How Children Succeed

How Children Succeed Plot Summary

Introduction

For decades, our understanding of human potential has been dominated by the cognitive hypothesis—the belief that intelligence, as measured by IQ tests and academic achievements, determines success. This perspective has shaped educational policies, parenting strategies, and career development approaches worldwide. However, a growing body of research from diverse fields including neuroscience, psychology, and economics challenges this narrow view, revealing that non-cognitive factors—what we might call character strengths—play an equally if not more important role in determining life outcomes. The evidence presented throughout this analysis demonstrates that qualities like perseverance, self-control, curiosity, and resilience predict achievement more reliably than raw intellectual ability. These character strengths develop through complex interactions between biological predispositions and environmental influences, particularly during critical developmental periods. Understanding how these qualities form, how they can be measured, and how they can be cultivated offers a powerful new framework for rethinking education, parenting, and social policy—one that promises more effective pathways to success for individuals from all backgrounds and circumstances.

Chapter 1: The Limitations of Intelligence as a Predictor of Success

The notion that intelligence determines success has dominated our thinking for over a century. This cognitive hypothesis suggests that IQ and standardized test scores provide the most reliable indicators of future achievement across domains. Educational systems worldwide have embraced this perspective, focusing intensely on academic content knowledge and cognitive skill development while treating character development as secondary or entirely separate. However, longitudinal studies tracking individuals from childhood through adulthood consistently reveal the limitations of intelligence as a success predictor. When researchers examine life outcomes including career achievement, financial stability, relationship quality, and overall wellbeing, IQ scores explain surprisingly little variance—typically between 10-25% depending on the specific outcome measured. This pattern appears across socioeconomic backgrounds and cultural contexts, suggesting a fundamental limitation in how cognitive measures capture human potential. The "GED paradox" provides particularly compelling evidence of this limitation. Individuals who obtain high school equivalency diplomas by passing standardized tests demonstrate cognitive abilities comparable to high school graduates. However, their life outcomes—including employment stability, income, and health—more closely resemble those of high school dropouts. This discrepancy suggests that something beyond cognitive mastery significantly influences success, specifically the character strengths typically developed through the sustained effort and social engagement of completing high school. Educational interventions focused exclusively on cognitive development further illustrate this limitation. Programs that produce substantial short-term gains in test scores often show disappointing long-term results, with initial advantages fading over time. This "fade-out effect" appears particularly pronounced for interventions that drill specific academic content without developing the underlying character strengths necessary for sustained learning and achievement. In contrast, programs that address both cognitive and non-cognitive development tend to produce more enduring benefits. Perhaps most telling is how intelligence measures fail to explain patterns of socioeconomic mobility. Studies of high-achieving individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds consistently identify character strengths—not exceptional intelligence—as the distinguishing factor in their success. These individuals typically demonstrate above-average but not extraordinary cognitive abilities coupled with exceptional perseverance, self-discipline, and optimism. This pattern suggests that character strengths may be particularly crucial for overcoming adversity and navigating the obstacles that disproportionately affect those from less privileged backgrounds. The limitations of the cognitive hypothesis become especially apparent during educational transitions. When students move from elementary to middle school, from high school to college, or from education to employment, the demands for self-regulation, persistence, and social intelligence increase dramatically. During these transitions, character strengths often prove more decisive than prior academic achievement in determining who thrives and who struggles, highlighting the essential role these qualities play in translating potential into achievement.

