Eight-minute self-regulation intervention raises educational attainment at scale in individualist but not collectivist cultures
Eight-minute self-regulation intervention raises educational attainment at scale in individualist but not collectivist cultures
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.1611898114
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发表时间：
2017-04-25
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Cohen, Geoffrey L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Kizilcec, Rene F.;Cohen, Geoffrey L.
学术证书提供了大量的机会。然而，许多人退出了教育计划，如社区大学和在线课程。先前的研究发现，一个简短的自我调节策略可以提高自律和学术成果。这一战略能否为大规模的学习者提供支持？心理对比与实施意图（MCII）包括写下与目标相关的积极成果，实现目标的障碍，以及克服这些障碍的具体“如果-那么”计划。这一战略是在西方国家（美国、德国）发展起来的，它迎合了个人主义倾向，这可能会降低它在印度或中国等集体主义文化中的效力。我们在两个在线课程的随机对照实验中验证了这一假设（n = 17，963）。在个人主义文化的学习者是32%（第一个实验）和15%（第二个实验）更有可能完成课程后，MCII干预比对照活动。相反，集体主义文化中的学习者不受MCII的影响。对书面回答的自然语言处理表明，当学习者的主要障碍是可预测和可克服的时，MCII是有效的，例如日常工作或家庭义务，但不是实际限制（例如，互联网接入）或缺乏时间。通过揭示MCII有效性的异质性，本研究推进了自我调节理论，并阐明了即使是非常有效的干预措施也可能在其效果上受到文化的限制。
Academic credentials open up a wealth of opportunities. However, many people drop out of educational programs, such as community college and online courses. Prior research found that a brief self-regulation strategy can improve self-discipline and academic outcomes. Could this strategy support learners at large scale? Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) involves writing about positive outcomes associated with a goal, the obstacles to achieving it, and concrete if-then plans to overcome them. The strategy was developed in Western countries (United States, Germany) and appeals to individualist tendencies, which may reduce its efficacy in collectivist cultures such as India or China. We tested this hypothesis in two randomized controlled experiments in online courses (n = 17,963). Learners in individualist cultures were 32%(first experiment) and 15% (second experiment) more likely to complete the course following the MCII intervention than a control activity. In contrast, learners in collectivist cultures were unaffected by MCII. Natural language processing of written responses revealed that MCII was effective when a learner's primary obstacle was predictable and surmountable, such as everyday work or family obligations but not a practical constraint (e.g., Internet access) or a lack of time. By revealing heterogeneity in MCII's effectiveness, this research advances theory on self-regulation and illuminates how even highly efficacious interventions may be culturally bounded in their effects.