Self-Presentation Bias and Continuing Motivation Among Adolescents

Self-Presentation Bias and Continuing Motivation Among Chinese Students: A Cross-Cultural Phenomenon

“…We conducted the present study to determine the extent to which recent findings (Igoe & Sullivan, 1993) on continuing motivation and self-presentation bias among American students are generalizable to students from mainland China. We investigated the reported rate of return to easy and hard tasks by Chinese girls and boys for a scenario character faced with the return-to-task choices and for themselves.…”

“…Studies of the continuing motivation of students have also yielded evidence of self-presentation bias (Igoe & Sullivan, 1993). Continuing motivation refers to the willingness to return to the same task or a similar one at a later time without visible external pressure to do so (Maehr, 1976).…”

“…The sample consisted of 140 girls and 137 boys in junior high and 119 girls and 121 boys in senior high. The numbers of Chinese students by gender and grade level were selected to be similar to those in the Igoe and Sullivan (1993) study.…”

“…This need leads to a variety of strategies for presenting oneself in a favorable light (Goffman, 1959;Gould & Slone, 1982;Schlenker & Weigold, 1990;Wylie, Miller, Cowles, & Wilson, 1979). Efforts to present oneself more favorably than others are commonly referred to as self-presentation bias (Igoe & Sullivan, 1993). Researchers have studied several different self-presentation strategies.…”

“…Wuhan schools follow a curriculum that is standard throughout China. The participating schools were selected by a local university professor in consultation with the first author of this article (who is also a life-long Wuhan resident) for their overall socioeconomic similarity to the schools in the Igoe and Sullivan (1993) study. Thus, the schools were public schools in lower middle to upper middle socioeconomic areas.…”