Children's handling of uncertainty: The influence of an unknown reality

In recent research Robinson and colleagues identified a difference between children's responses to uncertainty depending on the point in time at which the response is made.  When an imaginary pet was going to occupy one of two boxes, but it was as yet undetermined which one, most 5- to 6-year olds sensibly prepared both to make sure the pet, when it arrived, would not get cold or hungry. In contrast, when children knew the pet was already in one of the boxes, but they did not know which one, fewer than half did so. The remainder prepared only one box, thereby risking the pet's discomfort had they guessed wrongly.
That is, when the true state of affairs was as yet undetermined, children usually appropriately acknowledged the two possibilities. However children were less likely to acknowledge the two possibilities when reality was already determined but was unknown to them.
The project will examine the effect of an unknown reality in more detail, try to explain it, and explore wider implications. The research will also make connections with research showing that adults prefer to guess the fall of a die before it has been thrown rather than after, and with research on children's understanding that different people's minds can interpret the same experience differently.