How children revise their beliefs in light of reasons

Abstract We investigate how the ability to respond appropriately to reasons provided in discourse develops in young children. In Study 1 ( N = 58, Germany, 26 girls), 4‐ and 5‐, but not 3‐year‐old children, differentiated good from bad reasons. In Study 2 ( N = 131, Germany, 64 girls), 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children considered both the strength of evidence for their initial belief and the quality of socially provided reasons for an alternative view when deciding whether to change their minds. Study 3 ( N = 80, the United States, 42 girls, preregistered) shows that 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children also consider meta‐reasons (reasons about reasons) in their belief revision. These results suggest that by age 4, children possess key critical thinking capacities for participating in public discourse.