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Children's Selective Trust in Promises
Author(s) -
Isella Margherita,
Kanngiesser Patricia,
Tomasello Michael
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13105
Subject(s) - prosocial behavior , psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , child development
There has been extensive research into the development of selective trust in testimony, but little is known about the development of selective trust in promises. The present research investigates children's ( N = 264) selective trust in others' promises to help. In Study 1, 6‐year‐olds selectively trusted speakers who had previously kept a promise. In Study 2, 5‐year‐olds displayed selective trust for speakers who had previously kept a prosocial promise (promise to help). In Study 3, 5‐year‐olds trusted a speaker, who kept a prosocial promise, over a helper. These data suggest that from the age of 5 children show selective trust in others’ promises using prosociality, promise keeping, or both to inform their judgments.