The Library

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

Tools

Robinson, Elizabeth J., Haigh, S. N. and Nurmsoo, Erika. (2008) Children's working understanding of knowledge sources : confidence in knowledge gained from testimony. Cognitive Development, Vol.23 (No.1). pp. 105-118. ISSN 0885-2014

Preview

PDF
WRAP_Robinson_Robinson__Haigh__Nurmsoo__2008.pdf - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Download (129Kb)

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2007.05.001

Abstract

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, especially when the speaker subsequently doubted the adequacy of his access to the toy. After a 2-minute delay, 3-to 4- year olds, unlike
4- to 5-year-olds, failed to see the implications of the speaker’s doubt about his access.

Item Type:

Journal Article

Subjects:

B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology

Divisions:

Faculty of Science > Psychology

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):

Knowledge, Theory of, Uncertainty

Journal or Publication Title:

Cognitive Development

Publisher:

Elsevier

ISSN:

0885-2014

Official Date:

22 May 2008

Dates:

Date	Event
22 May 2008	Published

Volume:

Vol.23

Number:

No.1

Page Range:

pp. 105-118

Identification Number:

10.1016/j.cogdev.2007.05.001

Status:

Peer Reviewed

Publication Status:

Published

Access rights to Published version:

Open Access

Funder:

Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)

Grant number:

RES000220825

References:

Birch, S.A.J., & Bloom, P. (2002). Preschoolers are sensitive to the speaker’s
knowledge when learning proper names. Child Development, 73, pp.434-444.
Clements, W.A. & Perner, J. (1994). Implicit understanding of belief. Cognitive
Development, 9, pp.377-396.
Gopnik, A. & Graf, P. (1988). Knowing how you know: young children’s ability to identify and remember the sources of their beliefs. Child Development, 59,
pp.1366-1371.
Harris, P.L. (2002). Checking our sources: the origins of trust in testimony. Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science, 33, pp.315-333.
Johnson, M. K., Hashtroudi, S. & Lindsay, S. D. (1993). Source monitoring. Psychological Bulletin, 114, pp.3-28.
Koenig, M. A., Clement, F. & Harris, P. L. (2004). Trust in testimony: children’s use of true and false statements. Psychological Science, 15, pp.694-698.
Koenig, M.A. & Harris, P.L. (2005). Preschoolers mistrust ignorant and inaccurate speakers. Child Development, 76, pp.1261-1277.
O’Neill, D. K., Astington, J. W. & Flavell, J. H. (1992). Young children’s understanding of the role that sensory experiences play in knowledge acquisition. Child Development, 63, pp.474-490.
O’Neill, D. K. & Gopnik, A. (1991). Young children’s ability to identify the sources of their beliefs. Developmental Psychology, 27, pp.390-397.
Perner, J. (1991).Understanding the Representational Mind. Cambridge, Mass.:MIT Press.
Pillow, B.H. & Anderson, K.L. (2006) Children’s awareness of their own certainty and understanding of deduction and guessing. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 24, pp.823-849.
Robinson, E.J., Mitchell, P., & Nye, R. (1995). Young children’s treating of utterances as unreliable sources of knowledge. Journal of Child Language, 22, pp.663-685.
Robinson, E. J. & Whitcombe, E. L. (2003). Children’s suggestibility in relation to their understanding about sources of knowledge. Child Development, 74, pp.48-62.
Ruffman, T., Garnham,W., Import, A., & Connolly, D. (2001). Does eye gaze indicate implicit knowledge of false belief? Charting transitions in knowledge. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 80, pp.201-224.
Sabbagh, M.A. & Baldwin, D.A. (2001). Learning words from knowledgeable versus ignorant speakers: links between preschoolers’ theory of mind and semantic development. Child Development, 72, pp.1054-1070.
Whitcombe, E. L. & Robinson, E. J. (2000). Children’s decisions about what to believe and their ability to report the source of their belief. Cognitive Development, 15, pp.329-346.
Wimmer, H., Hogrefe, G. J. & Perner, J. (1988). Children’s understanding of informational access as source of knowledge. Child Development, 59, pp.386-396.