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Levush KC, Butler LP. Children's developing ability to recognize deceptive use of true information. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 244:105952. [PMID: 38718681 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2024.105952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
The strategic use of deliberate omissions, conveying true but selective information for deceptive purposes, is a prevalent and pernicious disinformation tactic. Crucially, its recognition requires engaging in a sophisticated, multi-part social cognitive reasoning process. In two preregistered studies, we investigated the development of children's ability to engage in this process and successfully recognize this form of deception, finding that children even as young as 5 years are capable of doing so, but only with sufficient scaffolding. This work highlights the key role that social cognition plays in the ability to recognize the manipulation techniques that underpin disinformation. It suggests that the interrelated development of pragmatic competence and epistemic vigilance can be harnessed in the design of tools and strategies to help bolster psychological resistance against disinformation in even our youngest citizens-children at the outset of formal education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen C Levush
- Department of Human Development & Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Lucas Payne Butler
- Department of Human Development & Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
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Li E, Campbell C, Midgley N, Luyten P. Epistemic trust: a comprehensive review of empirical insights and implications for developmental psychopathology. RESEARCH IN PSYCHOTHERAPY (MILANO) 2023; 26:704. [PMID: 38156560 PMCID: PMC10772859 DOI: 10.4081/ripppo.2023.704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Originally rooted in philosophy and sociology, the concept of epistemic trust has recently transitioned to developmental psychopathology, illuminating social-cognitive processes in psychopathology. This narrative review synthesizes empirical evidence on epistemic trust to inform future research. A literature search highlighted 3 areas: i) the development of selective trust in children; ii) epistemic trust in non-clinical adults; iii) its link to mental health. Young children demonstrate selective learning from reliable sources using epistemic cues. Empirical studies beyond childhood were greatly facilitated in the last 2 years with the introduction of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire, a self-report scale measuring epistemic stance. Cross-sectional studies pinpointed dysfunctional epistemic strategies as factors in mental health vulnerability, and some qualitative work offered initial evidence linking restored epistemic trust to effective psychotherapy. For future research, we propose focusing on 3 primary areas. First, empirical investigations in adolescent samples are needed, as adolescence seems to be a pivotal phase in the development of epistemic trust. Second, more experimental research is required to assess dysfunctional and functional epistemic stances and how they relate to vulnerability to mental health disorders. Finally, intervention studies should explore the dynamics of epistemic stances within and between therapy sessions and their impact on therapeutic outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Li
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London; Anna Freud Centre, London.
| | - Chloe Campbell
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London; Anna Freud Centre, London.
| | - Nick Midgley
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London; Anna Freud Centre, London.
| | - Patrick Luyten
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom; Anna Freud Centre, London, United Kingdom; Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven.
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Pueschel EB, Ibrahim A, Franklin T, Skinner S, Moll H. Four-year-olds selectively transmit true information. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0284694. [PMID: 37104267 PMCID: PMC10138483 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Two experiments (N = 112) were conducted to examine preschoolers' concern for the truth when transmitting information. A first experiment (Pilot Experiment) revealed that 4-year-olds, but not 3-year-olds, selectively transmitted information marked as true versus information marked as false. The second experiment (Main Experiment) showed that 4-year-olds selectively transmitted true information regardless of whether their audience lacked knowledge (Missing Knowledge Context) or information (Missing Information Context) about the subject matter. Children selected more true information when choosing between true versus false information (Falsity Condition) and when choosing between true information versus information the truth of which was undetermined (Bullshit Condition). The Main Experiment also revealed that 4-year-olds shared information more spontaneously, i.e., before being prompted, when it was knowledge, rather than information, the audience was seeking. The findings add to the field's growing understanding of young children as benevolent sharers of knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellyn B. Pueschel
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Ashley Ibrahim
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Taylor Franklin
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Samantha Skinner
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Henrike Moll
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
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Schleihauf H, Zhang Z, Gomez A, Engelmann JM. From outcome to process: A developmental shift in judgments of good reasoning. Cognition 2023; 236:105425. [PMID: 36907114 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
What does it mean to reason well? One might argue that good reasoning means that the outcome of the reasoning process is correct: reaching the right belief. Alternatively, good reasoning might refer to the reasoning process itself: following the right epistemic procedures. In a preregistered study, we investigated children's (4-9-year-olds) and adults' judgments of reasoning in China and the US (N = 256). Participants of all age groups evaluated the outcome when the process was kept constant - they favored agents who reached correct over incorrect beliefs, and they evaluated the process when the outcome was kept constant - they preferred agents who formed their beliefs using valid over invalid procedures. Developmental changes emerged when we pitted outcome against process: young children weighed outcome more heavily than process; older children and adults showed the reverse preference. This pattern was constant across the two cultural contexts, with the switch from outcome to process happening earlier in development in China. These results suggest that children initially value what someone believes, but, with development, come to increasingly value how beliefs are formed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Schleihauf
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands; Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Zhen Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Alissa Gomez
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Jan M Engelmann
- Social Origins Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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Understanding the value of telescopic testimony: With age, a predominantly White Midwestern sample of children credits knowledge to speakers whose statements go beyond the evidence. J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 231:105652. [PMID: 36842315 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
Abstract
One primary value of testimony lies in its ability to extend our powers of observation. Do children credit more knowledge to speakers whose testimony goes beyond firsthand observation? The current study investigated 3- to 8-year-old children's (N = 180) and adults' (N = 20) knowledge attributions to speakers who made claims regarding perceptually evident features of a novel animal (e.g., "is brown") or claims regarding perceptually absent features (e.g., "eats insects"). By 7 years of age, children and adults attributed more knowledge to speakers who discussed telescopic information and generalized their knowledge to other domains. Because the knowledge base of child listeners expands with age, they place increased value on telescopic information and the speakers who provide it.
