From Credulity Bias to Selective Trust: Children’s Testimonial Learning and Its Educational Implications
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.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Child and Animal Learning Development
Memory Processes and Influences
Educational Strategies and Epistemologies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Educational Researcher
- Publisher
- American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 197–203
- Publication date
- 6 January 2026
- Language
- EN