Beliefs about genetic influences on mathematics achievement: a cross-cultural comparison.
Beliefs about genetic influences on mathematics achievement: a cross-cultural comparison.
复制标题
关于遗传对数学成绩影响的信念：跨文化比较。
作者：
Uttal,DH
美国孩子数学成绩差已经成为全国关注的话题。大量研究表明，美国儿童的表现始终低于世界许多地区的同龄人。相比之下，中国、日本、台湾和其他亚洲国家的儿童在国际比较中始终处于或接近顶尖水平。本文探讨了美国儿童表现不佳和亚洲儿童表现优异的可能原因。与许多美国人的看法相反，东亚人在数学方面的优势可能并不是由于遗传上的数学优势。相反，对遗传学作用的不同看法可能是部分原因。亚洲人坚信，努力在决定孩子的成就水平方面发挥着关键作用，而美国人则认为先天能力最为重要。此外，尽管孩子的表现相对较差，但美国父母对孩子表现的满意度明显高于亚洲父母。美国人对先天能力作用的重视可能会对儿童的成就产生多种影响。例如，这可能会导致孩子们害怕犯错误，并且比亚洲孩子在数学上花费更少的精力。随着关于基因对行为、特征和能力影响的研究不断增加，科学家们应该小心确保公众明白基因并不能直接决定孩子潜在成就的确切水平。
The poor mathematics performance of children in the United States has become a topic of national concern. Numerous studies have shown that American children consistently perform worse than their counterparts in many parts of the world. In contrast, children in China, Japan, Taiwan, and other Asian countries consistently perform at or near the top in international comparisons. This paper examines possible causes of the poor performance of American children and the excellent performance of Asian children. Contrary to the beliefs of many Americans, the East Asian advantage in mathematics is probably not due to a genetically-based advantage in mathematics. Instead, differences inbeliefsabout the role of genetics may be partly responsible. Asians strongly believe that effort plays a key role in determining a child's level of achievement, whereas Americans believe that innate ability is most important. In addition, despite the relatively poor performance of their children, American parents are substantiallymoresatisfied with their children's performance than Asian parents. The American emphasis on the role of innate ability may have several consequences for children's achievement. For example, it may lead children to fear making errors and to expend less effort on mathematics than their Asian counterparts. As research on genetic influences on behavior, traits, and abilities increases scientists should be careful to ensure that the public understands that genetics does not directly determine the exact level of a child's potential achievement.