Citation

Heather Fritzley V, Lindsay RCL, Lee K. Child Dev. 2013; 84(2): 711-725.

Affiliation

Queen's University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/cdev.12006

PMID

23106312

Abstract

Two experiments investigated response tendencies of preschoolers toward yes-no questions about actions. Two hundred 2- to 5-year-old children were asked questions concerning actions commonly associated with particular objects (e.g., drinking from a cup) and actions not commonly associated with particular objects (e.g., kicking a toothbrush). The impact of delay and comprehension of questions were also investigated. Results revealed a consistent developmental transition: Younger children tended to display a yes bias whereas older children did not display a bias unless they faced incomprehensible questions, in which case they displayed a nay-saying bias. Delay shifted children's responses in such a way that "no" answers were given more often. These findings hold important implications regarding the use of yes-no questions with children.

Language: en