The condition for wanting to become something is "having someone to push you": A new norm in childhood political education that strongly influenced girls

A study involving approximately 360 children aged 5 to 11 from the United States and China examined what predicts the motivation to pursue political leadership (political ambition). The results indicated that the expectation of receiving support from family and friends was more strongly related to political ambition than the perception of leadership qualities such as bravery, compassion, and assertiveness. This connection was found to be stronger among girls. In the United States, older children had higher expectations of support, and girls anticipated more support than boys. Conversely, in China, boys tended to have higher expectations of support. The research was conducted from 2018 to 2021 and is set to be published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General on September 30, 2025. On social media, educators and researchers are spreading discussions about implementing "visualization of support expectations" in practice. The study suggests that families, schools, and local governments can design "visible support" to reduce gender differences in political ambition from an early age.