Chapter 2: Character Strengths: The True Drivers of Achievement

Character strengths represent a constellation of non-cognitive attributes that powerfully influence how individuals navigate challenges and pursue goals. Unlike intelligence, which primarily affects one's capacity to process information, character strengths determine how effectively people deploy their cognitive abilities in real-world contexts. These qualities include perseverance, self-control, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and social intelligence—attributes that enable sustained effort toward meaningful goals despite obstacles and distractions. Longitudinal research provides compelling evidence for the predictive power of these attributes. The famous "marshmallow test" studies conducted by Walter Mischel and colleagues demonstrate that children's ability to delay gratification at age four predicts academic achievement, health outcomes, and financial stability decades later. Similarly, measures of conscientiousness in childhood and adolescence consistently correlate with adult outcomes ranging from educational attainment and career success to marital stability and longevity. These correlations often exceed those associated with IQ or standardized test scores, particularly for outcomes requiring sustained effort over time. Character strengths prove especially crucial during periods of adversity and transition. When confronting obstacles, individuals with greater persistence and resilience maintain progress toward goals while others abandon their pursuits. This distinction becomes particularly apparent in educational contexts, where students transitioning to more demanding academic environments often struggle not because of intellectual limitations but because they lack the self-regulation and determination necessary to adapt to increased challenges. Studies of college persistence reveal that character strengths predict graduation rates more accurately than standardized test scores, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The development of character strengths follows different trajectories than cognitive abilities. While intelligence appears relatively stable after early childhood, qualities like self-discipline and social awareness remain highly malleable throughout adolescence and even into adulthood. This extended plasticity creates opportunities for intervention that cognitive-focused approaches miss. Furthermore, character strengths demonstrate remarkable transferability across contexts—the same persistence that helps a student master a challenging subject serves them in athletic pursuits, career advancement, and relationship building. Importantly, character strengths operate synergistically rather than in isolation. Optimism without self-control produces unrealistic expectations; conscientiousness without curiosity leads to rigid perfectionism. The most successful individuals develop complementary combinations of these attributes, allowing them to pursue ambitious goals while adapting to changing circumstances and recovering from inevitable setbacks. This multidimensional nature explains why simplistic approaches to character education often produce disappointing results—effective development requires addressing multiple interconnected qualities rather than focusing on isolated traits. The growing recognition of character strengths as achievement drivers has profound implications for how we conceptualize human potential. Rather than viewing success as predetermined by fixed cognitive abilities, this perspective emphasizes the developmental processes through which individuals acquire the qualities necessary for meaningful achievement. This shift opens new possibilities for educational approaches that deliberately cultivate both cognitive and non-cognitive capacities, creating more effective pathways to success for individuals from all backgrounds.

Chapter 3: How Stress and Adversity Shape Brain Development

The neurobiological impact of stress and adversity provides crucial insight into how early experiences shape character development. When children experience chronic stress, particularly during sensitive developmental periods, their brain architecture and stress-response systems undergo profound alterations that influence cognitive function, emotional regulation, and behavioral control throughout life. These biological changes help explain why early adversity often undermines the development of character strengths essential for achievement. Neuroimaging studies reveal that children raised in high-stress environments typically develop hyperactive stress-response systems. Their bodies produce elevated levels of stress hormones like cortisol, which initially serves as an adaptive response to perceived threats. However, this chronic physiological activation comes at a significant cost. The prefrontal cortex—responsible for executive functions like planning, attention control, and impulse inhibition—shows reduced volume and connectivity in children exposed to persistent adversity. Simultaneously, the amygdala, which processes emotional reactions, becomes enlarged and more reactive, creating a neurobiological profile that prioritizes threat detection over reflective decision-making. These neurobiological changes manifest behaviorally as difficulties with self-regulation. Children from high-stress backgrounds often struggle to focus attention, control impulses, delay gratification, and modulate emotional responses—precisely the character strengths most associated with academic and life success. Importantly, these effects aren't simply psychological reactions; they represent fundamental alterations in brain architecture and function that persist into adulthood unless effectively addressed through targeted interventions. The timing of adversity proves particularly significant. Early childhood represents a period of exceptional neuroplasticity when stress-response systems are being calibrated. Adverse experiences during this window have disproportionate impact compared to similar stressors encountered later in development. This explains why early intervention programs targeting at-risk children often yield substantial returns on investment—they capitalize on developmental periods when brain systems remain highly responsive to environmental influence, potentially preventing the cascade of neurobiological changes that undermine character development. Epigenetic research further illuminates how adversity becomes biologically embedded. Studies with both animal models and human subjects demonstrate that early stress experiences can alter gene expression without changing underlying DNA sequences. These epigenetic modifications influence how genes related to stress response, neuronal growth, and immune function operate throughout life. Such findings explain how childhood adversity increases vulnerability to not only psychological difficulties but also physical health problems decades later, highlighting the profound interconnection between early experience and lifelong development. Understanding these neurobiological mechanisms challenges simplistic notions that character weaknesses reflect moral failings or lack of effort. Instead, they reveal how environmental circumstances become biologically embedded, creating genuine constraints on developing optimal self-regulation. However, this research also highlights remarkable neuroplasticity—the brain's capacity to reorganize in response to new experiences—suggesting that appropriate interventions can significantly mitigate the effects of early adversity and support the development of character strengths even among children facing significant challenges.

