A Systematic Examination of How a Speaker's Linguistic and Paralinguistic Cues Affect Children's and Adults' Learning and Memory

总结*我们的生活包括定期学习。从学习新单词到学习复杂的科学原理，人类经常依赖他人提供信息。不幸的是，人们有时出于无知、不确定或欺骗而提供错误信息。幸运的是，有几个线索可以用来判断某人是否提供了可信的信息。*最容易观察到的信号之一是个人表现出的自信或不确定程度。尽管自信并不是可信度的完美标志，但研究表明，一个人对自己的言论或行动的信心水平往往与他们的实际知识存在差异。一个人自信或不确定的线索包括语言线索(例如，‘我认为’vs.我知道)、非语言提示(如面部表情、耸肩)和副语言提示(如语调、音调或语速)。大量研究考察了这些不同的感知线索如何影响成年人的学习和决策，然而，关于这些线索如何以及何时影响儿童的学习和发展，人们知之甚少。*本提案中实验的主要目的是1)描绘人们如何受到每一种与人的自信水平相关的不同语言和副语言线索(即语调、音调、音量、不流利、动词选择和语速)影响的发展起源和轨迹，2)研究每一条线索如何在不同的学习环境中影响学习和记忆(例如，学习事实和做出道德决定)，以及3)测试提高人们对这些言语线索的敏感度的具体方法，以促进学习和决策。*不同年龄(2岁及以上)儿童的代表性样本，以及成年人的样本，将呈现来自两个人的相互矛盾的信息，这些人的语言或副语言线索不同。在每个实验中，我检查了哪些信息被编码(学习)，以及不同的线索是否增强了参与者的记忆力。在不同的实验中，我会改变哪条线索被操纵，或者呈现出相互矛盾的线索，以确定哪条线索在不同的年龄最有影响力。*指导这项提议的关键问题包括：儿童在什么年龄对这些不同的语言和副语言线索中的每一个第一次敏感？当不同的线索相互竞争时，哪一个对学习的影响最大？我们能否训练个人对特定的言语暗示更敏感，以促进学习和决策？*这项拟议的研究直接促进了我们对儿童学习、记忆和认知发展的理解。它还为儿童和成人的言语感知提供了重要的见解，并在促进学习和改进决策方面有几个实际应用。

Summary*** Our lives involve learning on a regular basis. From learning new words to learning complex scientific principles, humans routinely rely on others to provide information. Unfortunately, people sometimes offer misinformation out of ignorance, uncertainty, or deception. Fortunately, there are several cues people can use to decide whether someone is providing credible information. *** One of the most readily observable cues is the degree of confidence or uncertainty displayed by an individual. Although confidence is not a perfect indication of credibility, research shows that a person's level of confidence in their statements or actions tends to co-vary with their actual knowledge. Cues to one's confidence or uncertainty include linguistic cues (e.g., ‘I think' vs. ‘I know'), nonverbal cues (e.g., facial expressions, shoulder shrugging), and paralinguistic cues (e.g., the intonation, pitch, or rate of speech). A wealth of research has examined how these different perceptual cues influence adults' learning and decision-making, however, very little is known about how, and when, each of these cues influences children's learning and development. *** The primary aims of the experiments in the current proposal are to 1) delineate the developmental origins and trajectory of how people are influenced by each of the different linguistic and paralinguistic cues that often correlate with a person's level of confidence (i.e., intonation, pitch, volume, disfluency, verb choice, and rate of speech), 2) examine how each cue influences learning and memory in different learning contexts (e.g., learning facts versus making moral decisions), and 3) test specific methods for improving people's sensitivity to these speech cues to foster learning and decision-making. *** Representative samples of children at different ages (ages 2 and up), as well as samples of adults, will be presented with conflicting information from two people whose speech differs in one linguistic or paralinguistic cue. In each experiment, I examine what information is encoded (learned), and whether participants' memory is enhanced by the different cues. Across experiments, I vary which cue is manipulated, or present conflicting cues, to determine which cue is most influential at different ages. *** Key questions that guide the proposal include: At what age are children first sensitive to each of these different linguistic and paralinguistic cues? When different cues are pitted against each other, which has the largest impact on learning? Can we train individuals to be more sensitive to specific speech cues to foster learning and decision-making? *** The proposed research directly advances our understanding of children's learning, memory, and cognitive development. It also provides important insights into children's and adults' speech perception and has several practical applications for fostering learning and improving decision-making.