More than words: Children’s ability to recognize a speaker’s confidence from vocal cues

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Social Cognition

Abstract

Background and Rationale: The intonation, stress, and speed with which words are spoken, referred to as paralinguistic information, plays an important role in learning from a young age. Despite a very early sensitivity to some paralinguistic information, much needs to be learned about the meaning of different paralinguistic cues (e.g. Golan et al, 2006). It remains unknown when in development children understand the meaning of paralinguistic cues to a person’s level of certainty, and how this develops. What role does theory of mind play in predicting children’s understanding of paralinguistics cues to certainty?

Methods: We presented 34 three- & four-year-olds (M = 50 months), and 32 five-&six-year-olds, M = 73 months) with voice recordings of 2 speakers labeling novel objects—one using paralinguistic cues of certainty (e.g. “That’s a rayble! A Rayble! with a fast rate of speech and declining intonation) and the other uncertainty (e.g. That’s a…rayble? a…rayble? with slower and less fluent speech and raised intonation). In 4 Endorse trials participants were asked whether the answer provided by the certain or uncertain speaker was correct. Then, in 4 Ask trials participants were presented with more novel objects and asked which of the speakers (previously certain or uncertain) to ask. Participants were then asked Explicit Knowledge questions (e.g. who was smarter?). Forty children completed 4 items from the Theory of Mind scale (Wellman & Liu, 2000).

Results. Directional t-tests and hierarchical regression with age in months were employed. Endorse Trials: Only the older children preferred to endorse the confident speaker’s labels over chance levels, t (31) =1.833, p = .038. Age and theory of mind did not account for a significant amount of the variance in children’s tendency to endorse the more certain speaker’s label (ps > .50). Ask Trials: Interestingly, neither age group reliably sought new information from the previously certain over the previously uncertain speaker. At stage one, Theory of Mind contributed significantly, F (1,39) = 9.358, p = .004) and accounted for 20% of the variation. Introducing age did not explain a significant amount of additional variance, p = .365, ns. Explicit Knowledge: Both younger (t (33) = 1.949, p = .03) and older (t (31) = 4.724, p = .000) children correctly responded to the explicit knowledge questions. At stage one, Theory of Mind contributed significantly, F (1,39) = 4.668, p = .037) and accounted for 11% of the variation in Explicit Knowledge performance. Introducing age in stage 2 did not account for a significant change in variance explained, p = .16, ns.

Conclusions: By 6 years of age children prefer to endorse the labels of speakers who exhibit paralinguistic cues of certainty over those who exhibit uncertainty. Understanding that a previously certain speaker, rather than a previously uncertain speaker, is likely to be the more credible source about other information is not simply acquired with age. Instead, this understanding, along with children’s explicit knowledge of a speaker’s level of certainty, is explained by developmental change in children’s theory of mind.

Authors

• Susan A J Birch, University of British Columbia (UBC)
  Presenting Author

• Siba Ghrear, University of British Columbia (UBC)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nicolle Cai, University of British Columbia (UBC)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Gurvir Singh Dhutt, Queen’s University
  Non-Presenting Author