Follow my point? Preschoolers' expectations about veridicality disrupt their understanding of deceptive points

Preschoolers struggle to correctly interpret deceptive pointing. Does this difficulty stem from a bias to follow pointing gestures or a bias to believe those who point? Four-year-olds saw either deceptive pointing (which violates both biases) or true negative pointing (which only violates children's bias to follow pointing). A hider hid a sticker under one of two cups and pointed to the empty one. In the deceptive condition, the hider falsely claimed she would point to where the sticker was, whereas in the true negative condition, she truthfully claimed she would point to where the sticker was not. Preschoolers correctly interpreted true negative, but not deceptive, pointing. Even when a reliable speaker repeatedly reminded them about the deceptive intentions of the hider, children failed to search correctly. Inhibitory control helped children understand true negative points. Explaining how they were tricked helped children understand deceptive points. Children follow a deceptive point because they cannot overcome the bias to believe the pointer is truthful. Violations of this bias overwhelm other cognitive abilities that otherwise help children interpret others' communication.