Chapter 4: Building Resilience Through Targeted Interventions

Effective interventions to build character strengths must address the underlying neurobiological mechanisms through which adversity affects development. Rather than focusing exclusively on academic content, successful programs target the specific executive functions and self-regulatory capacities that enable children to engage productively with learning environments and life challenges. These interventions operate across multiple contexts including families, schools, and communities, creating comprehensive support systems for character development. Early childhood interventions demonstrate particularly powerful effects by capitalizing on periods of heightened neuroplasticity. Programs that combine parent training with direct child services show the strongest outcomes. These dual-generation approaches teach caregivers stress-management techniques and responsive parenting practices while simultaneously providing children with structured opportunities to practice self-regulation. The Perry Preschool Project exemplifies this approach, producing not only immediate cognitive gains but also long-term improvements in character-related outcomes like reduced criminal behavior, increased employment, and better relationship stability decades after the intervention. For school-age children, interventions that explicitly teach metacognitive strategies show promising results. These programs help students develop awareness of their thought processes and emotional states, enabling more effective self-regulation. Techniques include mindfulness practices, cognitive reframing, and implementation intentions ("if-then" planning). Rather than assuming children will naturally develop these capacities, effective programs provide explicit instruction, modeling, and opportunities for guided practice in real-world contexts. Tools of the Mind, an early childhood curriculum that incorporates structured dramatic play to develop executive functions, demonstrates how these approaches can be integrated into educational settings. Mentoring relationships represent another powerful intervention approach. Longitudinal studies show that consistent, supportive relationships with non-parental adults significantly buffer the effects of adversity on development. These relationships provide both emotional support and practical guidance in navigating challenges. Importantly, effective mentoring programs emphasize relationship quality and duration rather than simply pairing adults with children. The most successful programs maintain relationships for at least a year and train mentors to provide developmentally appropriate support that balances nurturing with high expectations. Technology-based interventions offer promising new avenues for building character strengths at scale. Digital platforms can provide personalized practice opportunities for specific executive functions like working memory, attention control, and cognitive flexibility. Some programs incorporate game elements to maintain engagement while progressively increasing challenge levels. Although technology cannot replace human relationships, it can supplement other interventions by providing consistent practice opportunities. Programs like Brainology, which teaches students about neuroplasticity and growth mindset through interactive modules, demonstrate how technology can support character development. The timing and targeting of interventions significantly influence their effectiveness. Rather than applying uniform approaches, successful programs match interventions to specific developmental needs and individual differences. For example, children with attention difficulties benefit most from interventions emphasizing focused concentration, while those struggling with impulse control need more practice with response inhibition. This precision approach recognizes that character development follows different trajectories for different individuals and requires tailored support. The most effective systems implement universal screening to identify specific needs and provide tiered interventions of increasing intensity based on those assessments.

Chapter 5: Teaching Character: Evidence-Based Approaches

Effective character education requires deliberate pedagogical approaches that differ significantly from traditional academic instruction. While cognitive skills can often be taught through direct explanation and practice, character strengths develop through more complex processes involving modeling, guided reflection, incremental challenges, and authentic application across diverse contexts. The most successful approaches integrate character development throughout educational environments rather than treating it as a separate curricular component. Explicit instruction in character-related concepts provides an essential foundation. Students benefit from understanding how qualities like perseverance and self-control function and why they matter. However, this cognitive understanding alone produces minimal behavioral change. Effective programs supplement conceptual knowledge with structured opportunities to practice character strengths in progressively challenging situations. For example, students might begin with brief self-regulation exercises and gradually advance to more complex projects requiring sustained effort and adaptation to obstacles. This graduated approach builds competence while preventing the discouragement that comes from facing challenges beyond current capabilities. The social environment profoundly influences character development. Schools that successfully cultivate character strengths establish consistent behavioral expectations while emphasizing intrinsic motivation rather than external compliance. They create classroom cultures where effort and improvement receive greater recognition than innate ability or perfect performance. Teachers in these environments provide specific feedback focused on process rather than person ("You found a creative solution to that problem" rather than "You're so smart"), helping students develop growth mindsets that associate achievement with effort rather than fixed traits. The KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) charter school network exemplifies this approach, explicitly teaching and reinforcing character strengths throughout the school day. Narrative and storytelling play surprisingly powerful roles in character education. When students encounter compelling stories of individuals overcoming challenges through perseverance, self-discipline, and other character strengths, they develop more nuanced understanding of these qualities and greater motivation to develop them. The most effective approaches combine historical and contemporary examples with opportunities for students to reflect on and share their own experiences of character development. This narrative approach helps students internalize character strengths as part of their identity rather than viewing them as external requirements. Assessment practices significantly influence how students engage with character development. Traditional grading systems that emphasize perfect performance often undermine risk-taking and persistence. More effective approaches include qualitative feedback, reflection prompts, and performance assessments that evaluate process as well as outcomes. Some schools have implemented character growth cards that track development of specific strengths over time, though these require careful implementation to avoid reducing complex qualities to simplistic metrics. The most sophisticated assessment systems incorporate multiple perspectives—self-assessment, peer feedback, and teacher observations—to provide comprehensive information about character development. Research evaluating character education programs reveals significant variation in effectiveness. Programs showing the strongest outcomes share several features: they integrate character development throughout the curriculum rather than treating it as a separate subject; they provide extensive teacher training and support; they engage families as partners; and they maintain sufficient duration and intensity to influence habitual behavior patterns. Short-term or superficial approaches typically produce minimal lasting effects, highlighting the need for sustained, comprehensive implementation. This research also emphasizes the importance of cultural responsiveness—effective character education respects and builds upon the values and traditions of the communities it serves.

