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Special days for one group inform children about both mentioned and unmentioned groups
Erin Kim1, Bethany Rutkowski1, Leah Vaidya1
1Wesleyan University, USA.
None:
Across three experiments (N = 520 children, 101 adults), we explore how statements about opportunities for one of two groups elicit inferences about both mentioned and unmentioned groups. Participants in the main experimental condition were introduced to a pair of novel social groups and heard a statement about an activity-focused day for one group. They provided ratings of how good they thought each group was at the activity. Children rated the mentioned group strongly positively and the unmentioned group somewhat negatively. Adults rated the mentioned group strongly positively and the unmentioned group neutrally. Ratings in a comparison condition, in which activity days were linked with neither group, were lower than the mentioned group's ratings and higher than the unmentioned group's ratings in the experimental condition. This provides evidence for another case in which statements may lead listeners to draw social inferences that the speaker did not intend.
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