Children recognize conflicting intent in testimony

Most previous research on social learning has focused on informants' epistemic states (e.g., knowledge, expertise), but less is known about informants' motivations for sharing information. For instance, an informant can be knowledgeable but might yield personal benefits from sharing this information. Gossip is a special kind of testimony in which the relationship between the gossiper and the target of gossip is critical when determining the trustworthiness of testimony. We investigated whether 7- and 9-year-old children from the United States (N = 96) assessed the reliability of gossipers' claims by considering conflicting intent that arose based on the gossipers' group membership and the valence of gossip. Nine-year-olds, but not 7-year-olds, were less likely to endorse negative gossip ("I heard she often lies") than positive gossip ("I heard she tells the truth") by outgroup members. Overall, these findings indicate a developmental shift in children's recognition of potential conflicting intent in testimony and their trust in testimony. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).