Self-Regulation and Mathematics Performance in German and Iranian Students of More and Less Math-Related Fields of Study

Overview

Journal Front Psychol

Date 2020 Nov 16

PMID 33192754

Citations 1

Authors

Parvin Nemati

Caterina Gawrilow

Hans-Christoph Nuerk

Jan Kuhnhausen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Self-regulation is a multidimensional construct that is positively related to academic achievement, such as successful mathematics performance. However, this relation of self-regulation and mathematics performance has mainly been investigated in Western countries with similar cultural contexts, although self-regulation is assumed to be context-sensitive. Therefore, the present study investigated the relation of self-regulation and mathematics performance across two different countries (Germany vs. Iran) in college students. The relation of self-regulation and mathematics performance was expected to be weaker in students of math-related fields, such as Engineering/Informatics, as they are assumed to need less self-regulation to solve the mathematics problems than students of less math-related fields, such as Human Sciences. In total, 122 undergraduate students (German = 60; Iranian = 62) of Human Sciences or Engineering/Informatics participated in this study. We measured self-regulation with the Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al., 2004) and mathematics performance with a complex multiplication test. Results showed that self-regulation did not predict multiplication performance in German or Iranian students, in general. However, when the field of study was considered, self-regulation predicted multiplication performance in the subgroup of German and Iranian students studying Human Sciences within each country. We conclude that cultural context does not seem to play a dominant role in moderating the relation between self-regulation and math performance, however, field of study and more generally familiarity with math may be an important factor to consider in single or cross-cultural studies.

Citing Articles

Toward self-regulated learning: effects of different types of data-driven feedback on pupils' mathematics word problem-solving performance.

Huang J, Cai Y, Lv Z, Huang Y, Zheng X Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1356852.

PMID: 39411557 PMC: 11473304. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1356852.

References

Nuerk H, Weger U, Willmes K . Decade breaks in the mental number line? Putting the tens and units back in different bins. Cognition. 2001; 82(1):B25-33. DOI: 10.1016/s0010-0277(01)00142-1. View

Lamm B, Keller H, Teiser J, Gudi H, Yovsi R, Freitag C . Waiting for the Second Treat: Developing Culture-Specific Modes of Self-Regulation. Child Dev. 2017; 89(3):e261-e277. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12847. View

Ellefson M, Ng F, Wang Q, Hughes C . Efficiency of Executive Function: A Two-Generation Cross-Cultural Comparison of Samples From Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Psychol Sci. 2017; 28(5):555-566. DOI: 10.1177/0956797616687812. View

Rao , Moely , SACHS . Motivational Beliefs, Study Strategies, and Mathematics Attainment in High- and Low-Achieving Chinese Secondary School Students. Contemp Educ Psychol. 2000; 25(3):287-316. DOI: 10.1006/ceps.1999.1003. View

Siegler R, Opfer J . The development of numerical estimation: evidence for multiple representations of numerical quantity. Psychol Sci. 2003; 14(3):237-43. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9280.02438. View

Tangney J, Baumeister R, Boone A . High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. J Pers. 2004; 72(2):271-324. DOI: 10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00263.x. View

Domahs F, Delazer M, Nuerk H . What makes multiplication facts difficult. Problem size or neighborhood consistency?. Exp Psychol. 2006; 53(4):275-82. DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169.53.4.275. View

Unger A, Bi C, Xiao Y, Ybarra O . The revising of the Tangney Self-Control Scale for Chinese students. Psych J. 2016; 5(2):101-16. DOI: 10.1002/pchj.128. View

McClelland M, Cameron C . Self-regulation and academic achievement in elementary school children. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2011; 2011(133):29-44. DOI: 10.1002/cd.302. View

10.

Keller H, Yovsi R, Borke J, Kartner J, Jensen H, Papaligoura Z . Developmental consequences of early parenting experiences: self-recognition and self-regulation in three cultural communities. Child Dev. 2004; 75(6):1745-60. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00814.x. View

11.

Peirce J . Generating Stimuli for Neuroscience Using PsychoPy. Front Neuroinform. 2009; 2:10. PMC: 2636899. DOI: 10.3389/neuro.11.010.2008. View

12.

Heine S, Lehman D, Peng K, Greenholtz J . What's wrong with cross-cultural comparisons of subjective Likert scales?: The reference-group effect. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2002; 82(6):903-18. View

13.

Jaramillo J, Rendon M, Munoz L, Weis M, Trommsdorff G . Children's Self-Regulation in Cultural Contexts: The Role of Parental Socialization Theories, Goals, and Practices. Front Psychol. 2017; 8:923. PMC: 5460587. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00923. View

14.

Frazier T, Youngstrom E, Glutting J, Watkins M . ADHD and achievement: meta-analysis of the child, adolescent, and adult literatures and a concomitant study with college students. J Learn Disabil. 2007; 40(1):49-65. DOI: 10.1177/00222194070400010401. View

15.

Karolis V, Iuculano T, Butterworth B . Mapping numerical magnitudes along the right lines: differentiating between scale and bias. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2011; 140(4):693-706. DOI: 10.1037/a0024255. View

16.

Chen X, Hastings P, Rubin K, Chen H, Cen G, Stewart S . Child-rearing attitudes and behavioral inhibition in Chinese and Canadian toddlers: a cross-cultural study. Dev Psychol. 1998; 34(4):677-86. DOI: 10.1037//0012-1649.34.4.677. View

17.

Lan X, Legare C, Ponitz C, Li S, Morrison F . Investigating the links between the subcomponents of executive function and academic achievement: a cross-cultural analysis of Chinese and American preschoolers. J Exp Child Psychol. 2011; 108(3):677-92. DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2010.11.001. View

18.

Beauregard R, Hoover P, Schmidt A . Goal orientation and task demand effects on motivation, affect, and performance. J Appl Psychol. 2000; 85(5):724-38. DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.85.5.724. View

19.

Domahs F, Domahs U, Schlesewsky M, Ratinckx E, Verguts T, Willmes K . Neighborhood consistency in mental arithmetic: Behavioral and ERP evidence. Behav Brain Funct. 2008; 3:66. PMC: 2265290. DOI: 10.1186/1744-9081-3-66. View

20.

Bull R, Scerif G . Executive functioning as a predictor of children's mathematics ability: inhibition, switching, and working memory. Dev Neuropsychol. 2002; 19(3):273-93. DOI: 10.1207/S15326942DN1903_3. View