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Children’s Trust in Previously Inaccurate Informants Who Were Well or Poorly Informed: When Past Errors Can Be Excused

Nurmsoo, Erika, Robinson, Elizabeth J. (2009) Children’s Trust in Previously Inaccurate Informants Who Were Well or Poorly Informed: When Past Errors Can Be Excused. Child Development, 80 (1). pp. 23-27. ISSN 0009-3920. (doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01243.x) (KAR id:32065)

Abstract

Past research demonstrates that children learn from a previously accurate speaker rather than from a previously inaccurate one. This study shows that children do not necessarily treat a previously inaccurate speaker as unreliable. Rather, they appropriately excuse past inaccuracy arising from the speaker’s limited information access. Children (N 5 67) aged 3, 4, and 5 years aimed to identify a hidden toy in collaboration with a puppet as informant. When the puppet had previously been inaccurate despite having full information, children tended to ignore what they were told and guess for themselves: They treated the puppet as unreliable in the longer term. However, children more frequently believed a currently well-informed puppet whose past inaccuracies arose legitimately from inadequate information access.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01243.x
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Funders: Organisations -1 not found.
Depositing User: Erika Nurmsoo
Date Deposited: 02 Nov 2012 18:02 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 02:08 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/32065 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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