Preschoolers’ selective trust in moral promises

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2024.01761

Abstract

Abstract:

Selective trust in preschoolers plays a crucial role in their social learning, and their ability to evaluate and form trust judgments toward individuals based on differing moral promises is essential for their moral development. Experiment 1 employed a binary choice paradigm, manipulating the moral valence of promises (moral vs. immoral) and the fulfillment of promises (kept vs. broken), to examine whether preschoolers can make different trust judgments toward different moral promisors. Results indicated that by 3.5 years of age, children began to show differentiated trust in contrasting scenarios, selectively trusting those who kept moral promises and those who broke immoral ones. This selective trust strengthened with age, suggesting a significant age effect. However, it remains unclear whether children can form trust judgments toward a promisor presented in an isolated scenario. To address this, Experiment 2 employed a single-choice paradigm to assess preschoolers’ trust in different moral promisors. Results revealed distinct trust patterns: children trusted those who kept moral promises more than those who broke immoral ones, while those who broke moral promises were trusted at similar levels to those who kept immoral promises. Together, the two experiments indicate that by 3.5 years of age, children can differentiate between the moral valence and fulfillment of promises, and they make nuanced trust judgments accordingly. These findings offer valuable insights into the development of children's moral reasoning and social learning mechanisms, with important implications for promoting moral education in early childhood.

Key words: moral promise, trust judgement, preschoolers

ZHENG Yuanxia, ZHONG Min, XIN Cong, LIU Guoxiong, ZHU Liqi. (2024). Preschoolers’ selective trust in moral promises. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 56(12), 1761-1772.

Figures/Tables 6

References 53

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Moral valence	Fulfillment
Moral valence	Keeping	Breaking	Conflict scenarios
Moral	1. Comfort other with his toy; 2. Pull a kid out of the hole	1. Doesn't help to find a puppy; 2. Doesn't protect a kid	Pull a kid out of the hole & not help to find a puppy
Immoral	1. Grab a toy car; 2. Knock down the blocks	1. Doesn't sneak a toy home; 2. Doesn't push other kids	Knock down the blocks & Doesn't sneak a toy home
Conflict scenarios	Give a toy & Grab a toy car	Doesn't push other kids & Doesn't protect a kid

Moral valence	Fulfillment
Moral valence	Keeping	Breaking	Conflict scenarios
Moral	1. Comfort other with his toy; 2. Pull a kid out of the hole	1. Doesn't help to find a puppy; 2. Doesn't protect a kid	Pull a kid out of the hole & not help to find a puppy
Immoral	1. Grab a toy car; 2. Knock down the blocks	1. Doesn't sneak a toy home; 2. Doesn't push other kids	Knock down the blocks & Doesn't sneak a toy home
Conflict scenarios	Give a toy & Grab a toy car	Doesn't push other kids & Doesn't protect a kid

Contexts	The protagonist’s testimony/promise.
Declarative	Xiaodong (pointed to the white one), “white candy is the best.” Xiaohong (pointed to the black one), “black candy is the best.”
Declarative	Xiaodong (pointed to the round one), “round cookie cannot be eaten.” Xiaohong (pointed to the square one), “square cookie cannot be eaten.”
Promising	Xiaodong, “I will eat first, and then eat candy.” Xiaohong, “I will eat first, and then eat candy.”
Promising	Xiaodong, “I promise to give you all the candies.” Xiaohong, “I promise to give you all the candies”

Contexts	The protagonist’s testimony/promise.
Declarative	Xiaodong (pointed to the white one), “white candy is the best.” Xiaohong (pointed to the black one), “black candy is the best.”
Declarative	Xiaodong (pointed to the round one), “round cookie cannot be eaten.” Xiaohong (pointed to the square one), “square cookie cannot be eaten.”
Promising	Xiaodong, “I will eat first, and then eat candy.” Xiaohong, “I will eat first, and then eat candy.”
Promising	Xiaodong, “I promise to give you all the candies.” Xiaohong, “I promise to give you all the candies”

Conflicting Scenarios	3.5~4.5岁		4.5~5.5岁		5.5~6.5岁		total
Conflicting Scenarios	M ± SD	V	M ± SD	V	M ± SD	V	total
Conditions of Promise Keeping: Moral Promise Keeping vs. Immoral Promise Keeping
Declarative	2.58 ± 1.35	387.50^*	2.72 ± 1.21	346.50^**	3.25 ± 0.87	521.50^***	2.85 ± 1.18
Promising	1.26 ± 0.83	275.50	1.44 ± 0.72	308.00^**	1.87 ± 0.40	684.00^***	1.53 ± 0.71
Conditions of Moral Promise: Keeping Moral Promises vs. Breaking Moral Promises
Declarative	2.45 ± 1.16	279.00^*	2.85 ± 1.37	530.00^***	3.18 ± 1.11	457.00^***	2.83 ± 1.24
Promising	1.16 ± 0.72	136.50	1.38 ± 0.75	294.00^**	1.62 ± 0.67	493.00^***	1.39 ± 0.73
Conditions of Immoral Promise: Keeping Immoral Promises vs. Breaking Immoral Promises
Declarative	2.32 ± 1.12	193.00	2.38 ± 1.44	334.50	3.03 ± 1.21	498.00^***	2.58 ± 1.29
Promising	1.34 ± 0.78	280.00^*	1.18 ± 0.89	304.00	1.53 ± 0.75	459.00^***	1.35 ± 0.81
Conditions of Broken Promises: Breaking Moral Promises vs. Breaking Immoral Promises
Declarative	2.03 ± 1.30	245.00	2.46 ± 1.35	337.50^*	2.43 ± 1.48	368.50	2.31 ± 1.39
Promising	0.95 ± 0.70	76.00	1.31 ± 0.83	325.50^*	1.45 ± 0.78	412.50^**	1.24 ± 0.80