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Abstract

The ability to individually solve a novel problem by modifying objects into a new tool is termed tool innovation. This thesis aims to provide new insights into the challenges children face during tool innovation tasks by taking three different approaches. First, I describe the early development of innovation skills in the preschool age in more detail by examining three- to five-year-olds’ skills in solving two versions of a tool-making task and suggest more differentiated ways to analyze children’s solution approaches. Second, I analyze children’s private speech while solving these problems to examine which processes on the cognitive, emotional, or motivational level might affect innovation performance. Third, in a training study, I examine whether young children benefit from prior experiences in tool making through analogical transfer.