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Children Adopt the Traits of Characters in a Narrative 时间:2017-06-30 14:40 来源:未知作者:admin 点击: 次 Abstract:Adults adopt the traits of characters in narratives, but little is known about whether children do so. In Study 1, 7- and 10-year-olds () heard a 2.5-minute recording about a professor or cheerleader. Reporting higher engagement in the professor narrative related to more time playing with an analytical toy (a Rubik’s cube), whereas reporting higher engagement in the cheerleader narrative related to less time playing with Rubik’s cube. However, although children were randomly assigned to a narrative, within condition children may have had preexisting personality differences causing them both to become more engaged in that narrative and also to behave more like that character afterwards. To control for this possibility, in Study 2 children () were given perspective-taking or objective instructions. Interestingly, both instructions created higher engagement than in Study 1, resulting in main effects of narrative. Children in the professor condition, compared to those in the cheerleader condition, spent more time playing with Rubik’s cube and self-reported higher levels of professor-relevant characteristics (e.g., smart, good at teaching). These studies show that, by the elementary school years and particularly when highly engaged in a narrative, children adopt the traits of a narrative’s central character.
1. Introduction
Many parents monitor the books, shows, and movies their children encounter, presumably because they think these narratives influence children beyond the reading or viewing experience: Children who read about a smart or kind character, as opposed to a foolish or rude one, might themselves adopt the protagonists’ characteristics. Previous studies have shown that adults do this. In one study, participants who either read a chapter of Harry Potter, a book about wizards, or a chapter of Twilight, a book about vampires, afterwards associated themselves with wizards or vampires, respectively: Participants who read Harry Potter were more likely to answer affirmatively to questions about having the traits and abilities of wizards than participants who read Twilight, and the latter group were more likely to answer affirmatively to questions about having the traits and abilities of vampires [1]. Prior research also suggests perspective taking encourages trait adoption: Adult participants adopted characters’ traits to a greater extent when instructed to take the character’s perspective [2], when they wrote in first person about a day in the life of a character [3], when they reported becoming more transported into the narrative [4], and when their self-concept was less accessible [5].
The presence of a similar effect in childhood would have many practical implications. First, it would suggest that parents and teachers may want to consider potentially undesirable traits of the characters in media that children are exposed to and limit that exposure. Such an effect could also be used to promote positive behavior and traits in children. For example, children could be encouraged to be kind or hard-working through engagement with narratives including protagonists with these characteristics. Furthermore, narratives could provide a way to promote healthy behaviors, like exercise and proper nutrition [6]. Thus, an initial study examining whether children adopt characters’ traits could lead to further applied research using this concept to have a positive effect on children’s lives.
Past research has shown at least one way narratives affect children beyond the reading experience: acquiring new information. For example, 5- to 7-year-olds exposed to short fictional stories containing correct (e.g., “autumn” is another word for “fall”) and incorrect facts (e.g., “autumn” is another word for “spring”) later reported both forms of facts as true [7]. Other research shows that children can learn new information about natural selection and other evolutionary concepts from picture books [8–10]. Furthermore, children learn novel causal facts and problem solutions from storybooks, although story-related factors (i.e., amount of fantasy content) moderate these effects [11–13]. Overall, this research suggests that narratives can have an effect on children but leaves open the question of whether children might adopt the traits of characters in a narrative in addition to learning new information from narratives.