Working Paper: NBER ID: w19656
Authors: James J. Heckman; Tim Kautz
Abstract: This paper reviews the recent literature on measuring and boosting cognitive and noncognitive skills. The literature establishes that achievement tests do not adequately capture character skills--personality traits, goals, motivations, and preferences--that are valued in the labor market, in school, and in many other domains. Their predictive power rivals that of cognitive skills. Reliable measures of character have been developed. All measures of character and cognition are measures of performance on some task. In order to reliably estimate skills from tasks, it is necessary to standardize for incentives, effort, and other skills when measuring any particular skill.\n\nCharacter is a skill, not a trait. At any age, character skills are stable across different tasks, but skills can change over the life cycle. Character is shaped by families, schools, and social environments. Skill development is a dynamic process, in which the early years lay the foundation for successful investment in later years.\n\nHigh-quality early childhood and elementary school programs improve character skills in a lasting and cost-effective way. Many of them beneficially affect later-life outcomes without improving cognition. There are fewer long-term evaluations of adolescent interventions, but workplace-based programs that teach character skills are promising. The common feature of successful interventions across all stages of the life cycle through adulthood is that they promote attachment and provide a secure base for exploration and learning for the child. Successful interventions emulate the mentoring environments offered by successful families.
Keywords: cognitive skills; noncognitive skills; character skills; interventions; human development
JEL Codes: D01; I20; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| High-quality early childhood and elementary school programs (I21) | Improvement of character skills (J24) |
| Improvement of character skills (J24) | Beneficial effects on later-life outcomes (I12) |
| Character skills are more malleable at later ages (J24) | Interventions targeting character skills during adolescence can be effective (J24) |
| Character skills (G53) | Predictive power in determining life outcomes (I24) |
| Character skills (G53) | Educational attainment, labor market success, health, and criminality (I21) |
| Successful interventions promote attachment and secure environments (I24) | Fostering character skills (G53) |