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.
Authors
- Xin Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0155-4967)
- Xin Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5480-8062)
- Yuhan Wang
- Shengtao Wu
Institutions
- 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)
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