How does practice make progress?

For 5- and 8-year-olds who speak English and are located in the United States. Each child can only participate a single time.

In this study, your child will hear a story in which characters make different decisions about how to practice a ring toss game, and experience different outcomes (e.g., success or failure). Your child will be asked to make predictions and judgments about the characters in the story.

When children fail, they need to understand that sometimes it is helpful to embrace failure in pursuit of a goal, but other times, failure can be a useful cue to shift strategies. We are interested in how children come to understand difficulty as a productive part of the learning process. As an initial step, this study investigates how children predict a character's performance from their past practice decision.

15 minutes

Families will receive a $5 (USD) Amazon E-Gift card for participating in this research within one week of taking part. Your family will receive this gift card even if your child is unable to complete the whole study. However, to receive the gift card, your child must be (1) within the age range of the study (2) reside in the United States, and (3) be clearly visible on camera.