Confidence cues: Epistemic or social?

Abstract

Previous research indicates a general preference to learn from confident individuals among both adults and children. However, the interpretation of confidence remains ambiguous. In two experiments, adults (N = 192) and 7-to-10-year-olds (N = 143) were presented with a short video featuring either a confident or a hesitant person. Participants were subsequently queried about social and knowledge-related traits associated with the person and with confidence as an attribute. In Experiment 1, adults watching a confident person attributed more knowledge and positive social traits to the person than adults watching a hesitant person. In Experiment 2, children attributed more knowledge, but not more positive social traits, to a confident rather than a hesitant person. These findings not only help us gain a better understanding of how people perceive confidence, but also hint to how this interpretation changes with age, findings which have important implications for our understanding of social cognitive development.