TY - JOUR
T1 - Children's acquiescence to polysemous implicature questions about coaching
T2 - The role of parental support
AU - Wylie, Breanne E.
AU - St. George, Suzanne
AU - McWilliams, Kelly
AU - Evans, Angela D.
AU - Stolzenberg, Stacia N.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation [FP00016765]. The National Science Foundation had no involvement in the study design, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, in the writing of the report, and in the decision to submit the article for publication. We would like to thank the Ontario Science Centre and the families who participated for their support of this project.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation [ FP00016765 ]. The National Science Foundation had no involvement in the study design, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, in the writing of the report, and in the decision to submit the article for publication. We would like to thank the Ontario Science Centre and the families who participated for their support of this project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2022/1/1
Y1 - 2022/1/1
N2 - Children may be asked questions with subtle and implied meanings. The present study examined whether, and under what conditions, 5- to 10-year-old children affirmed polysemous implicature questions that implied coaching, when in fact no coaching occurred. Participants (N = 161) were presented with vignettes about a transgression where the child disclosed to a supportive or unsupportive parent, and were asked three polysemous implicature coaching questions (e.g., “Did the mom practice with the boy/girl what to say?”). Overall, children acquiesced to implied coaching questions, when in fact no coaching occurred (39% of the time), though acquiescence rates decreased with age and improved false-belief understanding. Furthermore, children were more likely to acquiesce when the mother was supportive, and when the question more subtly suggested coaching. These findings provide novel evidence of the developmental trajectory of children's understanding of polysemous implicatures and the underlying social-cognitive mechanisms, with implications for questioning children in investigative contexts.
AB - Children may be asked questions with subtle and implied meanings. The present study examined whether, and under what conditions, 5- to 10-year-old children affirmed polysemous implicature questions that implied coaching, when in fact no coaching occurred. Participants (N = 161) were presented with vignettes about a transgression where the child disclosed to a supportive or unsupportive parent, and were asked three polysemous implicature coaching questions (e.g., “Did the mom practice with the boy/girl what to say?”). Overall, children acquiesced to implied coaching questions, when in fact no coaching occurred (39% of the time), though acquiescence rates decreased with age and improved false-belief understanding. Furthermore, children were more likely to acquiesce when the mother was supportive, and when the question more subtly suggested coaching. These findings provide novel evidence of the developmental trajectory of children's understanding of polysemous implicatures and the underlying social-cognitive mechanisms, with implications for questioning children in investigative contexts.
KW - Acquiescence
KW - Child development
KW - Coaching
KW - Implied questioning
KW - Polysemous implicature
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U2 - 10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101370
DO - 10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101370
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121139517
SN - 0193-3973
VL - 78
JO - Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
JF - Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
M1 - 101370
ER -