2-123 - Children’s Selective Trust in Text

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The ability to read opens up new opportunities for children to learn about the world, but carries the risk of exposure to inaccuracy. Although there has been a recent explosion of research on young children’s selective trust in oral testimony (Mills, 2013), little is known about the development of trust in text. The processes involved are likely to differ, given that printed sources cannot easily be scrutinized for reliability using criteria that children apply when evaluating spoken claims. The four papers contributing to this symposium examine how trust in text relates to the child’s ability to decode print for themselves, the cues inherent in the text (e.g., authorship cues), and the type of information they seek. Paper 1 investigates whether text-based instructions read aloud are more likely to guide children's actions compared to instructions presented orally or via an alternative physically enduring symbol, as well as the effects of the child’s reading status. The role of reading ability is further investigated by Paper 2, which examines whether children’s trust in text is delayed in Norway as a result of later exposure to formal reading instruction at school. Paper 3 compares children’s trust in printed versus handwritten text to explore sensitivity to authorship cues. Finally, Paper 4 examines whether the type of information children seek (biology, physics or psychology domains) affects their preference for human (mother, teacher) or print-based sources (computer, library). Taken together these four studies highlight the important impact of text in children’s selective learning.

Sub Unit

• Social Cognition

Chairs

• Kathleen H Corriveau, Boston University

• Shiri Einav, Nottingham University

Individual Presentations

• Early readers trust print-based instructions over other information sources to guide their actions - Presenting Author: Shiri Einav, Nottingham University; Kathleen H Corriveau, Boston University

• Trust in text in children who do not receive reading instruction until age 6: Results from a Norwegian sample - Presenting Author: Veslemøy Rydland, University of Oslo; Vibeke Grover, University of Oslo

• Children's sensitivity to authorship cues and qualifiers when evaluating text - Presenting Author: Angie Johnston, Yale University; Samantha Marfurt, Yale University; Frank C Keil, Yale University

• Children’s preference for human versus non-human information sources - Presenting Author: Judith H Danovitch, University of Louisville