The effects of questions and answers to questions upon rule following were investigated with 15 children, distributed in three groups. In phases 1 and 3, the number of candies given was measured; in Phase 2, a story was told with a rule specifying that who gives goodies has friends to play. The groups differed in Phase 2: for Group 1, the experimenter did not ask questions; for Group 2, questions were asked during the story telling; and for Group 3, questions were asked at the end of the story. From those participants who did not give candies in Phase 1 of groups 1, 2 e 3, 50%, 100% and 100%, respectively, did so in Phase 3. The results of this study suggest that questions and answers interfere with the occurrence of rule following.
descriptive rules; questions and answers to questions; children's stories
