Understanding the Impact of Receiving Gratitude and Goal-Oriented Nudges on Children’s Success

Introduction
This dissertation explores the impact of external factors, specifically receiving gratitude and goal-oriented nudges, on children’s social and academic development. The research contributes to the fields of children’s consumer behavior and behavioral science by examining how external reinforcements shape children's prosocial behavior, perseverance, and performance. The dissertation consists of two essays that employ field experiments to examine the causal effects of gratitude and nudging interventions.
Essay 1: Receiving Gratitude enhances Grit and Prosocial Behavior more than Expressing Gratitude
Prior research has extensively examined the benefits of expressing gratitude, but little attention has been given to how receiving gratitude (being thanked for helping others) affects the recipient, especially in children. This study investigates whether receiving gratitude fosters higher levels of prosocial behavior, grit, and self-esteem in children compared to merely expressing gratitude.
Three field experiments were conducted in school settings. Specifically, Study 1 compared prosocial intent of children receiving gratitude versus those expressing gratitude in a teacher-child interaction. Study 2 examined peer-peer interaction and measured actual prosocial behavior (e.g., willingness to donate or volunteer). In Study 3, a longitudinal design was used to track the long-term effects of receiving gratitude on prosocial behavior, persistence, and self-concept. Findings reveal that being thanked enhances prosocial behavior, increases grit, and strengthens self-esteem, and the role of grit in shaping social behavior.
Key Contributions and Implications
This study extends gratitude research by demonstrating that receiving gratitude fosters long-term prosocial motivation and persistence, shifting the focus from traditional gratitude interventions that emphasize expressing gratitude. These insights can extend beyond educational to business and management settings, suggesting that fostering a culture of appreciation and recognition has the potential to enhance team cohesion and employee engagement.
Essay 2: The Role of Subgoal-Oriented Nudges in Improving Academic Performance
This essay examines whether structured subgoal-oriented nudges improve children's academic habits and performance. An eight-month field experiment was conducted with students preparing for a competitive examination to examine the impact of nudging students for completion and submission of assignment on test performance. The experiment was divided into three phases. In the Pre-Nudge Phase assignment submissions were monitored without students being nudged. In the Nudge Phase students received regular goal-oriented nudges encouraging assignment completion and submission along with monitoring of assignments. The final phase was the Post-Nudge Phase where the nudges were withdrawn to assess the persistence effect of the nudge, while monitoring continued. The results indicate that nudges improved test performance, particularly among students with lower self-discipline and lower motivation. However, the effectiveness of nudging varied by gender, with male students benefiting more than female students, raising questions about gendered responses to behavioral interventions. The findings also reveal sustained positive impact of subgoal-oriented nudges, even after the nudges were discontinued.
Key Contributions and Implications This study highlights the effectiveness of subgoal-oriented nudges as an intervention to improve performance, which has applications in both education and business contexts. The findings reveal that habit-building mechanisms can be sustained using nudges. In business environments, these findings are suggestive of possible usage of structured nudges for performance tracking, milestone reminders, among others which can enhance employee productivity and facilitate goal completion. The gender differences observed underscore the need for customized strategies, emphasizing gender specific goal-setting approaches in corporate leadership and human resource development.
Conclusion By combining insights from children consumer behavior, behavioral science, psychology, and management research, this dissertation provides a deeper understanding of how external reinforcements shape children’s behavior and performance. The findings underscore the power of receiving gratitude and structured nudges in fostering sustained behavioral change, offering actionable strategies that may also be applicable in organizational settings.