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A Key to Innovation: When Do Children Begin to Recognize and Manufacture Solutions to Future Problems?

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Title: A Key to Innovation: When Do Children Begin to Recognize and Manufacture Solutions to Future Problems?
Authors: Ockerby, Zoe1 (AUTHOR) z.ockerby@uq.edu.au, Redshaw, Jonathan1 (AUTHOR), Suddendorf, Thomas1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Developmental Psychology. Mar2026, Vol. 62 Issue 3, p532-543. 12p.
Subject Terms: *Diffusion of innovations, *Data analysis, *Problem solving, *Creative ability, *Experimental design, *Child development, *Child psychology, *Cognition, *Children, Recognition (Psychology), Statistical power analysis, Pearson correlation (Statistics), Research funding, Task performance, Fisher exact test, Mindfulness, Probability theory, Descriptive statistics, Age distribution, Statistics, Data analysis software, Forecasting
Abstract: Innovation in children is typically studied by examining their capacity to independently create tools to solve problems. However, it has been argued that innovating requires more than creative problem-solving; it is essential that the future utility of a solution is recognized. Here, we examined children's capacity to recognize and construct a tool for future uses. Experiment 1 presented fifty-five 3- to 5-year-olds (28 girls) with a future-directed variation of a task in which children had to make a hook to solve a problem. When given a tool construction opportunity in anticipation of returning to the task, only 5-year-olds chose to make a hook-shaped tool more often than expected by chance. Experiment 2a assessed ninety-two 3- to 7-year-olds' (48 girls) capacity to construct a tool with both present and future utility in mind. Specifically, they needed to make a tool long enough to not only poke a ball from a short tube in the present but also poke a ball from a longer tube in the future. Older children tended to construct longer tools and were more likely to do so in this situation than in a follow-up control study (2b, N = 89, 41 girls) where the future- and present-task tubes were identical. This pattern suggests that older children had the future task in mind when making their tools. Children's propensity to construct longer tools in Experiment 2a was associated with their capacity to prepare for two alternative possibilities on a secondary task, suggesting performance reflects emerging future-oriented cognition. Public Significance Statement: This is the first study assessing young children's emerging capacity to consider the future utility of a tool they make. This may provide foundational knowledge for future research on the development of innovative skills and how they may be fostered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Developmental Psychology is the property of American Psychological Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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PubType: Academic Journal
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  Data: A Key to Innovation: When Do Children Begin to Recognize and Manufacture Solutions to Future Problems?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ockerby%2C+Zoe%22">Ockerby, Zoe</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> z.ockerby@uq.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Redshaw%2C+Jonathan%22">Redshaw, Jonathan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Suddendorf%2C+Thomas%22">Suddendorf, Thomas</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Developmental+Psychology%22">Developmental Psychology</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 62 Issue 3, p532-543. 12p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Diffusion+of+innovations%22">Diffusion of innovations</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis%22">Data analysis</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Problem+solving%22">Problem solving</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Creative+ability%22">Creative ability</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Experimental+design%22">Experimental design</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+development%22">Child development</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+psychology%22">Child psychology</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognition%22">Cognition</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Recognition+%28Psychology%29%22">Recognition (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistical+power+analysis%22">Statistical power analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pearson+correlation+%28Statistics%29%22">Pearson correlation (Statistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Task+performance%22">Task performance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fisher+exact+test%22">Fisher exact test</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mindfulness%22">Mindfulness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Probability+theory%22">Probability theory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Age+distribution%22">Age distribution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistics%22">Statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Forecasting%22">Forecasting</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Innovation in children is typically studied by examining their capacity to independently create tools to solve problems. However, it has been argued that innovating requires more than creative problem-solving; it is essential that the future utility of a solution is recognized. Here, we examined children's capacity to recognize and construct a tool for future uses. Experiment 1 presented fifty-five 3- to 5-year-olds (28 girls) with a future-directed variation of a task in which children had to make a hook to solve a problem. When given a tool construction opportunity in anticipation of returning to the task, only 5-year-olds chose to make a hook-shaped tool more often than expected by chance. Experiment 2a assessed ninety-two 3- to 7-year-olds' (48 girls) capacity to construct a tool with both present and future utility in mind. Specifically, they needed to make a tool long enough to not only poke a ball from a short tube in the present but also poke a ball from a longer tube in the future. Older children tended to construct longer tools and were more likely to do so in this situation than in a follow-up control study (2b, N = 89, 41 girls) where the future- and present-task tubes were identical. This pattern suggests that older children had the future task in mind when making their tools. Children's propensity to construct longer tools in Experiment 2a was associated with their capacity to prepare for two alternative possibilities on a secondary task, suggesting performance reflects emerging future-oriented cognition. Public Significance Statement: This is the first study assessing young children's emerging capacity to consider the future utility of a tool they make. This may provide foundational knowledge for future research on the development of innovative skills and how they may be fostered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Developmental Psychology is the property of American Psychological Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=191578044
RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1037/dev0001926
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 532
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Diffusion of innovations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Problem solving
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Creative ability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Experimental design
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child psychology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cognition
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Recognition (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistical power analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pearson correlation (Statistics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Task performance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fisher exact test
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mindfulness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Probability theory
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Age distribution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Forecasting
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: A Key to Innovation: When Do Children Begin to Recognize and Manufacture Solutions to Future Problems?
        Type: main
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      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Ockerby, Zoe
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            NameFull: Redshaw, Jonathan
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            NameFull: Suddendorf, Thomas
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            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: Mar2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 00121649
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              Value: 62
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            – TitleFull: Developmental Psychology
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