Perceptions of achievement and achieving peers in US and Chinese kindergartners

Two studies were conducted to examine perceptions about achievement and achiev-ing peers in 190 U.S. and Chinese kindergartners. Children provided free-narrative responses to story beginnings about an achieving protagonist in school settings. We found marked cultural differences. For achievement, U.S. children perceived more intellectual development, positive affects of the protagonist, and adult praise, where Chinese children perceived more social respect and their ability to help others. For lack of achievement in non-achieving peers, U.S. children identified more negative affects, and Chinese children anticipated more negative reactions from adults. Moreover, although children in both cultures used non-ability factors to explain achievement, Chinese children did so more consistently. Most strikingly, whereas Chinese children often expressed peer respect and desire to emulate the achieving protagonist, U.S. children frequently attributed peer negative reactions toward him or her. We interpret these differences as reflecting U.S. and Chinese cultural values regarding learning, achievement, and related self-other perceptions.