Understanding Conflict of Interest in Young Children's Social Learning

Children often learn about others through overheard conversations, such as gossip. However, relying on overheard conversations for knowledge poses a risk of misinformation or manipulation, as informants may have a conflict of interest or underlying motivation to skew the information they transmit about others. In order to effectively decide whom to trust or learn from, children must evaluate underlying motivations to infer informants' intentions. 

In this study, 5- to 7-year-old children will watch videos depicting an informant making a claim. Other individuals will then speak positively or negatively about the informant, who is either an ingroup or outgroup member. Children's responses to whether they trust the informant will be recorded. This study will help us understand whether children use information regarding a conflict of interest, such as group membership, when deciding whom to trust or learn from.