Developmental Human Factors: Children's Mental Models of Computers

Abstract

Two groups of first, third, and fifth grade children were interviewed about their mental models of computers. The first group was interviewed in 1999, and the second in 2009. In both data sets, children as young as 6 years of age generated well developed analogies for computers. However, the 2009 data showed that children are increasingly able to generate these analogies at a younger age. Further, the types of analogies generated differed as a function of time, with those interviewed in 1999 more likely to describe perceptual qualities of computers (e.g., it is square), and those interviewed in 2009 relating computers to both cell phones and entertainment devices. Children's knowledge of technology provides a glimpse into the future user's mindset.