Work

Trust in Testimony: Children's Use of True and False Statements

Year: 2004

Type: article

Abstract: The extent to which young children monitor and use the truth of assertions to gauge the reliability of subsequent testimony was examined. Three- and 4-year-old children were presented with two informants, an accurate labeler and an inaccurate labeler. They were then invited to learn names for novel objects from these informants. The children correctly monitored and identified the informants on the basis of the truth of their prior labeling. Furthermore, children who explicitly identified the unreliable or reliable informant across two tasks went on to demonstrate selective trust in the novel information provided by the previously reliable informant. Children who did not consistently identify the unreliable or reliable informant proved indiscriminate.

Source: Psychological Science

DOI: 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00742.x

Authors: Melissa A. Koenig, Fabrice Clément, Paul L. Harris

Institution: Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: The Development of Children's Trust in Testimony, G5285273149