Month of Birth and Cognitive Effort: A Laboratory Study of the Relative Age Effect among Fifth Graders.
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| Title: | Month of Birth and Cognitive Effort: A Laboratory Study of the Relative Age Effect among Fifth Graders. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Radl, Jonas, Valdés, Manuel T |
| Source: | Social Forces. Sep2024, Vol. 103 Issue 1, p153-172. 20p. |
| Subjects: | School children, Age, Academic achievement, Educational equalization, Birth date effect (Academic achievement), Performance in children, Incentive (Psychology) |
| Abstract: | All around the world, school-entry cohorts are organized on an annual calendar so that the age of students in the same cohort differs by up to one year. It is a well-established finding that this age gap entails a consequential (dis)advantage for academic performance referred to as the relative age effect (RAE). This study contributes to a recent strand of research that has turned to investigate the RAE on non-academic outcomes such as personality traits. An experimental setup is used to estimate the causal effect of monthly age on cognitive effort in a sample of 798 fifth-grade students enrolled in the Spanish educational system, characterized by strict enrolment rules. Participants performed three different real-effort tasks under three different incentive conditions: no rewards; material rewards; and material and status rewards. We observe that older students outwork their youngest peers by two-fifths of a standard deviation, but only when material rewards for performance are in place. Despite the previously reported higher taste for competition among the older students within a school-entry cohort, we do not find that the RAE on cognitive effort increases after inducing competition for peer recognition. Finally, the study also provides suggestive evidence of a larger RAE among boys and students from lower social strata. Implications for sociological research on educational inequality are discussed. To conclude, we outline policy recommendations such as implementing evaluation tools that nudge teachers toward being mindful of relative age differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Social Forces is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 178439403 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Month of Birth and Cognitive Effort: A Laboratory Study of the Relative Age Effect among Fifth Graders. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Radl%2C+Jonas%22">Radl, Jonas</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Valdés%2C+Manuel+T%22">Valdés, Manuel T</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Social+Forces%22">Social Forces</searchLink>. Sep2024, Vol. 103 Issue 1, p153-172. 20p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+children%22">School children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Age%22">Age</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+achievement%22">Academic achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+equalization%22">Educational equalization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Birth+date+effect+%28Academic+achievement%29%22">Birth date effect (Academic achievement)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Performance+in+children%22">Performance in children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Incentive+%28Psychology%29%22">Incentive (Psychology)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: All around the world, school-entry cohorts are organized on an annual calendar so that the age of students in the same cohort differs by up to one year. It is a well-established finding that this age gap entails a consequential (dis)advantage for academic performance referred to as the relative age effect (RAE). This study contributes to a recent strand of research that has turned to investigate the RAE on non-academic outcomes such as personality traits. An experimental setup is used to estimate the causal effect of monthly age on cognitive effort in a sample of 798 fifth-grade students enrolled in the Spanish educational system, characterized by strict enrolment rules. Participants performed three different real-effort tasks under three different incentive conditions: no rewards; material rewards; and material and status rewards. We observe that older students outwork their youngest peers by two-fifths of a standard deviation, but only when material rewards for performance are in place. Despite the previously reported higher taste for competition among the older students within a school-entry cohort, we do not find that the RAE on cognitive effort increases after inducing competition for peer recognition. Finally, the study also provides suggestive evidence of a larger RAE among boys and students from lower social strata. Implications for sociological research on educational inequality are discussed. To conclude, we outline policy recommendations such as implementing evaluation tools that nudge teachers toward being mindful of relative age differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Social Forces is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=178439403 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1093/sf/soae023 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 20 StartPage: 153 Subjects: – SubjectFull: School children Type: general – SubjectFull: Age Type: general – SubjectFull: Academic achievement Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational equalization Type: general – SubjectFull: Birth date effect (Academic achievement) Type: general – SubjectFull: Performance in children Type: general – SubjectFull: Incentive (Psychology) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Month of Birth and Cognitive Effort: A Laboratory Study of the Relative Age Effect among Fifth Graders. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Radl, Jonas – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Valdés, Manuel T IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 09 Text: Sep2024 Type: published Y: 2024 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00377732 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 103 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Social Forces Type: main |
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