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The development of cynicism.

Candice M Mills1, Frank C Keil

  • 1Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. candice.mills@yale.edu

Psychological Science
|May 5, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Children

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Cognition

Background:

  • Understanding how children develop cynicism is crucial for social development research.
  • Children's ability to evaluate others' claims based on self-interest is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the developmental trajectory of cynicism in children.
  • To examine how children's understanding of self-interest influences their belief in others' statements.
  • To explore children's explanations for potentially self-interested claims.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted with children from kindergarten to fourth grade.
  • Participants evaluated characters making statements aligned or against their self-interest.
  • Experiment 2 assessed children's endorsement of lies, biases, and mistakes as explanations.

Main Results:

  • Older children (fourth graders) discounted self-interested claims and believed claims against self-interest.
  • Sixth graders, similar to adults, recognized lies and bias as explanations for self-interested statements.
  • Younger children showed less understanding of bias as an explanation.

Conclusions:

  • Children's evaluation of others' claims evolves with age, incorporating self-interest considerations.
  • The development of cynicism is linked to understanding bias and self-interested motivations.
  • This research sheds light on children's developing social cognition and their interpretation of information.

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