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Aboody R, Huey H, Jara-Ettinger J. Preschoolers decide who is knowledgeable, who to inform, and who to trust via a causal understanding of how knowledge relates to action. Cognition 2022; 228:105212. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Claims of wrongdoing by outgroup members heighten children's ingroup biases. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 230:103732. [PMID: 36084439 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Little is known about how group bias may impact children's acceptance of unsubstantiated claims. Most children view cheating as unfair. However, in competitive situations, when ambiguity surrounds the potential intention to cheat, group affiliation may lead children to support claims of cheating based solely on the team affiliation of the claimant, even when those claims are not clearly substantiated. Therefore, it may be particularly important to consider the role ingroup bias may play in children's accusations of cheating in a competitive intergroup context. The current study investigated 4-10 year old children's (N = 137, MAge = 6.71 years, SDAge = 1.49; 47 % female) evaluations of ambiguous acts and unverified claims about those acts in a competitive, intergroup context. Results showed that children initially viewed an ambiguous act similarly, regardless of team affiliation, but demonstrated increasing ingroup biases after claims of wrongdoing were introduced. Implications for how unsubstantiated claims may impact intergroup interactions more broadly will be discussed.
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Schleihauf H, Herrmann E, Fischer J, Engelmann JM. How children revise their beliefs in light of reasons. Child Dev 2022; 93:1072-1089. [PMID: 35383921 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We investigate how the ability to respond appropriately to reasons provided in discourse develops in young children. In Study 1 (N = 58, Germany, 26 girls), 4- and 5-, but not 3-year-old children, differentiated good from bad reasons. In Study 2 (N = 131, Germany, 64 girls), 4- and 5-year-old children considered both the strength of evidence for their initial belief and the quality of socially provided reasons for an alternative view when deciding whether to change their minds. Study 3 (N = 80, the United States, 42 girls, preregistered) shows that 4- and 5-year-old children also consider meta-reasons (reasons about reasons) in their belief revision. These results suggest that by age 4, children possess key critical thinking capacities for participating in public discourse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Schleihauf
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.,Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Department for Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Julia Fischer
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Department for Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jan M Engelmann
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
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Liu R, Xu F. Learning about others and learning from others: Bayesian probabilistic models of intuitive psychology and social learning. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 63:309-343. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2022.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Chu J, Schulz LE. Children selectively endorse speculative conjectures. Child Dev 2021; 92:e1342-e1360. [PMID: 34477216 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Young children are epistemically vigilant, attending to the reliability, expertise, and confidence of their informants and the prior probability and verifiability of their claims. But the pre-eminent requirement of any hypothesis is that it provides a potential solution to the question at hand. Given questions with no known answer, the ability to selectively adopt new, unverified, speculative proposals may be critical to learning. This study explores when people might reasonably reject known facts in favor of unverified conjectures. Across four experiments, when conjectures answer questions that available facts do not, both adults (n = 48) and children (4.0-7.9 years, n = 241, of diverse race and ethnicity) prefer the conjectures, even when the conjectures are preceded by uncertainty markers or explicitly violate prior expectations.
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Children’s developing understanding that even reliable sources need to verify their claims. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Butler LP. The Empirical Child? A Framework for Investigating the Development of Scientific Habits of Mind. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Huh M, Grossmann I, Friedman O. Children show reduced trust in confident advisors who are partially informed. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2019.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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