Running head: TRUST IN TEXT Reading to Learn: Pre-readers' and Early Readers' Trust in Text as a Source of Knowledge

Literacy gives children an opportunity to benefit from others’ knowledge and experience that far exceeds what they can achieve when reliant on learning orally via personal encounters. Little is known about young children’s understanding and use of print as a source of knowledge. Three experiments investigated children’s use and understanding of printed names as sources of information about the identity of unfamiliar targets. Children in Experiment 1, (N = 34 aged 5years; 5 months to 7;05) proactively used printed labels to correct their guesses. In Experiment 2 (N = 86 aged 3;07 to 6;02) early readers offered a picture strip with labels (illegible to them) rather than one without labels to help a doll identify the target. Younger pre-readers showed no such preference. In Experiment 3 (N = 69 aged 3;02 to 6;02), early readers believed oral suggestions backed up with labels (illegible to them), over suggestions without such backing. Younger pre-readers less frequently showed such trust in the reliability of information gained via print. Children may treat print as a reliable source of knowledge as soon as they can decode print for themselves, but not before.

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