Grit and Dreams:
Character Strengths, Social Mobility and the
American Dream
Richard V. Reeves
Policy Director
Center on Children & Families
The Brookings Institution
UNLV, September 22nd, 2014
1
What is the American Dream?
• Shared prosperity?
• Rising living standards?
• A strong middle class?
• No poverty?
• Fair treatment?
• Meritocracy?
• High rates of relative mobility?
2
Horatio Alger’s Dream
“In this free country
poverty in early life is
no bar to a man’s
advancement. … Save
your money, my lad,
buy books, and
determine to be
somebody,” Mr Whitney
to ‘Ragged Dick’, 1868
3
Pres. Obama (and of course
every President before him)…
“I renew my
commitment to the
basic bargain that built
this country – the idea
that if you work hard
and meet your
responsibilities, you can
get ahead, no matter
where you come
from…”
4
“That all men
are created
equal
5
“That all men
are created
equal and
independent’
6
The State of the American Dream,
Using Lego…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2XFh_
tD2RA
7
8
The (Mobility) Power of a BA
9
One Factor: Higher Education
Fraction of students completing college, projected
0.60
1961-1964 birth cohorts
0.50
1979-1982 birth cohorts
1961-1964 OLS projection
0.44
1979-1982 OLS projection
0.40
0.32
0.30
0.21
0.24
0.20
0.09
0.17
0.10
0.14
0.05
0.00
Lowest Quartile
2nd Quartile
3rd Quartile
Highest Quartile
Source: Author’s tabulations and Martha J. Bailey and Susan M. Dynarski, “Inequality in Postsecondary Education,” in Whither Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children’s Life Chances, edited by
Greg Duncan and Richard Murnane (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011), p. 117-132.
10
One Factor: Higher Education
Fraction of students completing college, actual
0.60
1961-1964 birth cohorts
0.50
0.54
1979-1982 birth cohorts
1961-1964 OLS projection
0.44
1979-1982 OLS projection
0.40
0.32
0.36
0.30
0.21
0.24
0.20
0.09
0.17
0.10
0.14
0.05
0.00
Lowest Quartile
2nd Quartile
3rd Quartile
Highest Quartile
Source: Author’s tabulations and Martha J. Bailey and Susan M. Dynarski, “Inequality in Postsecondary Education,” in Whither Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children’s Life Chances, edited by
Greg Duncan and Richard Murnane (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011), p. 117-132.
11
Prudence
“Men often reach
for the nearer
good, even
though they know
it be the less
valuable.”
John Stuart Mill,
Utilitarianism,
1861
12
Want this? Now, or More Later?
13
Want this now?
14
Or these in 15 minutes?
15
But then, add crayons…
16
‘Grit’
Perry Pre-K No Lasting Impact on IQ Scores
17
But Still Improved Outcomes…
18
‘Grit’: The Coding Speed Test
1. If Game = 2715 Chin = 3231 House =
4232
2. House = a) 4232 b) 2715 c) 3231 d) 4563
e) 2864?
Absurdly easy (for vast majority), but spinecrackingly dull.
19
‘Stick-with-it-ness’ & Mobility
20
‘Stick-with-it-ness’, by income
Top Third Coding Speed Scorers by Income Quintile
60%
Percent with Top Third Coding Speed Score
0.5527
0.4568
45%
0.4079
0.3274
30%
0.2181
15%
0%
bottom income quintile
2nd income quintile
middle income quintile
4th income quintile
Family Income Quintile in Adolescence
top income quintile
21
Are there class divides in character strengths?
3. 5th Grade Non-Cog. Scores by Family Income
Average Scores by Family Income
3.40
3.30
3.20
$7,500-$12,500
$12,500-$17,250
3.10
$17,250-$22,500
3.00
$22,500-$27,500
$27,500-$32,500
2.90
$32,500-$37,500
$37,500-$45,000
2.80
$45,000-$67,500
2.70
$67,500-$87,500
2.60
2.50
Persistence
Source: ECLS-K, data supplied by Jason Fletcher
Self Control
22
Character Strengths: Our Measure
‘Hyperactivity’ subscale of the Behavioral Problems Index in the National
Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 1979: Children and Young Adults
Mother rates statements about her child as “not true,”
“sometimes true,” or “often true”:
•
Has difficulty concentrating/paying attention
•
Is easily confused, seems in a fog
•
Is impulsive or acts without thinking
•
Has trouble getting mind off certain thoughts
•
Is restless, overly active, cannot sit still
We have measures for the early years (5/6) and middle
childhood (10/11)
23
Character Strengths (BPI):Breakdown
Early
Childhood
Middle
Childhood
Low Skills
(<1 SD
below
mean)
15.61%
Medium Skills
High Skills
(1SD below – 1SD (<1 SD above
above mean)
mean)
59.29%
25.09%
16.84%
55.06%
28.10%
Composite Measure
Always
Low
Sometimes Always
Low
Middle
Sometimes Always
High
High
Low/High
6.73%
17.05%
23.53%
1.95%
36.88%
13.85%
24
Are there class divides in character strengths?
Very Early BPI Gaps
Disparities on the Positive Behavior Index Scores between Higherand Lower-Income Infants at 9 and 24 Months
9 months
24 months
0
Standard Deviation from the mean
score for all above 200% of poverty
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
-0.2
-0.16
-0.25
-0.3
-0.3
-0.35
-0.4
-0.45
-0.5
Source: Halle, Forry, Hari, Perper, Wandner, Wessel, and VIck, 2009
25
Early Years Character Strengths:
Key Outcomes
Low levels of hyperactivity
Medium levels of hyperactivity
Children with high levels of hyperactivity
77%
Graduate high school with a GPA greater
than 2.5
64%
48%
85%
Not arrested as adolescent
81%
78%
90%
Not pregnant as teen
87%
80%
36%
Graduate College
26%
17%
26
Middle Childhood Character Strengths:
Key Outcomes
Low levels of hyperactivity
Medium levels of hyperactivity
Children with high levels of hyperactivity
76%
Graduate high school with a GPA greater
than 2.5
64%
47%
87%
82%
Not arrested as adolescent
72%
89%
87%
82%
Not pregnant as teen
38%
Graduate College
27%
18%
27
Composite Measure Character Strengths:
Key Outcomes
Always Low Levels of Hyperactivity
Sometimes Low
Always Medium
Sometimes High
Always High Levels of Hyperactivity
80%
74%
Graduate high school with a GPA greater than
2.5
64%
50%
43%
88%
85%
83%
Not arrested as adolescent
74%
75%
91%
90%
87%
82%
80%
Not pregnant as teen
Graduate College
39%
32%
25%
18%
17%
28
Character Strengths v. Smarts:
What matters most for HS Graduation?
140%
120%
113%
100%
80%
Change in
likelihood,
compared to
middle skilled
Children, with controls
67%
60%
53%
40%
20%
0%
-20%
-40%
High noncognitive skills
High math
skills
-30%
-31%
High reading
Low non- Low math skills Low reading
skills
cognitive skills
skills
29
Final Thoughts
• American Dream based on meritocratic
movement, circulation of elites
• Individualist egalitarianism: born equal, but
responsible for own destiny
• US is falling short of its own Dream
• Among the vital skills for mobility are character
strengths as well as smarts
• So, equal opportunity policy needs to incorporate
these skills into analysis and policy, too
30
Really, Honestly Final Thought
Does the individualist egalitarianism
underpinning the American ideal of equal
opportunity rely not only upon ‘book
smarts’, but also on character strengths
such as prudence and grit?
OR
Does the American Dream require a
certain dose of the Frontier Spirit?