Preschoolers Expect Pointers (Even Ignorant Ones) to Be Knowledgeable
Abstract
in front of the cups so that the children could watch as she hid the ball but could not see the particular cup she baited. She announced that she had finished and removed the barrier. Both actors faced the camera throughout the rest of the trial. The children were randomly assigned to three conditions. In the point condition (n = 16; mean age = 3 years 11 months), the two actors simultaneously pointed to different cups. In the grasp condition (n = 16; mean age = 4 years 0 months), they simultaneously grasped the tops of different cups. We used grasping as a comparison gesture because young children understand that it, like pointing, is intentional and object directed (Woodward, 1999). However, it is not often used communicatively, and so may not be as likely as pointing to lead to the misattribution of knowledge. In the baseline condi- tion (n = 16; mean age = 3 years 11 months), the two actors simply sat with their hands in their laps. After the actors ges- tured (or not), the experimenter paused the video and asked, Who knows where the ball is? One actor hid the ball on the first and fourth trials; the other actor did so on the middle two trials.
- DOI
- 10.1177/0956797611427043
- Sources
- openalex