Epistemic Responsibility

Children are quite good at recognizing trustworthy informants from a young age. Trustworthy and responsible informants consider evidence, check where their information comes from, and revise their beliefs when there is good reason to do so. However, how do children evaluate people who fail to conduct reasonable inquiry when acquiring or holding their beliefs? Do children think we have a responsibility to form and hold well-supported beliefs even when those beliefs remain private, or does responsibility depend mainly on whether false information affects other people?

Data collection for this study will take place in person at local museums and schools.