Children tend to discount negative feedback about their performance even when the feedback is delivered by an expert. This indifference toward feedback could hinder self-improvement. We examined whether children would be receptive to negative feedback from an expert when provided with an explicit reason why it was given. One-hundred twenty-one 4 to 8 year olds heard about a target peer whose work product was evaluated negatively by an expert peer and positively by either a single layperson or a consensus of laypersons (also peers). Children were assigned to one of the three conditions in which the reason for the negative feedback varied: the expert promised to tell the truth about the work, the expert was a designated “helper,” or no explanation was provided. Children judged whether feedback from the expert and layperson(s) should be shared with the teacher and the target. Across ages, children indicated that the expert should share negative feedback with the teacher when the expert promised to tell the truth. Only 6 to 8 year olds reported that an expert who promised to tell the truth should convey this feedback to the target. Implications for children's interpretation of evaluative content in social learning situations are discussed.

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诚实总是最好的策略吗？儿童对负面绩效反馈的看法

即使反馈是由专家提供的，孩子们也倾向于忽略对其表现的负面反馈。这种对反馈的冷漠可能会阻碍自我完善。我们检查了当专家给出明确的原因时，儿童是否会接受专家的负面反馈。121 名 4 至 8 岁的儿童听说过目标同伴的工作成果被专家同伴负面评价，而由单个外行人或外行人（也是同伴）的一致意见给予正面评价。孩子们被分配到负面反馈原因各不相同的三个条件之一：专家承诺说出工作的真相，专家是指定的“帮助者”，或者没有提供任何解释。孩子们判断专家和外行的反馈是否应该与老师和目标分享。不同年龄段的孩子都表示，当专家承诺说实话时，专家应该与老师分享负面反馈。只有 6 到 8 岁的孩子报告说，承诺说真话的专家应该将此反馈传达给目标。讨论了儿童在社会学习情境中解释评价内容的意义。