Table 1.

Test Items

Typical Humans

Can a little baby own a blanket?

Can a toddler own a toy car?

Can a teenager own a book?

Can a grown woman own a watch?

Can a very old man own a chair?

Atypical Mental States

Can a grown woman who is only as smart as a very small child own a stapler?

Can a man who is asleep own a coffeepot?

Can a woman who is asleep and no one knows if she will ever wake up own a desk?

Can a man who is awake but cannot move own a dax?

Can a man who cannot see or hear or talk own a dax?

Animals

Can a worm own a tiny pebble?

Can a butterfly own a grain of sand?

Can a lizard own a piece of tinfoil?

Can a mouse own a piece of cotton?

Can a bird own a piece of string?

Can a horse own a saddle?

Can a dog own a ball?

Can a monkey own a stick?

Artifacts

Can a watch own a wrist?

Can a book own a shelf?

Can a couch own a pillow?

Queries from Experiments 1 and 2. Unique object names were used in Experiment 1, but an object referred to as a “dax” was substituted for these objects in Experiment 2.