Children base trait inferences about people on direct observations of behavior. In some situations, these inferences might conflict with information supplied by others. This study examined 3- to 6-year-olds’ willingness to change their own trait attributions about an actor after receiving a consistent or inconsistent trait label from an authority figure (i.e., a teacher). Participants were more likely to change their attributions when the teacher’s trait label was inconsistent with their own and when it was positive rather than negative. In response to inconsistent trait labels, 3- to 4-year-olds changed their trait labels more often than did 5- to 6-year-olds. The results indicate that children do not defer to a teacher’s trait testimony indiscriminately but take opportunities to view others positively. Findings are interpreted with reference to children’s perceptions of teacher knowledge and trait attribution biases.

中文翻译：

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“我可以相信我的眼睛吗？” 三至六岁的孩子愿意接受矛盾的性格特征标签

儿童基于对行为的直接观察来推断关于人的特质。在某些情况下，这些推论可能与其他人提供的信息相冲突。这项研究调查了3至6岁儿童在从权威人物（例如老师）获得一致或不一致的特征标签后，是否愿意改变自己对演员的特征归因。当教师的特质标签与他们自己的特征不一致时，或者是正面而非负面时，参与者更有可能改变他们的归因。为应对不一致的特质标签，3至4岁的孩子比5至6岁的孩子更频繁地更改其特质标签。结果表明，孩子们不会随意地服从教师的性格证言，而是会抓住机会积极看待他人。