The present study was conducted to investigate whether Iranian preschoolers display a bias in their responses to both affirmative and negative yes/no questions. The sample comprised 168 2-to 6-year-old children, who were asked a set of yes/no questions about eight everyday objects. The results showed that children of different ages are influenced differently by the question format. The findings suggest that yes/no questions carry some suggestibility load and impose some restrictions upon children’s responses. The influence of yes/no questions seems to grow weaker as children develop. Nevertheless, the use of such questions may affect task outcomes, especially when used with younger children.
AlmerigognaJ.OstJ.AkehurstL.FluckM. (2008). How interviewers’ nonverbal behaviors can affect children’s perceptions and suggestibility. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 100, 17–39.
2.
BradyM. S.PooleD. A.WarrenA. R.JonesH. R. (1999). Young children’s responses to yes–no questions: Patterns and problems. Applied Developmental Science, 3, 47–57.
3.
CoulmasF. (2005). Sociolinguistics: The study of speakers’ choices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4.
CoulthardM. (1985). An introduction to discourse analysis (2nd ed.). London: Longman.
5.
EricksonE. (1964). Insight and responsibility. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
6.
FritzleyV. H.LeeK. (2003). Do young children always say yes to yes–no questions? A metadevelopmental study of the affirmation bias. Child Development, 74, 1297–1313.
7.
GeeJ. P. (1999). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method. London: Routledge.
8.
GoodmanG. S.SharmaA.ThomasS.ConsidineM. (1995). Mother knows best: Effects of relationship status and interviewer bias on children’s memory. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 60, 195–228.
9.
GordonB. N.FollmerA. (1994). Developmental issues in judging the credibility of children’s testimony. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 23, 283–294.
10.
HallidayM. (1973). Explorations in the functions of language. London: Edward Arnold.
11.
HallidayM. (1978). Language as a social semiotic. London: Edward Arnold.
12.
KrähenbühlS.BladesM. (2006). The effect of interviewing techniques on young children’s responses to questions. Child: Care, Health and Development, 32, 321–331.
13.
LakoffR. (1973). Language and women’s place. Language in Society, 2, 45–80.
14.
MoriguchiY.OkandaM.ItakuraS. (2008). Young children’s yes bias: How does it relate to verbal ability, inhibitory control, and theory of mind?First Language, 28, 431–442.
15.
OkandaM.ItakuraS. (2007). Do Japanese children say ‘yes’ to their mothers? A naturalistic study of response bias in parent–toddler conversations. First Language, 27, 421–429.
16.
OrnsteinP. A.Baker-WardL.GordonB.MerrittK. (1997). Children’s memory for medical experiences: Implications for testimony. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 11, 87–104.
17.
PetersonC.BiggsM. (1997). Interviewing children about trauma: Problem with ‘specific’ questions. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 279–290.
18.
PetersonC.DowdenC.TobinJ. (1999). Interviewing preschoolers: Comparisons of yes – no and wh- questions. Law and Human Behavior, 23, 539–555.
19.
RoebersC.SchwarzS.NeumannR. (2005). Social influence and children’s event recall and suggestibility. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2, 47–69.
20.
RudyD.GrusecJ. E. (2006). Authoritarian parenting in individualistic and collectivistic groups: Associations with maternal emotion and cognition and children’s self-esteem. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 68–78.
21.
SteffensenM. S. (1978). Satisfying inquisitive adults: Some simple methods of answering yes – no questions. Journal of Child Language, 5, 221–236.
22.
von BaeyerC. L.ForsythS. J.StanfordE. A.WatsonM.ChambersC. T. (2009). Response biases in preschool children’s ratings of pain in hypothetical situations. European Journal of Pain, 13, 209–213.
23.
WardhaughR. (1986). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Basil Blackwell.
24.
WatermanA. H.BladesM.SpencerC. (2001). Interviewing children and adults: The effect of question format on the tendency to speculate. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15, 1–11.
25.
WeatherallA. (2002). Gender, language, and discourse. London: Routledge.
