The influence of process and outcome-related cues on the judgments and evaluations of “smartness” and “effort” among children aged 4 to 7, as well as adults

Do children are more sensitive to the evaluation of “smartness” and “effort” in terms of the process or the results? What differences exist between children and adults in their judgment of these two aspects? This study explores these questions. The study presents two individuals who took two exams: in the first exam, both individuals achieved similar scores, but one of them took longer to complete the exam. Participants were asked to determine who was smarter and who was more diligent, and to evaluate each individual accordingly. In the second exam, we manipulated the individuals who were considered less smart or less diligent, so that they could achieve better results. This allowed us to investigate the impact of changes in outcomes on judgments. The results show that children begin to make such judgments from the age of 4…