Children observe a film in which Billy acts mean to three peers. They rate how "bad" Billy's behavior is, indicate the extent to which Billy is "mean", and then make predictions about how Billy is likely to behave toward peers next week. If their behavioral predictions reflect true trait-like inferences, then the best predictor of their inferences about Billy's future behavior will be _____, a type of reasoning they begin to display by _____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best predictor of their inferences about Billy's future behavior will be ratings of how mean they perceived Billy to be. This is because they are making trait-like inferences about Billy's personality based on his behavior, and the perception of him as "mean" reflects a more stable aspect of his personality that is likely to predict future behavior. This type of reasoning is typically displayed by age 9 to 10, when children begin to make more complex and sophisticated trait inferences.

Children Observe a Film in Which Billy Acts Mean to Three