Social and Cognitive Factors Associated With Preschoolers’ Different Persuasive Styles

Persuasion skills consist of a complex concoction of specific mental, emotional, and social abilities. Interest in this topic continues to grow; however, there remains limited knowledge on social and cognitive correlates of persuasion in childhood. The present study explores the interrelations among specific cognitive abilities, social skills, and persuasive strategies in preschool age. A sample of 86 (42 boys) children (Mage = 4.85 years, SD = 0.51) was administered a persuasion task, a language test, and a battery of theory of mind and executive functioning tasks. Preschool teachers rated children’s social competence. Despite the low frequency of preschoolers’ persuasion strategies, results showed significant links among theory of mind, executive functioning, social skills, and persuasion strategies. Results also showed a diverse range of skills that predicted children’s persuasive styles. Findings will be discussed within the context of existing literature, considering implications for future research and educational practice.