Valence Effects in Reasoning about Evaluative Traits

Abstract

Reasoning about evaluative traits was investigated among a group of 7- and 8-year-olds (N = 34), a group of 11- to 13-year olds (N = 25), and a group of adults (N = 23) to determine whether their inferences would be sensitive to the valence of social and academic traits. Four aspects of trait-relevant beliefs were examined: (1) malleability, (2) stability over time, (3) origin in terms of nature versus nurture, and (4) an inference criterion that concerns how readily traits are inferred. Although there was evidence of an age-related decrease in the tendency to emphasize positive information, participants of all ages responded that positive traits are less malleable and more stable over time than negative traits, that the positive influences of biological and environmental factors are likely to override the negative influences, and that competence can be more readily inferred from positive outcomes than from negative outcomes.

Talking about success: Implications for achievement motivation

“…In addition, participants were more likely to view the character's ability as innate when current performance was positive rather than poor , F (1, 32) = 10.92, p < .01, η 2 = .25. This effect is consistent with other evidence that elementary school age children often reason in more essentialist ways about positive outcomes than negative outcomes (see Heyman & Giles, 2004). …”

Do you know how I feel? Parents underestimate worry and overestimate optimism compared to child self-report

“…We find this interpretation untenable. First, it contradicts an extensive research base showing that children, especially those aged 8 years and younger, tend to be highly positive about their attributes, abilities, and expectations for the future (Heyman & Giles, 2004;Lipko, Dunlosky, & Merriman, 2009;Schneider, 1998). Second, when studies have used objective measures as their criteria, parents describe their children more positively than reality.…”

From ugly duckling to swan?

“…Young children tend to believe that undesirable traits will change in an extreme positive direction over development (Lockhart et al, 2002). Young children's optimism for negative trait change does not simply result from a global response bias for endorsing all kinds of change since they perceive physical characteristics as more stable than psychological traits and they believe positive traits will remain stable (Heyman & Giles, 2004; Lockhart et al, 2002). Young children therefore appear not simply to be incremental theorists but optimists (Lockhart et al, 2002).…”

“…By priming participants to think about effort, we expected cultural differences in beliefs about trait stability to be apparent at an earlier age. We also examined beliefs about positive traits as a control against children simply favoring any kind of change (Heyman & Giles, 2004; Lockhart et al, 2002). Thus, we expected similar developmental patterns in the two cultures as well as cultural variations consistent with the entity/incremental distinction.…”