Children Show Selective Trust in Technological Informants

Although children are often exposed to technological devices early in life, little is known about how they evaluate these novel sources of information. In two experiments, children aged 3, 4, and 5 years old (n=92) were presented with accurate and inaccurate computer informants, and they subsequently relied on information provided by the previously accurate computer to identify novel objects and answer questions about unfamiliar facts. In a third experiment, 4- and 5-year-olds also expressed a preference for using the accurate computer to find answers on their own and for explaining the inaccurate computer's errors as a function of problems with the device, rather than errors on the part of the human user. These results suggest that young children use prior history of accuracy as a domain-general means of evaluating informants and that children can apply this understanding outside of interactions with other people.