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How to Increase Children's and Adults' Interest in Learning From Disagreement
Kirsten H Blakey1, Samuel Ronfard1
1Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada.
Developmental Science
|June 15, 2026
Summary
Children and adults often avoid opposing viewpoints, missing learning chances. Interventions teaching disagreement benefits and encouraging third-person perspectives can increase openness to diverse ideas.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Social Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Individuals often avoid engaging with those holding differing opinions.
- This avoidance can lead to missed opportunities for learning and intellectual growth.
- A discrepancy exists between personal preference for agreement and the recommendation for others to seek disagreement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate children's and adults' interest in learning from disagreement.
- To determine if this interest can be enhanced through specific interventions.
- To explore the self-other gap in seeking disagreement for learning.
Main Methods:
- Four preregistered studies involving children (6-11 years) and adults.
- Assessed preferences for learning from agreement versus disagreement.
- Tested interventions focused on highlighting epistemic benefits of disagreement and self-distancing.
Main Results:
- Both children and adults preferred learning from agreeable sources.
- Participants endorsed seeking disagreement for others more than for themselves.
- Explicitly teaching disagreement benefits and using self-distancing techniques increased engagement with opposing viewpoints.
Conclusions:
- Children and adults exhibit a preference for agreeable information sources.
- Interventions can effectively increase interest in learning from disagreement by emphasizing its epistemic value.
- Promoting self-distancing can help individuals prioritize learning benefits over social considerations.
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