Parent-child conversations about animals on a visit to a (virtual) zoo

Abstract Children face multiple challenges in constructing an organized understanding of the animal domain, and parent-child conversations are a potential source of relevant information, both explicit and implicit. To understand these contributions, this study examined 41 parent-child dyads (child age range: 3–7 years) as they visited a virtual zoo displaying videos of a wide range of animals (humans, chimps, rhinos, beavers, owls, fish, and bees). Conversations were coded for mention of biological, psychological, and perceptual properties; gendered and neuter pronouns; comparisons between animals; and generic utterances. Conversations demonstrated principled variation in organizing the domain, using three subgroups: humans, non-human mammals, and fish and bees. This organization differed substantially from the responses participants provided in a subsequent biological property projection task. These findings inform the role of parent-child conversations in the development of the animal domain, and have implications for downstream consequences on beliefs regarding the natural world.