Recognizing the future utility of a solution: When do children choose to retain and share an object to solve a future problem?

Abstract

Humans' ability to recognize the future utility of a solution is fundamental to our capacity for innovation. It motivates us to-for instance-retain and share useful tools, transforming one-time solutions into innovations that change the future. However, developmental research on innovation has thus far primarily focused on children's capacity to create solutions, rather than recognition of their future utility. Here we examined children's tendency to retain and share a solution that would be useful again at a later point. Across two rooms, 4- to 9-year-olds (N = 83, M = 83.59 months, SD = 21.21 months, 43 girls) were given a series of time-limited tasks which could be solved by building and using a tool. When given the opportunity to transport a tool between the first and second rooms, children from age 6 onwards took the tool that would be useful again above chance levels. When subsequently asked to secure a solution for another child, only 8- to 9-year-olds chose this tool above chance. Positive age-partialled correlations between children's retaining and sharing suggest that these behaviours may reflect a common underlying capacity for recognizing future utility.