Getting Stuck and Unstuck When Solving Puzzles

For 4- to 6-year-olds and 9- to 11-year olds

In this study, you will read two stories with your child about Jessica and Michael, two children who are playing puzzle games until they get stuck. Then you will help your child answer multiple-choice questions about what the characters are feeling and what they will do next. For older kids, this may mean just supervising while they do the study. The study has a “citizen science” design, with parents acting as the scientists and running the study. With more than 40 parents who have already done the study with their children, we know parents can do it, and enjoy it! No identifying information will be collected, making the study anonymous. Note that this study works best on a mobile device!

What do people do when they get stuck on a problem? Do kids understand learning-related emotions the same way that adults do? This study is focusing on learning situations where kids get stuck. We know quite a bit about how adults understand the state of "being stuck", but we don't know much about how children understand it. We are looking to see how children expect characters to act when they get stuck solving a puzzle. When will the characters give up, and when will they persevere and keep trying to solve the problem? This will help us figure out how children and adults differ in their thinking about getting stuck and related emotions.

10 minutes