Lay theories of child development

Over 200 respondents from a variety of backgrounds completed a 64-item questionnaire on which they estimated the age at which most normal, healthy children can complete a variety of tasks. These results were compared with the norms available from tests and textbooks. Overall, the respondents underestimated the age at which older children (9-15 years old) can successfully perform tasks and overestimated the age at which younger children (2-4 years old) can perform tasks. There were various significant correlates of these estimations, particularly gender, age, and whether the respondents had children of their own. Results are discussed in terms of the literature on lay theories of child development.