Faculty » Rebekah A. Richert

My research explores the development of cognition that is beyond the physical realm. The study of these types of metaphysical thought, such as pretense, imagination, and religion, is revealing considering that this type of thinking about the world emerges seemingly naturally in the course of development, often precluding formal instruction. Therefore, studying metaphysical thought in children, before they have received scientific instruction about the world, may give us a insight into the default thought processes of the mind and the cognitive tools to which children have access as they develop. I employ a cognitive developmental approach, exploring the interaction between children's developing cognitive abilities and their involvement in metaphysical worlds – that is, the tendency to move beyond physical reality into fictional and religious worlds.

I have several research projects exploring children's involvement in religious worlds. In one set of studies, I have explored children's developing concept of God. The findings from this research have revealed that while children likely view God as being human in some fundamental ways, children's concepts of God are not entirely limited by their human concept. I am also currently conducting research into other aspects of children's religious lives. I am exploring the role that religious rituals play in the development of religious concepts. Thus far, research findings suggest that children who have been exposed to religious rituals distinguish them from other types of actions early on in development. I am also beginning research into children's developing concept of the soul and into the effects of being raised in a home where parents differ in their degree of religiosity.

In a related set of research projects into children's fantastical worlds, I have conducted research exploring children's ability to determine when someone else is pretending. The findings from one study revealed that both children and adults were sensitive to specific behavioral indications of a mother's pretense intentions. This suggests that this variation in actions likely helps infants in the initial discrimination of pretense and real behaviors. A second line of research explored the development of the understanding that, in the end, the identity of pretense actions depends on the pretender's knowledge, not just the form of the action. In these studies, children under 6 demonstrated a general difficulty with understanding the role that knowledge plays in representational actions, both pretending and drawing. Currently, my research on children's fantastical worlds is exploring how children view information learned in a fantasy context, and the effectiveness of using fantasy contexts as an educational tool.

Selected Publications

Richert, R. A., & Barrett, J. L. (in press). Do you see what I see ? Young children's assumptions about God's perceptual abilities. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion.

Richert, R., & Barrett, J. L. (in press). The child's god and cognitive development. The Encyclopaedia of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence.

Richert, R. A., & Lillard, A. S. (2004). Observers' proficiency at identifying pretense based on behavioral cues. Cognitive Development, 19, 223-240.

Barrett, J. L., & Richert, R. A. (2003). Anthropomorphism or preparedness? Exploring children's God concepts. Review of Religious Research, 44, 300-312.

Barrett, J. L., Newman, R., & Richert, R. A. (2003). When seeing is not believing: Children's understanding of humans' and non-humans' use of background knowledge in interpreting visual displays. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 3, 91-108.

Richert, R. A., & Lillard, A. S. (2002). Children's understanding of the knowledge prerequisites of drawing and pretending. Developmental Psychology, 38, 1004-1015.

Barrett, J. L., Richert, R. A., & Dreisenga, A. (2001). God's beliefs vs. mom's: The development of natural and non-natural agent concepts. Child Development, 71(1), 50-65.