Bidirectional analysis between children’s mastery motivation and their science problem solving

Mastery motivation serves as a critical driver of young children’s early science learning, yet the bidirectional links between these two variables remain underexplored. Using a two-wave cross-lagged design with 139 children (Mean age = 62.66 months; 61.2% male) in China, the current research examined the longitudinal effects between their mastery motivation and science problem-solving. Cross-lagged panel analysis revealed that a bidirectional relationship was observed between children’s mastery motivation and science problem-solving. Specifically, findings suggested that young children’s mastery motivation predicted subsequent science problem solving, while science problem solving accounted for a significant amount of variance in subsequent mastery motivation. These findings underscore the reciprocal effects of mastery motivation and science problem solving performance during early childhood and emphasize the importance of nurturing mastery motivation and science problem solving.