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Related Experiment Videos

Thinking about multiple identities boosts children's flexible thinking.

Sarah E Gaither1, Samantha P Fan2, Katherine D Kinzler3

  • 1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Faculty Affiliate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Center on Health and Society, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Developmental Science
|May 31, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Encouraging children to consider their multiple identities enhances flexible thinking and problem-solving skills. This approach, focusing on self-relevant, enduring traits, promotes open-mindedness in diverse societies.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Children's social identity development often overlooks multifaceted identities.
  • Understanding multiple identities is crucial for cognitive flexibility.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if awareness of multiple identities promotes flexible thinking in children.
  • To determine if self-relevance and enduring traits enhance this effect.

Main Methods:

  • Three experiments with 6- to 7-year-old children (N=166 total).
  • Comparison between Multiple-Identities and Physical-Traits conditions.
  • Manipulation of self-relevance and identity framing (noun vs. verb phrases).

Main Results:

Keywords:
flexibilitymindsetmultiple identitiessocial categorization

Related Experiment Videos

  • Children in the Multiple-Identity condition showed greater problem-solving and categorization flexibility.
  • Self-relevant multiple identities, framed as enduring traits, most effectively boosted creative thinking.
  • Thinking about another child's identities did not yield the same cognitive benefits.

Conclusions:

  • Promoting awareness of multifaceted, self-relevant identities can reduce rigid thinking.
  • This approach may foster open-mindedness, particularly valuable in diverse societal contexts.
  • Identity awareness is a simple yet effective tool for enhancing cognitive flexibility.