Students in countries culturally more distant from the US (less WEIRD) endorse growth mindsets less, r(46) = -.47¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 Cultural WEIRDness (cultural and psychological distance from the US) is significantly negatively correlated with national growth mindset endorsement, so students from non-WEIRD countries are less likely to endorse a growth mindset. → Wang 2026

Evidence¶

Wang 2026¶

Wang, Y., Tang, X., Wu, S., & Sun, X. (2026). Growth mindsets are less endorsed and less associated with academic performance in non-WEIRD cultures. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00406-w

q3 · i3 · associational · r2

Country-level correlation across 48 countries in PISA 2018 (N = 409,287 students), plotting averaged growth mindset ratings against the Cultural and Psychological Distance index. The printed effect size is r = -.47 (with r(46) = -.47, p < .001 as reported in the article), indicating lower endorsement in less WEIRD countries.

"As predicted, cultural WEIRDness was significantly associated with growth mindset endorsement, r(46) = -.47, p < .001 (note that the US was included with a cultural and psychological distance of zero)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The mindset–achievement association is significantly weaker in more culturally distant (non-WEIRD) countries for reading and science, and marginally for math — related
• Chinese middle-school students endorse significantly more fixed mindsets of intelligence than US students (PISA 2018) — related
• Chinese college students endorse more fixed intelligence mindsets, more effort attribution for school-level achievement, and more ability attribution for expert-level achievement than US students — related
• Growth mindset is positively associated with PISA reading, science and math performance overall (Model B standardized βs .21, .20, .16) — related
• Cultural variations exist in emotion and other psychological topics of interest to AIED, so psychology research influencing AIED is likely WEIRD-imbalanced — a broader claim this one bears on