Reasoning about knowledge: Children's evaluations of generality and verifiability.
Reasoning about knowledge: Children's evaluations of generality and verifiability.
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cogpsych.2015.08.007
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发表时间：
2015-12
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Gelman SA
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Koenig MA;Cole CA;Meyer M;Ridge KE;Kushnir T;Gelman SA
在一系列实验中，我们研究了 3 至 8 岁儿童 (N = 223) 和成人 (N = 32) 使用证词的两个属性来评估说话者的知识：普遍性和可验证性。参与者会看到一位“通用演讲者”，他对“穿山甲”（一种新奇的动物）提出了一系列 4 项一般性主张，而一位“具体演讲者”则对“这只穿山甲”作为个体提出了一系列 4 项具体主张。为了研究可验证性的作用，我们系统地改变了该主张是指图片中可见的感知明显特征（例如，“有一个尖鼻子”）还是不可见的非明显特征（例如，“睡在一棵空心树上”）。得出了三个主要发现：（1）幼儿表现出对可验证性的明显依赖，这种依赖随着年龄的增长而降低。三岁儿童特别容易将知识归功于做出可验证主张的说话者，而 7 至 8 岁的儿童和成人则将知识归功于一般说话者，无论这些主张是否可验证； (2) 儿童对通用说话者的知识的归因直到 5 岁时才被发现，并且只有当这些说法也可以验证时； (3) 儿童经常概括说话者在穿山甲领域之外的知识，表明他们相信一个人对穿山甲的了解可能会延伸到新的事实。调查结果表明，幼儿可能倾向于怀疑那些无法证实自己观点的发言者，并且对提出一般性观点的发言者的欣赏能力不断增强。
In a series of experiments, we examined 3- to 8-year-old children’s (N = 223) and adults’ (N = 32) use of two properties of testimony to estimate a speaker’s knowledge: generality and verifiability. Participants were presented with a “Generic speaker” who made a series of 4 general claims about “pangolins” (a novel animal kind), and a “Specific speaker” who made a series of 4 specific claims about “this pangolin” as an individual. To investigate the role of verifiability, we systematically varied whether the claim referred to a perceptually-obvious feature visible in a picture (e.g., “has a pointy nose”) or a non-evident feature that was not visible (e.g., “sleeps in a hollow tree”). Three main findings emerged: (1) Young children showed a pronounced reliance on verifiability that decreased with age. Three-year-old children were especially prone to credit knowledge to speakers who made verifiable claims, whereas 7- to 8-year-olds and adults credited knowledge to generic speakers regardless of whether the claims were verifiable; (2) Children’s attributions of knowledge to generic speakers was not detectable until age 5, and only when those claims were also verifiable; (3) Children often generalized speakers’ knowledge outside of the pangolin domain, indicating a belief that a person’s knowledge about pangolins likely extends to new facts. Findings indicate that young children may be inclined to doubt speakers who make claims they cannot verify themselves, as well as a developmentally increasing appreciation for speakers who make general claims.