Children's working understanding of knowledge sources: Confidence in knowledge gained from testimony

In three experiments, children aged between 3 and 5 years (N= 38, 52, 94; mean ages 3–7 to 5–2) indicated

their confidence in their knowledge of the identity of a hidden toy. With the exception of some 3-year-olds,

children revealed working understanding of their knowledge source by showing high confidence when

they had seen or felt the toy, and lower confidence when they had been told its identity by an apparently

well-informed speaker. Correct explicit source reports were not necessary for children to show relative

uncertainty when the speaker subsequently doubted the adequacy of his access to the toy. After a 2-min

delay, 3–4-year-olds, unlike 4–5-year-olds, failed to see the implications of the speaker’s doubt about his

access.