The Mediating Role of Self-Exertion on the Effects of Effort on Learning Virtues and Emotional Distress in Academic Failure in a Confucian Context

Fwu, Bih-Jen; Chen, Shun-Wen; Wei, Chih-Fen; Wang, Hsiou-Huai

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02047

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…According to the role obligation theory of self-cultivation (ROT; Fwu et al, 2018Fwu et al, , 2021, the CHC learners tend to perceive academic achievement and failure from personal and interpersonal perspectives. The former refers to personal obligations to exert oneself toward the ultimate good, and the latter refers to fulfilling filial obligations to parents by achieving academic excellence (Fwu et al, 2017(Fwu et al, , 2018. The two aspects will be explained in detail below.…”

Section: The Quadripolar Model Of Achievement Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

To approach or to avoid: The quadripolar model of achievement motivation revisited in a Confucian-heritage context

Fwu

Yang

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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Academic challenges and failure are inevitable in pursuit of higher education. According to the self-worth theory, trying hard but failing implies low ability that would be a threat to personal worth, thus preventing students from approaching academic challenges. Nevertheless, previous studies have shown that students in the Confucian-heritage contexts (CHCs) tend to persist rather than quit in the face of academic failure. According to the role obligation theory of self-cultivation (ROT), the CHC learners would perceive academic failure from personal and interpersonal perspectives. The former refers to personal obligations to exert oneself toward the ultimate good, and the latter refers to fulfilling filial obligations to parents by achieving academic excellence. Given the fundamental differences in learners’ perceptions of academic failure between the CHCs and the Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) contexts, this study examined the applicability of the quadripolar model of achievement motivation based on the self-worth theory in a CHC higher education institution. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a two-factor model of fear of failure, including a personal and an interpersonal subfactor. Latent class analysis (LCA) showed that apart from the four existing categories of the quadripolar model, two additional CHC categories emerged and constituted half of the sample. The two CHC categories demonstrated different learner characteristics compared with their corresponding quadripolar categories in terms of levels of emotional distress and academic risk-taking tendency. The results may help debunk the myth that learner characteristics in the CHCs are identical to those observed in the WEIRD contexts. The fundamental differences in fear of failure further indicated the inadequacy of the self-worth theory in explaining achievement motivation in the CHCs where relationalism and role obligations are significant parts of the cultural traditions.

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Section: The Quadripolar Model Of Achievement Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

To approach or to avoid: The quadripolar model of achievement motivation revisited in a Confucian-heritage context

Fwu

Yang

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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“…Under the cultural influence of Confucianism, people in East Asian put great value on students' academic success (Hau & Ho, 2010). Western achievement motivation theories were found to be inconsistent in applying to Asian students, implying the discrepant views toward learning from students in Western and Asian contexts (see review in Hau & Ho, 2010; also as cited in Fwu et al, 2017). Moreover, it is known that Asian college students appeared to show some discrepancies in psychological traits from their counterparts in the West (Wang et al, 2007).…”

Section: The CC Students In Hong Kongmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Does the Psychological Well-being (PWB) in the First Year of College Studies Predict Community College Students’ Academic Performance in Hong Kong?

2021

Community College Journal of Research and Practice

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Research showed that the college environment threatens the mental health development of students. The community college (CC) system is unique and the development of the psychological well-being (PWB) of students studying at CCs has not been extensively studied. It is also worth answering the question that how PWB relates to CC students' academic performance. In this study, the development of the PWB of CC students in Hong Kong and its relationship with the first-year academic performance have been explored. Results indicated that CC students' PWB decreased significantly after the first year of studies. Among the six constructs in PWB, only the change of Personal Growth, Self-Acceptance, and Purpose in Life significantly predicted students' first-year Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), in which Purpose in Life yielded the greatest relative importance. The Purpose in Life level at the time also mediated the relationship between students' precollege and first-year college academic performance, however, such mediation effect could only be observed in non-first-generation students. The findings of this study suggested that the mental health conditions of CC students should have gained more attention. CCs should also have put more efforts and resources to help freshmen students foster their purpose in life so that they could have better chances to achieve academic success.

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“…Under this relatively unfair circumstance, some Chinese people started to give up part of their ambition and desire and chose TP instead of struggling and making efforts. All the published media and scholarships, no matter with a criticized or sympathetic stand, indicated that TP is opposite to effort-making (EM) behavior and the doctrine of self-exertion as a Confucian cultural value ( Fwu et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Existing literature has discussed the relationship between cultural values and EM behaviors in academic learning (e.g., Li, 2012 ; Fwu et al, 2017 ). From the perspective of Chinese cultural psychology, EM has both instrumental value for individuals’ self-improvement and purpose value as individuals’ obligation to fulfill.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do Chinese people evaluate “Tang-Ping” (lying flat) and effort-making: The moderation effect of return expectation

Hsu

2022

Front. Psychol.

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“Tang-Ping” (TP), referring to “lying flat” literally, has been a buzzword in China web media since 2021. As the opponent of effort-making (EM) behaviors which have both instrumental and purpose values in Confucian culture, TP has a negative moral implication in China and has been criticized by the state-owned media. Meanwhile, the meaning of TP also contains a negative form of resistance toward social and organizational inequality, which may be acceptable under unfair circumstances. This study employed the imagined-scenario method to investigate the public’s moral evaluations of TP and EM behaviors under conditions of different return expectations. An online questionnaire with 2 (TP vs. EM) by 2 (low vs. high return expectation) between-participants designed scenarios were employed, along with the measurements of obligation belief of effort (OBE) and improvement belief of effort (IBE) scales (N = 210). The results found that (1) TP behaviors were evaluated as morally wrong in general, while EM behaviors were morally right; (2) the return expectation of the scenario moderated the behavior type’s effect on moral evaluation, that EM behaviors were evaluated positively regardless of return expectation, while TP behaviors became acceptable with a neutral score under the low return expectation; (3) both OBE and IBE correlated positively with evaluations of EM while negatively with evaluations of TP. The theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

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The Mediating Role of Self-Exertion on the Effects of Effort on Learning Virtues and Emotional Distress in Academic Failure in a Confucian Context

Cited by 9 publications

References 44 publications

To approach or to avoid: The quadripolar model of achievement motivation revisited in a Confucian-heritage context

To approach or to avoid: The quadripolar model of achievement motivation revisited in a Confucian-heritage context

How Does the Psychological Well-being (PWB) in the First Year of College Studies Predict Community College Students’ Academic Performance in Hong Kong?

How do Chinese people evaluate “Tang-Ping” (lying flat) and effort-making: The moderation effect of return expectation

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