Children's Valuation of Significance

To live a meaningful life, we need to pursue work and activities with significance (i.e., the sense that something matters beyond the trivial or momentary). Is the sensitivity toward the lack of significance rooted in childhood? To shed light on this question, we investigated whether 4-9-year-old children (total N = 220) and adults (total N = 226) value the significance of productive activities. In Study 1, we presented participants with two games in which they could put together heart puzzles, one without significance (their work would be taken apart) and one with "minimal significance" (their work would be kept). Children were randomly assigned to play these games in two different contexts (i.e., repetitively versus only for one round). We found that children across ages and adults were more likely to evaluate the game with minimal significance as being better and mattering more than the game with no significance, across both contexts. Study 2 revealed similar patterns in children's and adults' motivation to play the games. The results provide initial evidence that children are sensitive to the lack of significance in productive activities, suggesting the importance of perceived significance in children's motivation and achievements.