How Adults’ Actions, Outcomes, and Testimony Affect Preschoolers’ Persistence

• Leonard, Julia A. ^[1] ; Garcia, Andrea ^[2] ; Schulz, Laura E. ^[2]
  1. [1] University of Pennsylvania

     University of Pennsylvania

     City of Philadelphia, Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] Massachusetts Institute of Technology

     Massachusetts Institute of Technology

     City of Cambridge, Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Child development, ISSN 0009-3920, Vol. 91, Nº. 4, 2020, págs. 1254-1271
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Across four experiments, we looked at how 4- and 5-year-olds' (n = 520) task persistence was affected by observations of adult actions (high or low effort), outcomes (success or failure), and testimony (setting expectations??This will be hard,? pep talks??You can do this,? value statements??Trying hard is important,? and baseline). Across experiments, outcomes had the biggest impact: preschoolers consistently tried harder after seeing the adult succeed than fail. Additionally, adult effort affected children?s persistence, but only when the adult succeeded. Finally, children?s persistence was highest when the adult both succeeded and practiced what she preached: exerting effort while testifying to its value.