When 3-year-old Julia comes home from her first day at preschool, her father asks her, "What's your teacher's name?" Julia answers by saying, "I forget." Yet when Dad drops Julia off at preschool the following morning, the teacher apologizes to both of them: "How silly of me! Yesterday when you came to school, Julia, I didn't tell you my name. It's Miss Martin." Obviously, of course, Julia couldn't "forget" something she never knew. How can we best explain her response to her father's question?
A) Young children have little awareness of the nature of their own thinking.
B) Young children often lie to cover up self-perceived weaknesses in their memories.
C) Young children typically assume they know everything there is to know.
D) Young children often confuse something they've learned in one situation with something they've learned in another, very different situation.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Young children, like Julia, may not fully understand the nature of their own cognitive processes, including memory. When Julia said she "forgot" her teacher's name, it likely reflects a lack of awareness about what forgetting entails, rather than an intentional lie or confusion with other situations.

When 3-Year-Old Julia Comes Home from Her First Day at Preschool