How Does Choosing a Noun Identity Affect Young Childrens Motivation?
Different parts of speech (such as nouns vs. verbs) can lead to different implications about the behaviors they describe. For example, adults who agree with the statement “I am a voter” are more likely to vote in subsequent elections than adults who agree “I vote.” In this study (with Chris Bryan), preschool children will have the chance to take on either a noun identity (e.g., “I am a helper”) or a verb (e.g., “I help”) and we will examine effects on the corresponding behavior.
