?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Understanding+death+as+the+cessation+of+intentional+action%3A+A+cross-cultural+developmental+study&rft.creator=Barrett%2C+H.+Clark&rft.creator=Behne%2C+Tanya&rft.subject=Developmental+Psychology&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.description=Determining+whether+or+not+an+entity+is+capable+of+acting+intentionally+is+a+fundamental+cognitive+skill+that+emerges+in+the+first+year+of+infancy%2C+and+the+inability+to+act+is+a+key+aspect+distinguishing+dead+from+living+things.+Though+young+children%C2%92s+understanding+of+death+is+generally+thought+to+be+poor%2C+an+understanding+of+death+as+the+permanent+cessation+of+agency+might+develop+early+in+childhood.+This+study+tested+the+cessation-of-agency+hypothesis+cross-culturally%2C+by+examining+the+differences+between+children%C2%92s+judgments+about+sleeping+and+dead+animals.+The+results+showed+that+children+understand+that+death+entails+the+permanent+cessation+of+the+ability+to+act+by+age+4+in+two+different+cultures.+This+is+consistent+with+a+view+that+those+distinctions+that+are+most+crucial+for+adaptive+decision-making+are+the+ones+that+develop+earliest.&rft.date=2001&rft.type=Conference+Poster&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1730%2F3%2Fintentionalaction.pdf&rft.identifier=++Barrett%2C+H.+Clark+and+Behne%2C+Tanya++(2001)+Understanding+death+as+the+cessation+of+intentional+action%3A+A+cross-cultural+developmental+study.++%5BConference+Poster%5D++++(In+Press)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1730%2F