Chapter 6: Integrating Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Development

The conventional division between cognitive and non-cognitive skills represents a fundamental misunderstanding of human development. This artificial separation has led to educational approaches that prioritize academic content knowledge while neglecting the character strengths necessary to apply that knowledge effectively. In reality, cognitive and non-cognitive capacities develop in tandem, continuously influencing and reinforcing each other throughout life. Recognizing this integration offers powerful new possibilities for educational practice and policy. Neurobiological research demonstrates that the same brain regions support both cognitive and character-related functions. The prefrontal cortex, for instance, enables both abstract reasoning and impulse control. Working memory facilitates both mathematical calculations and goal-directed persistence. Attention networks support both reading comprehension and self-regulation. This shared neural architecture explains why interventions targeting executive functions often produce improvements in both academic achievement and behavioral outcomes simultaneously. It also suggests that educational approaches separating cognitive and character development work against the brain's natural integrative functioning. The developmental trajectories of cognitive and non-cognitive capacities are deeply intertwined. Early self-regulation skills predict later academic achievement, while academic engagement provides opportunities to practice persistence and overcome challenges. This reciprocal relationship creates either virtuous or vicious cycles—children with stronger character strengths engage more productively with learning opportunities, developing greater cognitive skills that then enable more complex character development. Conversely, children struggling with self-regulation often disengage from learning, limiting both cognitive growth and opportunities to develop character through academic challenges. Educational contexts powerfully influence this integrated development. Traditional classroom environments often implicitly teach compliance rather than autonomous self-regulation. Students learn to follow directions and complete assignments but may not develop the intrinsic motivation and self-directed learning capacities needed for long-term success. More effective environments explicitly connect cognitive challenges with character development, helping students recognize how persistence, curiosity, and strategic thinking contribute to academic growth. Project-based learning exemplifies this integrated approach, requiring students to sustain effort toward meaningful goals while navigating complex problems that demand both cognitive skills and character strengths. The integration of cognitive and non-cognitive development becomes particularly evident during educational transitions. When students move from elementary to middle school or from high school to college, the academic challenges increase substantially. Students with strong character strengths navigate these transitions successfully even when their prior academic preparation is imperfect, while those lacking these qualities often struggle despite strong cognitive abilities. This pattern explains why traditional academic metrics like standardized tests predict college enrollment reasonably well but college completion much more poorly. The most effective transition support programs address both academic readiness and the character strengths necessary for adapting to new educational environments. Recognizing the false dichotomy between cognitive and non-cognitive development necessitates fundamental changes in educational assessment. Current systems primarily measure content knowledge and basic skills while largely ignoring the character strengths that determine how effectively students will apply those capacities. More comprehensive assessment approaches would evaluate not only what students know but also how they approach learning challenges, respond to setbacks, collaborate with peers, and transfer knowledge across contexts. Some innovative assessment systems incorporate performance tasks that require sustained effort and adaptation, providing insight into both cognitive mastery and character strengths.

