Thursday, July 13, 2017

The "Batman Effect": perseverance can be taught through role play

White, R. E., Prager, E. O., Schaefer, C., Kross, E., Duckworth, A. L., & Carlson, S. M. (2016). The “Batman Effect”: Improving Perseverance in Young Children. Child Development, n/a-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12695

Children who play a role, identifying with a known character (ex. Batman) with positive qualities, could increase their perseverance. Perseverance is the ability to self-regulate, avoid distraction and stick to one’s goals and intentions.
How does it work ? Playing a role means self-distancing, which means shifting to a 3rd-person point of view and thinking of yourself from an outsider perspective. It especially distances us emotionally from our experience of the moment (temptations, distractions or negative emotions), which means better self-regulation and better perseverance.

So : «Kid, dress like Batman [or Elsa] when doing your homework!» (via PsychologyToday)

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