Identities & Flexible Thinking
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Summary of the Peer-reviewed Article
Gaither et al. (2020) conducted a study to determine whether making children aware of their multiple identities would enhance their thinking. The study’s main variables are; children between the age of six and seven, similar physical traits such as legs, and multiple identities like neighbors and friends. The researchers subjected 48 children of ages 6 and 7 in Experiment 1 to either multiple identities or physical attributes and later on observed changes in their thinking abilities.
Children who had been assigned to people with different identities similar to them were noted to have higher problem-solving skills than those who had been given individuals with the same physical attributes. In Experiment 2, the procedure was replicated, where children were made to think about their own multiple identities, while others had to think about other children’s various identities. The second experiment’s research findings indicated that children who thought about their own identities elicit creative thinking skills and could solve problems efficiently. On the other hand, children who thought about others’ identities did not show the ability to think creatively.
The research supports the social identity theory. This model aims to comprehend the interaction between personal and social identities. When the children were placed with other people of multiple identities, they understood these individuals’ mental processes and how this would, in return, impact their views. Gaither et al. (2020) performed this research to ascertain how children think of their own multiple identities and others. The study’s overall finding is that when children think about their own identities from a multifaceted angle, they can boost that creative thinking ability and widen their knowledge about a society that is gradually becoming complicated.
Critique of the Media Coverage
The journalist performed research to confirm whether children can become more complex thinkers if they are constantly reminded of their multiple identities. Peters et al. (2017) found out that children became more flexible in thinking when they were aware that they possess diverse thinking abilities. Compared to the journal article, media coverage also has adequate information on how children’s thinking can be enhanced when informed of their multiple identities.
Just as the research conducted in the journal article, the journalist in the media coverage targeted children between six and seven. One group was told of their multiple different identities, whereas the other was reminded that they have different body parts that perform distinct functions. After the study, the children who had been reminded of their multiple identities could solve problems faster than those who had been reminded of their body parts.
The journalist got right because reminding children that they have more than one identity is an excellent enhancer of flexible thinking. The media coverage added that this is a vital move to inform children that they can think beyond the societal norms and standards and invent more ways to expand their knowledge.
The researcher made causal claims that were accurate. In research, causality is the exploration of cause and effect. In this case, the journalist investigated whether children’s reminder of their multifaceted identities would impact their thinking. According to the three causal criteria, research must attain three main components for it to have successfully made a causal claim. These are; empirical association, temporal priority, and nonspuriosness.
In empirical association, the first criterion ought to be observed, and in this case, it’s the child’s enhanced thinking ability after being reminded of their multiple identities. This means that there should be a relationship between the dependent and the independent variable. The second component is a temporal priority where the cause should come before the effect. For example, to enhance the flexibility of the child’s thinking (dependent variable), one must remind them of their multiple identities (independent variable). The final component is nonspuriousness, where spurious means false or incorrect. In research, spurious arises when the relationship between two variables is affected by the third variable. In many instances, the relationship between the two variables is always caused by the third one. For example, children’s’ enhanced thinking has been triggered by the continued reminder of their multiple identities.
The journalist focused on the same findings as to the researchers in the journal article. The similar results in both instances affirm that children tend to think and act better when they are made aware that they have many personalities. The journalists succeeded in providing all the needed information. By conducting research on the children and giving examples, the journalists ensured that they included everything in the study.
In conclusion, both the journal article and the media coverage have successfully provided information on the interplay between identities and flexible thinking. The two sources are excellent for references on multiple identities and how children’s thinking is enhanced. In both instances, the researchers described the procedures accurately enough for the reader to comprehend the topic of discussion.