Chapter 7: Reframing Education Policy Around Character Development

Current educational policies remain overwhelmingly focused on standardized academic outcomes while neglecting the character strengths that enable students to achieve meaningful success. This narrow approach has produced diminishing returns despite substantial investment, suggesting the need for a fundamental policy reorientation that integrates character development as a central educational priority. Such reframing would influence everything from accountability systems and teacher preparation to school structures and resource allocation. Accountability systems drive educational practice, yet current metrics primarily measure basic academic proficiency through standardized tests. This creates powerful incentives for schools to emphasize content coverage and test preparation at the expense of deeper learning and character development. More balanced accountability frameworks would incorporate indicators of student engagement, growth mindset, self-regulation, and collaborative problem-solving. Some innovative districts have begun implementing "multiple measures" systems that combine academic assessments with surveys measuring social-emotional development and school climate factors that support character growth. These approaches recognize that meaningful educational accountability must address the full range of capacities that determine student success. Teacher preparation and development represent another critical policy lever. Most teacher education programs provide minimal training in fostering character strengths, leaving educators ill-equipped to support these crucial aspects of development. Effective policy reforms would require teacher preparation programs to include substantial coursework on executive function development, growth mindset cultivation, and creating classroom environments that promote persistence and self-regulation. Similarly, professional development systems would prioritize building teachers' capacity to integrate character development with academic instruction. These changes would equip educators with the knowledge and skills necessary to support comprehensive student development. School scheduling and structure significantly influence character development opportunities. The fragmented schedules typical in secondary schools, with students changing subjects every 45-50 minutes, provide limited opportunities for sustained engagement with challenging tasks. More effective structures include longer instructional blocks, project-based learning periods, and advisory systems that maintain consistent adult-student relationships over multiple years. These approaches create the conditions necessary for meaningful character development through complex, sustained learning experiences. Policy reforms that provide flexibility in scheduling and staffing enable schools to implement these structural changes. Funding formulas represent perhaps the most powerful policy tool for prioritizing character development. Current systems typically allocate resources based on enrollment and special education classifications with minimal consideration of the supports needed for comprehensive development. More effective approaches would provide additional resources for evidence-based character development programs, especially in high-poverty schools where students often face greater adversity. Some promising models include weighted student funding formulas that direct additional resources to schools serving vulnerable populations, coupled with accountability for both academic and character-related outcomes. These funding approaches recognize that developing character strengths may require more intensive support for students facing significant challenges. The policy emphasis on college readiness provides an opportunity to elevate character development as an educational priority. Research consistently shows that character strengths predict college persistence and completion more accurately than standardized test scores. Reframing college readiness to explicitly include self-regulation, perseverance, and social intelligence would create powerful incentives for K-12 systems to prioritize these qualities. Some states have begun incorporating "college knowledge and mindsets" into their readiness definitions, though implementation remains inconsistent. A more comprehensive approach would align college admissions criteria, K-12 accountability systems, and higher education support structures around an integrated vision of readiness that includes both cognitive and character dimensions.

Summary

The evidence presented throughout this analysis fundamentally challenges our society's overreliance on intelligence as the primary determinant of success. By examining neurobiological mechanisms, longitudinal studies, and educational interventions, we can now understand that character strengths like perseverance, self-control, and optimism play far more decisive roles in meaningful achievement than raw cognitive ability. These qualities develop through complex interactions between biological predispositions and environmental influences, with early adversity creating particular challenges that require targeted intervention. This paradigm shift carries profound implications for how we approach education, parenting, and social policy. Rather than focusing exclusively on academic content knowledge, we must deliberately cultivate the character strengths that enable individuals to apply their cognitive abilities effectively in real-world contexts. This requires moving beyond the false dichotomy between cognitive and non-cognitive skills to recognize their fundamental interconnection. By reorienting our educational systems and social institutions to support integrated development, we can create more effective pathways for all individuals to achieve meaningful success, regardless of their starting circumstances or innate intellectual capacities.

About Author

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Paul Tough

Paul Tough is the author, most recently, of The Inequality Machine. His three previous books include How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, which was translated into 27 languages and spent more than a year on the New York Times hardcover and paperback best-seller lists. Paul is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine; his writing has also appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and GQ, and on the op-ed page of the New York Times. He is a speaker on topics including education, parenting, equity, and student success. He has worked as an editor at the New York Times Magazine and Harper’s Magazine and as a reporter and producer for This American Life. He was the founding editor of Open Letters, an online magazine. He lives with his wife and two sons in Austin, Texas, and Montauk, New York. For more information, please visit his web site or follow him on Twitter.

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