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This study investigated 3- and 4-year-old's understanding of the relationship between pretense and mental awareness. In Experiments 1 and 2, only a subset of 4-year-olds recognized that sleeping characters and characters ignorant of their appearance were not pretending. However, these experiments had certain linguistic demands, which potentially influenced performance. In Experiments 3, these demand characteristics were reduced; under these circumstances, 3- and 4-year-olds recognized that pretenders were aware of their actions or appearance. However, Experiment 4 showed that even using this modified procedure, 3- and 4-year-olds do not completely understand the relationship between pretense and awareness. These data support the hypotheses that by the age of 4, children have some, but not a complete, understanding of the relationship between pretense and mental awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
