Advancing the Science and Practice of Character Development

Like Sir John Templeton, Character Lab sees enormous potential in applying the scientific method to the timeless question of how to cultivate character and virtue in young people.
Why young people? Character and virtue are relevant across the lifespan, but research suggests adolescence is a particularly sensitive period for brain development and identity formation. Accordingly, we focus on advancing the science and practice of character development in teenagers.
Why the scientific method? Because precise measurement and carefully designed studies can radically accelerate learning. Just as the scientific method revolutionized medicine—effectively doubling life expectancies over the last two centuries—the science of character development can lead to discoveries that help young people develop to their fullest potential.
Our ultimate aim is to provide, to teachers and other adults who care about young people, character-building insights and strategies based on rigorous science. In the past, Character Lab dispensed grants to scientists. But we’ve since found that even well-funded, highly regarded scientists struggle to execute research in schools.
We are proposing a different approach. We aim to make character development research in schools attractive to world-class scientists not because of the promise of grant money, but rather because its largest disincentives have been removed. As medical research has done for life expectancy, more scientific research on character will lead to better outcomes.
Character Lab Research Network comprises three elements: (1) partnerships with middle and high schools across the country, (2) a digital platform for delivering interventions and collecting data remotely, and (3) legal agreements that allow Character Lab to act as a neutral third-party intermediary between schools and researchers.
Collectively, these resources will make character development research fast, frictionless, and fruitful.