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Abstract

Children’s testimonial learning undergoes a developmental shift from credulity bias to selective trust. Whereas young children tend to accept others’ testimony without question, they gradually learn to evaluate its credibility based on cues, such as the speaker’s accuracy, expertise, and contextual reliability. Drawing on research in developmental psychology, this article challenges the romanticized view of children as autonomous learners, highlighting the crucial role of testimony in learning, and further argues that testimonial learning is also shaped by sociopolitical contexts.

Keywords

child development cognitive development credulity bias human development philosophy psychology selective trust social processes/development sociopolitical contexts testimonial learning textual analysis

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From Credulity Bias to Selective Trust: Children’s Testimonial Learning and Its Educational Implications

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Keywords

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