November 7, 2019: "How adults' actions, outcomes, and testimony affect preschoolers' persistence."

In our lab meeting this week we discussed Leonard, Garcia and Schulz's (2019) study, "How adults' actions, outcomes, and testimony affect preschoolers' persistence." The researchers looked at the influence of observing adults doing a puzzle (with variable actions, outcomes and testimonies) on children's persistence in doing the same puzzle. They found that children persisted the longest when the adult exerted effort, succeeded in solving the puzzle, and provided testimony about the value of persisting.

Leonard, J.A., Garcia, A., & Schulz, L.E. (2019). How adults' actions, outcomes, and testimony affect preschoolers' persistence. Child Development, 1-18.