Abstract
This study investigated whether children’s receptiveness to testimony from previously inaccurate informants reflected their pursuit of social goals (e.g., maintaining positive relationships). In a sticker-finding task, the experimenter hid a sticker in a box outside the children’s view and asserted that the sticker was in a different box opposite the one where it was hidden. The children were observed in order to ascertain which box they examined first for eighth trials. For the control group, the experimenter was present in front of the children while they were seeking the box in all eight trials. For the experimental group, the experimenter was absent in the fifth and eight trials while the children were seeking, but was present in the remaining trials. In the results, girls in the experimental group were less likely to act on testimony when the experimenter was absent than when the experimenter was present. The boys' performances did not differ whether the experimenter was present or absent. The results suggested social goals were in play for the girls' receptiveness to inaccurate testimony.
