To
'help' or to' be a helper'? That is the question that researchers from University of California, University of Washington, and Stanford University studied in their efforts to
understand if an adult's choice of words influence helping behaviour in
preschoolers.
And it seems that grammar matters. When children (aged 3-6 years old) were divided into two play groups and asked to either 'help' or 'be a helper' in packing away and tidying activities, children who heard the noun, helper, helped significantly more than children who heard the verb, help. The researchers also gathered baseline data, to determine to what extent children were helping without being asked. Children who heard the verb wording didn't help any more than when no request for help was made at all.
And it seems that grammar matters. When children (aged 3-6 years old) were divided into two play groups and asked to either 'help' or 'be a helper' in packing away and tidying activities, children who heard the noun, helper, helped significantly more than children who heard the verb, help. The researchers also gathered baseline data, to determine to what extent children were helping without being asked. Children who heard the verb wording didn't help any more than when no request for help was made at all.
So
can getting a preschooler to help with chores and tasks really be as simple as
using the noun wording and not the verb? “These findings suggest that
parents and teachers can encourage young children to be more helpful by using
nouns like helper instead of verbs like helping when making a request of a
child,” says researcher Christopher J. Bryan, assistant professor of
psychology at the University of California, San Diego.
When it comes to getting children to help, Professor Bryan suggests the positive role of becoming a helper may be a motivator. “Using the noun helper may send a signal that helping implies something positive about one’s identity, which may in turn motivate children to help more.”
When it comes to getting children to help, Professor Bryan suggests the positive role of becoming a helper may be a motivator. “Using the noun helper may send a signal that helping implies something positive about one’s identity, which may in turn motivate children to help more.”
The
study of 150 children is published in Child Development journal.
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