Does your little one like to dress up and wear her costume wherever she goes? Well, according to a study published in Quartz magazine, Children who disguise themselves as superheroes or any other fictional character are more likely to concentrate on a task for a long time and to work harder than other children.
These are the conclusions reached by the team of North American researchers at the University of Minnesota, after studying the behavior of a group of children between four and six years of age. We tell you what the curious experiment consisted of.
What did the experiment consist of?
A group of 180 children between the ages of four and six met and they were assigned a pretty boring computer task, asking them to work on it for ten minutes.
As an alternative, they were offered to leave the computer and play an iPad game strategically placed in the testing room, although they were stressed that their work was very important and try to focus on it.
Before beginning their homework, each participating child was placed in one of three control groups:
The children of group 1 were asked to work on their homework focusing fully on it, and to continually ask themselves "I'm working hard?"
The children of group 2 were asked the same thing but identifying with an imaginary person They called Hannah, and they were invited to ask the question, "Is Hannah working hard?"
The children of group 3 were asked to disguise the fictional character they chose and that they really thought I worked hard. The children dressed up as Spiderman, Batman, Dora the Explorer or Hulk, among others. They were asked to identify with their character and ask themselves, "Is Batman working hard?"
For ten minutes, the children had full freedom to move between "their work" (the task assigned on the computer) or the iPad, and every minute they were reminded through a speaker to ask the question assigned to their group. Further, they were constantly reminded that "their work" was very important and useful and that they had to work hard on it as long as possible.
What was the results?
As expected, 63% of children spent their ten minutes of time playing with the iPad and only 37% focused on the boring computer task assigned to them.
But the difference was made by children dressed as fictional characters and who imagined themselves as superheroes or other animated characters. This group worked longer in their homework than the other two groups.The reason, according to the researchers is that costumed children identified with the character traits of the superhero or character they wanted to imitate, and this led them to distance themselves from reality and obviate the temptation of playing with the iPad.
The results of group 2, the one that was identified with an imaginary third person, were also significantly better than those of group 1, which were asked to be themselves.
Other significant change was marked by age. The four-year-old children spent only a quarter of their time doing the assigned homework, while the six-year-olds spent half of their time on it. That is, as the child grows, his ability to concentrate, his abilities and the execution of the tasks is strengthened.
It is not a new find
This curious study, however, shows nothing new to researchers, because it is based on the famous experiment baptized as the "Marshmallow test" or "candy test", carried out by Walter Mischel in the 60s.
A child looks doubtfully at the bauble during the Marshmallow Test That experiment measured the level of self-control of children under four who were placed in front of a bauble and were given two options:
Eat it without getting anything in return more than the immediate pleasure of tasting the sweet
OR resist the temptation not to eat it for a period of time, and get another bauble the same as a reward if they passed the test
Children who were able to endure for a while in front of the bauble without eating it, that is, those who showed a higher level of self-controlThey were more successful in their adult stage than the other group: they obtained better academic results, earned more money in their jobs, were happier and even had less risk of obesity.
"The key is to" cool down. "Cooling can be achieved by putting an imaginary distance between the object of desire and oneself (for example, imagining that the candy before us is not real but a photograph), or imagining that Sweet is not a bauble but any other object. Focusing on a completely foreign experience can also work, just like any technique that forces them to turn their attention "- explained Maria Konnikova, writer of The New Yorker magazine specialized in psychology and science .
In summary, and according to researchers, the fact that children show self control and do not succumb to certain temptations, is linked to greater academic, labor and social success in its future. And it seems that dressing up as a superhero can help!
Via Babble
In Babies and More Children able to resist a sweet have less risk of obesity in adulthood, The seven definitive tips to educate your children (according to Harvard psychologists)
