Children's ideas about action at a distance

Abstract

Children's ideas about action at a distance are analysed according to the commonsense theory. These ideas can be organized around three presuppositions which express concrete realizations of the abstract idea of interaction at a distance. The presuppositions are concerned with the uniqueness of earth, the need for connection between objects interacting at a distance, and how various forces support and focus each other. These ideas do not form a self‐consistent set of axioms to be applied coherently, but rather form a guiding framework. The chosen presuppositions are context dependent and related to the different environments of earth, a satellite, the moon and outer space. Support is preferred over connection. The relevance of these findings for instruction are discussed.