A child plays many roles, such as friend, neighbour, son or daughter. Simply reminding children of that fact can lead to better problem-solving and more flexible(灵活的) thinking, finds a new research from Duke University.
"This is some of the first research on reminding kids about their many roles," said lead author Sarah Gaither, a professor at Duke. "Such reminders improve their problem-solving skills and how flexibly they see their social worlds. "
In one experiment, Gaither and her workmates looked at 196 children, aged 6 and 7. All were native English speakers. The first group of children was reminded of their various identities, such as son, daughter, reader or helper. The second group of children was reminded of their many physical features. The rest of the children were reminded of other children's many roles, not their own.
All the children solved many tasks. The first group of children showed stronger problem-solving and creative thinking skills. For example, when shown pictures of a bear looking at a honey-filled beehive(蜂巢) high up in a tree, these children had more creative ideas for how the bear might get the honey, such as turning over a bowl as a seat.
The second group of children also showed more flexible thinking about social groupings. When asked to group different photos of faces, they suggested many ways to do so. For example, they identified smiling faces VS unsmiling ones, and old faces VS young faces. The other children mainly grouped people's faces by race and gender.
"We often only think about ourselves in connection with one important group at a time," said Christopher Marlowe, a schoolmaster in Durham, North Carolina. "When we remind kids that they have various identities, they think more and remember that there are many other groups. They are more open-minded. "
