(I am probably reading far too much into this. Copied the author, so perhaps she can enlighten me further!)
It's a fun study
Essentially, the source who was right without assistance became more trustworthy.
"Three-year-olds were equally likely to choose the puppet who'd known the answers on its own and the puppet that got help from Ted. But four- and five-year-olds were more discriminating: They invested more trust in the puppet whose accuracy reflected independent knowledge rather than being dependent on an external source. "We think it's important that from the age of around four, children are being sophisticated in a way that people hadn't really shown before," Einav says. "They're able to distinguish someone who's truly knowledgeable from someone who's given them a right answer but doesn't necessarily deserve long-term trust." This useful skill allows children to seek out people who are likely to be particularly beneficial for their learning."
SOME people believe things told to them as a personal testimonial MORE SO than a "scientific" source that relies on Multiple People (peer review at least) to come to conclusions.
"They invested more trust in the puppet whose accuracy reflected independent knowledge rather than being dependent on an external source."
AND perhaps why some have no conception that all ideas aren't equal.
Creation science is not equal to evolution for example and deserves a footnote in a political science class perhaps.
Seeming to "leave one's body" then seeing a white light, a tunnel, and a beckoning shadowy glowing figure
before "returning" to tell the tale doesn't mean there is life after death.
Global Warming? It's a hoax to enrich researchers (huh? LOL)
Yet many are taken in by "testimony" not supported by facts!
How does personal "testimony" serve The Religion of Republicans
(TROR - prounounced TERROR - yes, I just thought it up!)
0. Individuals helping themselves is ideal
1. since all government bad
2. since all taxes bad
3. and therefore lower taxes and less government means more work.
4. Work makes you free, since you can then be independent!
"Arbeit macht frei" is a slogan over the entrance of several Nazi Concentration Camps, most famously Auschwitz.
No substantiation for either 1 or 2, and, since taxes have essentially never been lower, 3 certainly doesn't hold either.
But, repeat it enough on enough news outlets and people BELIEVE it.
Don't need any outside help, THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE (along with the others who were given the same talking points)!
Perry, Palin, Bachmann all benefit from this odd tendency people have when judging reliability of sources.
Fox News Fair and Balanced...
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FRISHAssociation for Psychological Science (2011, August 20). Four-year-olds know that being right is not enough. ScienceDaily. Retrieved
