Children and Teens Differ in Views on Trophy Systems
A new study finds that children and teenagers have distinct perspectives on whether participation trophies or merit-based awards are more effective in motivating young athletes.
Children as young as 7 and teenagers largely agree that reserving trophies for top finishers motivates athletes to try harder and feel prouder than handing out participation awards to everyone, according to a new study published in Developmental Science (source ID 1). The study explored how children and adolescents think about the implications of inclusive versus selective award systems in youth sports. Supporters of participation trophies argue that inclusive recognition fosters belonging and acknowledges effort, while critics contend that giving everyone the same prize dilutes achievement and dulls motivation. Selective trophies spark parallel disagreements between advocates who see them as fair recognition for excellence and critics who worry they create pressure to take unethical shortcuts or risk injury. [1]
The researchers tested whether children and teenagers expect winner-only trophies not only to increase effort and pride, but also to encourage cheating and physical risk-taking, and explored whether young people’s confidence in their own athletic ability relates to which trophy system they prefer (source ID 1). The study included 87 young people from the southwestern United States during 2024 and 2025, divided into two age brackets. The sample included 43 children aged 7 to 9 and 44 adolescents aged 15 to 18. Participants learned about a school holding two separate running events, each with 10 runners completing a single lap around a soccer field. In the “Trophies for All” event, everyone received a trophy just for showing up, whereas in the “Trophies for Winners” event, only the top three finishers received a trophy. [1]
Both age groups strongly linked selective trophies to greater effort: 72.1% of children and 100% of adolescents predicted that runners would run faster in the “Trophies for Winners” race, and large majorities in both groups likewise expected runners in the “Trophies for All” race to put in less effort (source ID 1). Both groups also viewed selective awards as more emotionally meaningful than participation awards. Specifically, 81.4% of children and 95.5% of adolescents predicted that runners would feel more special after receiving a trophy in the winners-only event, and the exact same percentages expected recipients in the all-trophies event to feel less proud. [1]
Children as young as 7 and teenagers largely agree that reserving trophies for top finishers motivates athletes to try harder and feel prouder than handing out participation awards to everyone, according to a new study published in Developmental Science (source ID 1). The researchers tested whether children and teenagers expect winner-only trophies not only to increase effort and pride, but also to encourage cheating and physical risk-taking, and explored whether young people’s confidence in their own athletic ability relates to which trophy system they prefer (source ID 1). Both age groups strongly linked selective trophies to greater effort (source ID 1). [1]
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The researchers recruited 87 young people from the southwestern United States during 2024 and 2025, divided into two age brackets. The sample included 43 children aged 7 to 9 (with an average age of about 8.4) and 44 adolescents aged 15 to 18 (with an average age of about 16.9). Those group sizes exceeded the 32 participants per age bracket needed to reliably detect medium-sized departures from an even 50-50 split (source ID 1). [1]
Every participant learned about a school holding two separate running events, each with 10 runners completing a single lap around a soccer field. In the “Trophies for All” event, everyone received a trophy just for showing up, whereas in the “Trophies for Winners” event, only the top three finishers received a trophy. After the two events were introduced in randomized order, participants answered eight two-option questions presented in a fixed sequence across four areas: personal effort, pride, morality, and physical risk-taking (source ID 1). [1]
Compared against a 50% baseline for random guessing, both age groups strongly linked selective trophies to greater effort: 72.1% of children and 100% of adolescents predicted that runners would run faster in the “Trophies for Winners” race, and large majorities in both groups likewise expected runners in the “Trophies for All” race to put in less effort (source ID 1). [1]
Children as young as 7 and teenagers largely agree that reserving trophies for top finishers motivates athletes to try harder and feel prouder than handing out participation awards to everyone, according to a new study published in Developmental Science (source ID 1). The researchers tested whether children and teenagers expect winner-only trophies not only to increase effort and pride, but also to encourage cheating and physical risk-taking, and explored whether young people’s confidence in their own athletic ability relates to which trophy system they prefer (source ID 1). Both age groups strongly linked selective trophies to greater effort (source ID 1). [1]
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The researchers recruited 87 young people from the southwestern United States during 2024 and 2025, divided into two age brackets. Every participant learned about a school holding two separate running events, each with 10 runners completing a single lap around a soccer field. Compared against a 50% baseline for random guessing, both age groups strongly linked selective trophies to greater effort (source ID 1). [1]
Teenagers’ personal preferences for competitive versus inclusive trophy systems also aligned with how fast they believed they could run, suggesting that self-interest begins shaping views on fairness by adolescence (source ID 1). At the end of many youth sports seasons, leagues choose between two competing rules for handing out awards. Inclusive, or egalitarian, reward systems give every participant the same recognition simply for showing up and taking part, whereas selective, or merit-based, systems reserve prizes for top performers based on measurable results (source ID 1). [1]
Children as young as 7 and teenagers largely agree that reserving trophies for top finishers motivates athletes to try harder and feel prouder than handing out participation awards to everyone, according to a new study published in Developmental Science (source ID 1). The researchers tested whether children and teenagers expect winner-only trophies not only to increase effort and pride, but also to encourage cheating and physical risk-taking, and explored whether young people’s confidence in their own athletic ability relates to which trophy system they prefer (source ID 1). Both age groups strongly linked selective trophies to greater effort (source ID 1). [1]
The researchers recruited 87 young people from the southwestern United States during 2024 and 2025, divided into two age brackets. Every participant learned about a school holding two separate running events, each with 10 runners completing a single lap around a soccer field. Compared against a 50% baseline for random guessing, both age groups strongly linked selective trophies to greater effort (source ID 1). [1]
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Teenagers’ personal preferences for competitive versus inclusive trophy systems also aligned with how fast they believed they could run, suggesting that self-interest begins shaping views on fairness by adolescence (source ID 1). The study found that while both children and adolescents expected selective trophies to increase effort, only adolescents consistently predicted negative side effects from winner-only awards, expecting them to encourage cheating and physical risk-taking (source ID 1). [1]
Sources
Prepared with AI assistance from the cited sources.
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