@article {4305, title = {How Adults{\textquoteright} Actions, Outcomes, and Testimony Affect Preschoolers{\textquoteright} Persistence}, journal = {Child Development}, year = {2019}, month = {Sep-09-2019}, abstract = {

Across four experiments, we looked at how 4- and 5-year-olds{\textquoteright} (n\ =\ 520) task persistence was affected by observations of adult actions (high or low effort), outcomes (success or failure), and testimony (setting expectations{\textemdash}{\textquotedblleft}This will be hard,{\textquotedblright} pep talks{\textemdash}{\textquotedblleft}You can do this,{\textquotedblright} value statements{\textemdash}{\textquotedblleft}Trying hard is important,{\textquotedblright} 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{\textquoteright}s persistence, but only when the adult succeeded. Finally, children{\textquoteright}s persistence was highest when the adult both succeeded and practiced what she preached: exerting effort while testifying to its value.

}, issn = {0009-3920}, doi = {10.1111/cdev.13305}, url = {https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.13305}, author = {Leonard, Julia A. and Garcia, Andrea and Laura Schulz} }