Trend‑chasing developmental studies waste resources

Many developmental papers follow a predictable recipe—test whether children at successive ages look like adults on some trivial adult observation, then report an age trend—producing incremental, low‑informative results. Paul Bloom argues this pattern dominates talks and papers and diverts effort from deeper, explanatory, or cross‑cultural work. — If widespread, the pattern has implications for research funding, training, replication credibility, and public trust in psychological science.