engaged with objects. Ellen found that simple object-manipulation bouts became shorter with age, and the number of complex tool-use bouts increased. Social learning opportunities increased the frequency of material engagement, whereas the mere presence of others actually reduced it. Higher object availability predicted both higher frequency and complexity of material engagement. So to sum up, children were intrinsically motivated to manipulate objects, and environmental and social factors further influenced tool-use development. Ellen’s naturalistic study paves the way for comparisons with non-human species—crucial to understand the evolution of material culture and cognition. So stay tuned!

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