Preschoolers Care about Their Social Reputations

This week’s article summary is Preschool and Kindergarten Kids Care About Their Reputations.

As the bulk of my teaching experience has been with upper elementary and middle schoolers, I’ve always been in awe of preschool teachers. I know what makes emerging adolescents tick and have always connected and related to them, but am intimidated by a class of preschoolers. From psychology courses and from years listening in faculty meetings, I had come to believe that preschool and kindergarten students are at such a egocentric developmental stage that they are more often than not oblivious to others and others’ feelings and needs. Teachers devote as much attention to social-emotional development as cognitive development, yet for our youngest students lessons about sharing and empathy take inordinate time, reinforcement, and practice to become habits I take for granted in older students.

Yet the article below is making me see that my view is perhaps too narrow as it highlights emerging research that preschool kids are in fact more keenly aware of social dynamics and how others—particularly authority figures—view them.

A few weeks ago I listened to a report on NPR that explained while human babies are prone to sharing and fairness, baby monkeys are not. The hypothesized reason is that humans learned to survive and thrive as a species by working together while monkeys—although social animals too—are much more hierarchical, meaning the alpha monkey gets—and to other monkeys deserves—more food and resources. To a monkey, a strong alpha is a comfort. To a human, fairness and equity are the way to success and happiness.

As humans have an innate predilection to share, we like to be commended for these behaviors and constantly assess place and value in our community. Yes, selfishness might ironically be at the heart of cooperation, but our genes from birth direct us to share and seek safety from our community. It logically follows that our youngest students are cognizant of social interactions and the ever-changing social dynamics in the classroom.

In preschool and kindergarten classrooms we still see much egocentrism and parallel play, but research is revealing that our young students not as unaware of social relationships and reputations as others—like me--have thought.

Joe

Five-year-old kids entering preschool care about their reputations and kindergarteners may even take adult-like pains to maintain a public image.

Young children will vary their behavior based on who is watching, and they will pass judgment on the reputational behaviors of others.

Until recently, it was unclear whether small children cared about their reputations at all. Two decades ago, it was accepted that complex reputational behavior could not emerge in children until age 9.

But a recent study found that five-year-old children are more generous when they know they’re being watched, and this effect is even stronger when they’re observed by potential reciprocators. Other studies have shown that, once children acquire a positive reputation, they’ll fight to keep it—preschoolers who are told they have a good reputation are less likely to behave dishonestly. And small children appear to recognize reputation for the social capital that it is. Five-year-olds offer positive evaluations of classmates to improve their friends’ social standings. By age six, children are suspicious of peers who harm others’ reputations.

Much of the research includes children being put in situations where reputation is relevant, and shows that children vary their behavior in surprising and sometimes deceptive or strategic ways. But it’s unclear whether children are actively being deceptive. Are preschoolers smooth operators who fake generosity to get ahead, or are they simply more open about their inherent kindness when there’s something to be gained by showing off?

Future studies will examine how parents and teachers can leverage the fact that preschoolers do care about their social reputations to encourage good behavior.

Until then, there are a few takeaways for moms and dads. When interacting with your preschoolers and kindergarteners, keep in mind that they probably care quite a bit about how others view them—and that they’re constantly taking cues from you. If you tell them they have a good reputation, they’ll fight to maintain it. And if you maintain your own reputation by bragging obnoxiously, odds are they’ll do it too.