Does having an unusual name, such as Chastity, Englebert or Moon unit, have an effect on how a child develops? The results of some previous studies agrees with the commonsense idea that such as name could cause a child to be rejected or ridiculed and thus could have a negative effect on the child‘s intellectual or social development. It would seem logical that rejection and ridicule could cause a child to avoid social contact or lower motivation or interest in scholastic achievement. Two new studies, however, indicate that this is not so.
Once study which involved 23000 second to eleventh graders in Midwestern urban school district, found that unusual or undesirable names did not affect intellectual development. The other study, of 724 ninth and twelfth graders in two Midwestern high schools, found no problem in either intellectual or social development due to a person’s name. Apparently, concludes the first study, once we get to know someone, other characteristics besides their name become much more intellectual in how we react to them.
Because unusual names are often associated with ethnic groups, the research suggests that the apparent effect of names may actually be the effect of ethnic group membership. [But further research is needed to prove this.] Finally the research states that some evidence indicates that if a name does have an effect, which may rarely happen, it could be a positive effect as often as a negative effect. For example, an unusual name could help to “build character� or help you recall a person.
Which of the following statements is best supported by the new studies?
A. The study results can be applied to adults as well as children.
B. They study results are accurate for all school-age children up to the twelfth grade.
C. The results are valid only for urban Midwestern schoolchildren
D. The idea that ones name is the most important factor in development is not correct
E. The study with 23,000 students is more valid than the study with 724
is it D?