Mills Candice M, Keil Frank C
Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
Psychol Sci. 2005 May;16(5):385-90. doi: 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.01545.x.
Two experiments explored the development of cynicism by examining how children evaluate other people who make claims consistent or inconsistent with their self-interests. In Experiment 1, kindergartners, second graders, and fourth graders heard stories with ambiguous conclusions in which characters made statements that were aligned either with or against self-interest. Older children took into account the self-interests of characters in determining how much to believe them: They discounted statements aligned with self-interest, whereas they accepted statements going against self-interest. Experiment 2 examined children's endorsement of three different explanations for potentially self-interested statements: lies, biases, and mistakes. Like adults, sixth graders endorsed lies and bias as plausible explanations for wrong statements aligned with self-interest; younger children did not endorse bias. Implications for the development of cynicism and children's understanding of bias are discussed.
两项实验通过研究儿童如何评价那些做出与自身利益一致或不一致主张的他人，探讨了犬儒主义的发展。在实验1中，幼儿园儿童、二年级学生和四年级学生听了一些结论模糊的故事，故事中的人物做出了与自身利益相符或相悖的陈述。年龄较大的儿童在确定对人物的信任程度时会考虑到人物的自身利益：他们对与自身利益相符的陈述持怀疑态度，而接受与自身利益相悖的陈述。实验2考察了儿童对潜在的自利陈述的三种不同解释的认可情况：谎言、偏见和错误。与成年人一样，六年级学生认可谎言和偏见是与自身利益相符的错误陈述的合理原因；年龄较小的儿童则不认可偏见。文中讨论了这些结果对犬儒主义发展以及儿童对偏见理解的启示。
