Work

Evaluating and Approaching a Strange Animal: Children's Trust in Informant Testimony

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined 3- to 7-year-old children's reliance on informant testimony to learn about a novel animal. Sixty participants were given positive or negative information about an Australian marsupial from an informant described as a maternal figure or a zookeeper. Children were asked which informant was correct and were invited to touch the animal, which was a stuffed toy hidden in a crate. Overall, younger children endorsed the zookeeper's testimony about the animal, but touched the animal more readily when the maternal figure provided positive information. Older children endorsed the informant who provided positive information, but showed some sensitivity to zookeeper expertise. Age differences were obtained in the association between participant characteristics and informant selection and animal approach behavior.

Source: Child Development

DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12156

Authors: Janet J Boseovski, Sabrina L Thurman

Institutions: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University of Tennessee at Knoxville

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

Awards: Profiles of Personality Attribution in Early Childhood, G7020937220, G8701778059