Growth mindsets are less endorsed and less associated with academic performance in non-WEIRD cultures

We test whether growth mindsets are less relevant in non-WEIRD cultures using nationally representative data from PISA 2018 (48 countries, N = 409,287). Students from non-WEIRD countries reported lower growth mindsets (r = -0.47). Multilevel models revealed that the mindset-achievement associations were weaker in non-WEIRD cultures for reading and science, and marginal for math. Our findings suggest that culture-specific factors should be considered when applying the growth mindset framework.

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Publication Details

Journal
npj Science of Learning
Published
2026-02-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00406-w
Primary Topic
Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Growth mindsets are less endorsed and less associated with academic performance in non-WEIRD cultures

Xin Tang, Xin Sun, Yuhan Wang, Shengtao Wu
npj Science of Learning
Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
article

Growth mindsets are less endorsed and less associated with academic performance in non-WEIRD cultures

Xin Tang, Xin Sun, Yuhan Wang, Shengtao Wu
article en

Abstract

We test whether growth mindsets are less relevant in non-WEIRD cultures using nationally representative data from PISA 2018 (48 countries, N = 409,287). Students from non-WEIRD countries reported lower growth mindsets (r = -0.47). Multilevel models revealed that the mindset-achievement associations were weaker in non-WEIRD cultures for reading and science, and marginal for math. Our findings suggest that culture-specific factors should be considered when applying the growth mindset framework.

npj Science of Learning
University of Helsinki (FI), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN), Tallinn University (EE), Jilin University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 48%
Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
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