Logo image
Younger, not older, children trust an inaccurate human informant more than an inaccurate robot informant
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Younger, not older, children trust an inaccurate human informant more than an inaccurate robot informant

Xiaoqian Li and W. Quin Yow
Child development, Vol.95(3), pp.988-1000
05/2024
PMID: 38041211

Abstract

This study examined preschoolers' trust toward accurate and inaccurate robot informants versus human informants. Singaporean children aged 3–5 years (N = 120, 57 girls, mostly Asian; data collected from 2017 to 2018) viewed either a robot or a human adult label familiar objects either accurately or inaccurately. Children's trust was assessed by examining their subsequent willingness to accept novel object labels provided by the same informant. Regardless of age, children trusted accurate robots to a similar extent as accurate humans. However, while older children (dis)trusted inaccurate robots and humans comparably, younger children trusted inaccurate robots less than inaccurate humans. The results indicate a developmental change in children's reliance on informants' characteristics to decide whom to trust.

Metrics

1 Record Views

Details

Logo image