Study: Toddlers Can Tell if You're Stupid

A study conducted by Diane Poulin-Dubois of Concordia University has determined that children as young as fourteen months can determine whether or not an adult is a reliable source of information. Testers expressed delight that a toy was in a container, whether or not there really was one. Kids were eventually able to understand that certain testers could not be trusted to accurately report the presence of the toy:

"Infants seem to perceive reliable adults as capable of rational action, whose novel, unfamiliar behaviour is worth imitating," the researchers said. "In contrast, the same behaviour performed by a previously unreliable adult is interpreted as irrational or inefficient, thus not worthy of imitating."

Link -via Marginal Revolution | Photo by Flickr user xlordashx used under Creative Commons license