ORCID
- Patricia Kanngiesser: 0000-0003-1068-3725
Abstract
There are sometimes legitimate reasons for breaking a promise when circumstances change. We investigated 3- and 5-year-old German children’s understanding of promise breaking in prosocial (helping someone else) and selfish (playing with someone else) conditions. In Study 1 (n = 80, 50% girls), preschoolers initially kept their own promise in all conditions. When they eventually broke their promise, 3-year-olds’ justifications mostly referenced salient events, whereas 5-year-olds also referenced social norms. In Study 2 (n = 65, 49% girls), 5-year-olds preferred others’ promise-breaking more in prosocial than selfish conditions; 3-year-olds showed the reverse pattern. Three-year-olds’ justifications focused on desires, whereas 5-year-olds focused on relevant events. Overall, 3-year-olds were able to offer justifications, but 5-year-olds started to distinguish what counted in the eyes of others as “good” and “bad” reasons for promise breaking.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2021-01-01
Publication Title
Cognitive Development
Volume
60
ISSN
0885-2014
Acceptance Date
2021-09-28
Deposit Date
2024-06-04
Embargo Period
2023-10-13
Recommended Citation
Kanngiesser, P., Mammen, M., & Tomasello, M. (2021) 'Young children’s understanding of justifications for breaking a promise', Cognitive Development, 60. Available at: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101127
