By the time children are in second grade, they know to take what people say with a grain of salt, particularly when the statement supports the speaker's self-interest.
The first part of the two-part study included 20 children each in kindergarten, second grade and fourth grade. The children were told very short stories in which characters made statements about the outcomes of contests that were in or against their self-interest. Children of all ages believed true statements more than clear lies. However, when characters made statements involving their self-interest about very close contests, children evaluated the statements in very different ways. Children in kindergarten were more likely to believe statements aligned with self-interest than statements going against self-interest, but by second grade they were much more savvy and they recognized that self-interest statements might not be accurate. Read more from this post.
