Previous research documented adults’ preference for stable causal relationships that do not vary in strength across backgrounds (Vasilyeva, Blanchard, & Lombrozo, 2018). In this study, we investigate the role of causal stability in guiding children’s exploration behavior. We developed a computerized version of an active information-search paradigm to study how children dynamically explore different agents and backgrounds to learn more about their causal stability. Five- to seven-year-old children (n = 60) were presented with stable and unstable causes (i.e., causes with fixed or variable causal efficacy across backgrounds). We assessed children’s causal attributions of outcomes and their exploratory behavior as they tried out previously observed and novel causes across previously observed and novel backgrounds. We find that children in this age range acknowledge causal instability in their causal attributions, and they become increasingly adept at tracking causal efficacy across multiple factors simultaneously (causes and backgrounds), but this does not translate into a blanket preference for exploring stable or unstable causes. We suggest a possibility that causal (in)stability guides exploration in more subtle and indirect ways and discuss the implications of our findings for the development of active exploration.

Generalizations in thought and language are powerful tools to share information agents need to predict and control their environments. However, some generalizations are restricted to “sociocultural bubbles” (e.g. “women have trouble getting tenure in math”). How do we communicate such patterns? We examined how 4-7-year-olds (N=110) and adults (N=159) respond to context cues signaling that the speaker uses a generic generalization to convey a broad vs. contextually-restricted regularity. Adults endorsed generics flexibly, tracking context cues (p<.001), but younger children struggled, over-attributing socially contingent properties to the group beyond the “bubble”, on par with context-general regularities. This reveals a troubling discrepancy between children and adults' interpretations of generics, opening doors for miscommunication. When adults highlight problematic patterns with the hope of promoting social change, children may perceive their assertions as claims about group's broad, unalterable attributes. We discuss strategies to mitigate this in educational and family communication settings.