Is it testimony or trait? Understanding children’s preferences for informants

Children show a positivity bias in social learning such that they prefer to learn from those who are nice (over those who are mean; e.g., Lane, Wellman, & Gelman, 2013) and those who provide positive content in their speech (over negative content; Boseovski, 2012). The present study investigated the way that these biases function when children practice epistemic vigilance. Children heard stories about different informants who varied in both testimony (i.e., judgments that a painting was good or bad) and traits (i.e., nice or mean). Children were asked who they would endorse, who they would ask about a future painting, and their affiliation preferences. Children chose to endorse and ask the mean informant who provided positive testimony, but chose to affiliate with the nice informant who provided negative testimony. Endorsements of positive testimony increased with age. This study extends research on children’s epistemic vigilance to indicate the biases children have for positive testimony when they selectively learn from others. The findings may help to inform teachers and caregivers about ways to establish more effective learning and social experiences