What Values and Principles are Most Important to Children?
Each of us holds certain values more deeply than others. These values guide our most significant life decisions- such as our political views, career paths, and choice of partner- while also shaping the many smaller choices we make each day.
In one of our current studies here at the Living Lab, we are investigating whether young children (ages 5–7) can identify the values that guide them and the principles they believe in, even if they are not able to articulate them in the abstract way adults do. To explore this, we ask the children to rank a series of goals according to their importance. Each goal is accompanied by an illustration to make it easier to understand.
Why is this interesting?
Given the central role that values and principles play in our lives, they have long been a key topic in social psychology. As a “value” is an abstract goal and therefore relatively complex to grasp, many researchers believed that the ability to recognize the values that guide us- and to act on them- develops only during adolescence. However, a new study conducted in the Social Development Lab suggests that this understanding begins much earlier.
In a recently published study, researchers found that seven-year-old children rank values in patterns similar to those of adults. In addition, factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, and a child’s level of religiosity were found to predict children’s value rankings in patterns similar to those observed in adults.
The study, which included 200 pairs of twins, also found that preferences for values such as “tradition,” “selflessness,” and “personal achievement” were strongly shaped by genetic factors, whereas preferences for values such as “openness to change” were influenced primarily by environmental factors. Together, these findings provide initial support for the hypothesis that even young children hold meaningful values and are able to express them.