Overhearing adults' side comments influences young children's question-asking

This research investigated whether overheard adult evaluations about another child's question-asking behavior affect young children's own inquiry. In three studies with 440 5-6-year-olds (Mage = 6.06 years, 217 girls; middle-class Chinese), Study 1 showed that children who overheard brief positive comments about another child's questioning behavior asked twice as many questions as neutral controls. Study 2 demonstrated that overheard negative feedback about question-asking behavior halved inquiry rates. Study 3 replicated and generalized these effects to a new task. Across studies, effects were specific to comments targeting questioning behavior rather than the questioner or question quality. Thus, brief, overheard comments can significantly influence children's willingness to seek information under uncertainty, highlighting the role of subtle social cues in shaping children's curiosity and behavior.