The role of testimony in children's belief in the existence of the unobservable

Abstract

In the current chapter, we focus on how children come to develop concepts about things they cannot observe for themselves. We argue that the formation of belief in the unobservable-which includes entities that are difficult or impossible to experience first-hand-arises primarily through the testimony from trusted adults. We note that the impact of testimony is similar for both natural (e.g., scientific or historical facts) and supernatural (e.g., God, Santa Claus) concepts. We suggest that children's own developing understanding of physical possibility constrains the impact of testimonial information, leading to differences in how children come to think of natural and supernatural unobservables. Finally, we present a broader perspective of testimony's role in children's concept formation, examining the known and potential impacts of the community and cultural consensus.