Children prefer to learn from mind-readers.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Development
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Cognition

Background:

• Children's selective learning is influenced by informant's demonstrated abilities.
• Prior research indicates children understand ordinary mental state attribution.
• The study extends selective learning to the domain of theory of mind.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate children's selective learning from informants with ordinary versus extraordinary mind-reading abilities.
• To examine age-related differences in learning from extraordinary informants.
• To assess the role of informant differentiation in selective learning.

Main Methods:

• Children aged 3-4 and 5-6 years were presented with two informants: one with ordinary, one with extraordinary mind-reading skills.
• Participants' learning from each informant was assessed.
• Age and ability to differentiate informants were analyzed as predictors of learning.

Main Results:

• Older children (5-6 years) were more likely than younger children (3-4 years) to learn from the extraordinary informant.
• Children's ability to differentiate between the informants predicted learning from the extraordinary informant more strongly than chronological age.
• Selective learning in the domain of psychology is influenced by perceived extraordinary abilities.

Conclusions:

• Children's selective learning extends to social-cognitive domains, favoring extraordinary informants.
• Developing the ability to differentiate informants is crucial for learning from extraordinary sources.
• Findings inform understanding of children's reasoning about mental states, prayer, and impossibility.