Abstract

Two experiments examine the evolution of folkbiological reasoning in children (4 to 10

years of age) and adults from four distinct communities (rural Native American, rural

majority culture, and suburban and urban North American communities). Using an

adoption paradigm, we examine participants’ intuitions regarding the inheritance of

properties and the mechanisms underlying the transmission of kindhood. Across all

communities and ages, there was a strong biological component underlying reasoning

about the inheritance of properties. There were also differences in children’s intuitions

about the mechanisms underlying kindhood: Native American children were more likely

than their counterparts to consider blood as a candidate biological essence. This suggests

that as children search to discover the underlying essence of a biological kind, they are

guided by broad essentialist notions that are shaped by discourse within their community.