Children's use of mental state information in selecting persuasive arguments

Bibliographic Data

ID9788079
AuthorsKaren Bartsch (0000-0001-7776-7777, University of Wyoming, corresponding author), Kaja Bartsch (University of Wyoming, corresponding author), Kamala London (0000-0001-7524-8105)
Year2000
Volume36
Issue3
Pages352-365
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/0012-1649.36.3.352
PMID10830979
OpenAlexW1981428932
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited57

Whether and when children use information about others' mental states to invent or select persuasive strategies were examined. In Study 1, preschoolers, 3rd-graders, and 6th-graders (ns = 11, 12, and 16, respectively; 17 girls) were told about story characters' persuading parents to buy pets or toys. Children were either given or not given information about story parents' beliefs and asked to invent or select appropriate arguments. Older children, but not preschoolers, used belief information to select arguments. Results were replicated in Study 2 (16 kindergartners, 16 3rd-graders; 19 girls). In Study 3, kindergartners and 1st-graders (N = 16; 6 girls) reasoned well on false-belief tasks but not on persuasion tasks, suggesting that failure to consider mental states in persuasion was not due to lack of a belief concept. Findings suggest that mental state understanding may continue to develop after the preschool years; methodological qualifications are also considered

Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Mental state · Persuasion · State (computer science · Theory of mind · Child and Animal Learning Development · Child Development and Digital Technology · Early Childhood Education and Development · Education and Critical Thinking Development · Educational Strategies and Epistemologies · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub