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Pretesting Promotes Theme Extraction but Not Generalization from Moral Stories in Young Children

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Title: Pretesting Promotes Theme Extraction but Not Generalization from Moral Stories in Young Children
Language: English
Authors: Jyh Hsien Foo (ORCID 0009-0009-0353-9830), Liwen Yu (ORCID 0000-0003-2414-0836), Steven C. Pan (ORCID 0000-0001-9080-5651), Xiao Pan Ding (ORCID 0000-0003-0836-9577)
Source: Developmental Psychology. 2026 62(6):1236-1249.
Availability: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 14
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Young Children, Generalization, Ethics, Recall (Psychology), Learning, Foreign Countries, Moral Development
Geographic Terms: Singapore
DOI: 10.1037/dev0002005
ISSN: 0012-1649
1939-0599
Abstract: Although adults commonly tell moral stories to children with the aim of teaching important lessons, they often fail to extract the intended moral themes of these stories. Few interventions to date have successfully addressed this problem. The present study examined the effects of pretesting on children's learning from moral stories. We assigned sixty 5- to 6-year-olds to either a pretesting condition, where they attempted pretest questions about a to-be-learned moral before hearing a moral story, or a control condition, where they only heard the story. After hearing the story, pretested children were significantly more likely than the control group to generate the intended moral theme on open-ended questions asking about the story's lesson. They did not perform any better, however, on tasks that involved selecting the theme in a forced-choice format or applying it to novel scenarios. Hence, the present findings partially support the hypothesis that pretesting improves children's theme extraction from moral stories--that is, enhancing the ability to reproduce the correct theme but not enhancing generalization to other circumstances. Overall, this study reveals that pretesting can enhance the effectiveness of moral stories as an educational tool, at least in terms of helping children to learn important moral lessons, and presents directions for further research to investigate real-life applications of these lessons.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://osf.io/dsc6r
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1505680
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Pretesting Promotes Theme Extraction but Not Generalization from Moral Stories in Young Children
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jyh+Hsien+Foo%22">Jyh Hsien Foo</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0353-9830">0009-0009-0353-9830</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liwen+Yu%22">Liwen Yu</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2414-0836">0000-0003-2414-0836</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Steven+C%2E+Pan%22">Steven C. Pan</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9080-5651">0000-0001-9080-5651</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xiao+Pan+Ding%22">Xiao Pan Ding</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0836-9577">0000-0003-0836-9577</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Developmental+Psychology%22"><i>Developmental Psychology</i></searchLink>. 2026 62(6):1236-1249.
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  Data: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
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  Data: 14
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Young+Children%22">Young Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Generalization%22">Generalization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethics%22">Ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Recall+%28Psychology%29%22">Recall (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning%22">Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Moral+Development%22">Moral Development</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1037/dev0002005
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Although adults commonly tell moral stories to children with the aim of teaching important lessons, they often fail to extract the intended moral themes of these stories. Few interventions to date have successfully addressed this problem. The present study examined the effects of pretesting on children's learning from moral stories. We assigned sixty 5- to 6-year-olds to either a pretesting condition, where they attempted pretest questions about a to-be-learned moral before hearing a moral story, or a control condition, where they only heard the story. After hearing the story, pretested children were significantly more likely than the control group to generate the intended moral theme on open-ended questions asking about the story's lesson. They did not perform any better, however, on tasks that involved selecting the theme in a forced-choice format or applying it to novel scenarios. Hence, the present findings partially support the hypothesis that pretesting improves children's theme extraction from moral stories--that is, enhancing the ability to reproduce the correct theme but not enhancing generalization to other circumstances. Overall, this study reveals that pretesting can enhance the effectiveness of moral stories as an educational tool, at least in terms of helping children to learn important moral lessons, and presents directions for further research to investigate real-life applications of these lessons.
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  Data: https://osf.io/dsc6r
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  Data: 2026
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        Type: general
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      – SubjectFull: Moral Development
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      – TitleFull: Pretesting Promotes Theme Extraction but Not Generalization from Moral Stories in Young Children
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