September 25, 2018

Should young children aspire to be academically perfect?

During the last few days of November, students in Singaporean schools find out their Primary School Learning Examination (PSLE) results, which determine their enrollment into secondary schools. Students are admitted to secondary schools on the basis of their performance in these examinations, with higher scoring students gaining entry into more prestigious secondary schools. These examinations are emblematic of the government’s creation of a meritocratic value system.

However, according to a five-year study, Developmental Trajectories of Maladaptive Perfectionism in Middle Childhood (Journal of Personality, 2016), led by A/P Ryan Hong (Department of Psychology), children from a very young age are potentially at risk of developing anxiety and depression as a result of parental pressure to do well academically. Observing a group of 263 children from when they were seven years old until they turned 11, Hong and his team discovered that parental interference and control can cause maladaptive perfectionism. This means that children will be excessively concerned over their mistakes, and will assume that others have unrealistically high expectations of them. The study involved administering questionnaires and observing parental interaction during cognitive tasks performed by the children. Essentially, the more parents interfered in their child’s problem solving attempts, the more likely children developed fears about making mistakes. This led to elevated anxiety and depression linked with a pressure to perform well.

Hong encourages parents to highlight their child’s accomplishments before addressing their mistakes, so that children are less afraid of making mistakes. This in turn will teach children how to learn from their errors, and allow them to be open to asking for help when needed.

Learn more about the study here.