Trusting information from friends: Adults expect it but preschoolers do not.

Abstract

It often seems easier to trust information from friends than strangers. Do preschoolers and adults expect such bias towards friends? Presented with a main character, her best friend, and a stranger, participants judged who was worthy of trust from the main character's perspective (third-person) as well as their own (first-person). Adults (n = 128, 55 female) expected the main character to trust her friend even if she had been previously inaccurate, while basing their own judgments on accuracy. In contrast, four-and five-year-olds (n = 128, 62 female) thought that the main character would be like themselves and care only about accuracy. Thus, while adults incorporate both friendship and accuracy into trust judgments, preschoolers fail to see that friendship matters.