Grit and academic performance among first-year university students: A brief report

This study examined grit and academic performance among a sample of South African university students (n = 121, mean age = 19.55, SD = 1.77, female = 57.85%). Data were collected using the Grit Scale and academic performance was assessed over one academic semester. Simple regression analysis was computed to predict students’ academic achievement from components of their self-reported grit. The grit component of consistency of interest accounted for 3% of the variance in the student’s academic achievement scores. Similarly, the grit component of perseverance of effort explained 9% of the variance in scores. Students who scored high on the Grit Scale also obtained higher academic marks compared to participants who scored low on the same instrument. The findings suggest that grit is an important personal resource for higher education students.     

青少年未来时间洞察力与学业成绩的关系:坚韧性的中介作用

对756名青少年进行问卷调查,考察未来时间洞察力、坚韧性与学业成绩之间的关系。结果发现：（1）未来消极、未来迷茫显著负向预测学业成绩,未来坚持和未来计划能显著正向预测学业成绩;（2）坚韧性在未来时间洞察力的六个维度与学业成绩之间的关系各不相同。具体而言,坚韧性在未来积极和未来清晰与学业成绩之间无中介效应,坚韧性在未来消极与学业成绩之间起部分中介作用,坚韧性在未来迷茫、未来坚持、未来计划与学业成绩之间起完全中介作用。     

Grit and Different Aspects of Well-Being: Direct and Indirect Relationships via Sense of Coherence and Authenticity

Grit, passion and perseverance for long-term goals, is strongly related to success in goal attainment even under challenging circumstances. We investigated how grit relates to three aspects of well-being: psychological well-being (PWB), satisfaction with life, and harmony in life. This relationship is approached through organismic valuing theory, which proposes that people are naturally motivated to grow towards their highest potential; grit is proposed as being akin to such growth motivation. In two studies (Study 1 with 196 university students, and Study 2 with 396 non-students), direct and indirect (mediating) effects between grit and well-being were investigated. Sense of coherence (SOC) and authenticity were used as mediators, and gender as a moderator. Grit was positively related to all well-being factors, and SOC and authenticity were significant mediators (complementary for PWB and indirect-only for satisfaction with life and harmony in life). This suggests that grittiness in goal pursuits requires both a sense that the world is coherent and an authentic connection with the self in order for it to fully benefit well-being. No gender moderation was found.     

毅力与学业成绩的关系：有意走神和自发走神的不同中介作用

以3372名5年级小学生为研究对象,采用毅力量表、有意走神和自发走神量表以及学业成绩测验,考察毅力（兴趣一致性和坚持努力）对学业成绩的影响,并检验有意走神和自发走神的中介作用。结果发现：（1）兴趣一致性和坚持努力均显著正向预测学业成绩;（2）有意走神、自发走神在兴趣一致性和坚持努力与学业成绩之间均起显著的中介作用,但两者的中介作用模式存在差异。有意走神在兴趣一致性和坚持努力与学业成绩间的中介作用不同：兴趣一致性负向影响有意走神,有意走神正向影响学业成绩,坚持努力正向影响有意走神,有意走神正向影响学业成绩;而自发走神在兴趣一致性和坚持努力对学业成绩预测的中介作用相同,即兴趣一致性和坚持努力均负向影响自发走神,自发走神负向影响学业成绩。     

Academic Grit Scale: Psychometric properties and associations with achievement and life satisfaction

After a decade of research, grit has been linked to many adaptive outcomes for adolescents and the development of school-based interventions for promoting adolescents' grit has been recommended. However, a reconceptualization of grit and its measurement may be vital for future grit research and application. The currently predominant grit assessments may be inappropriate for youth populations, yielding evidence of low psychometric properties and variable criterion-related validity. In a sample of adolescents (N = 757) in sixth to eighth grade, the current study investigated the psychometric properties of the Academic Grit Scale, a novel measure of domain-specific grit. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a single-factor structure of the Academic Grit Scale, and evidence of high internal consistency reliability and construct validity was observed. Results indicated positive associations between academic grit and academic achievement, life satisfaction, and school satisfaction. Furthermore, academic grit demonstrated incremental validity above and beyond that of general grit in association with these outcomes. Implications of the findings are discussed, including the potential to inform applied practices in schools and future empirical investigations.     

Traditional and psychological factors associated with academic success: investigating best predictors of college retention

We compared factors that colleges have traditionally used to predict students’ academic success (ACT score and high school GPA) to non-traditional factors (perceived stress and grit, defined as having perseverance and passion for long-term goals) to determine best predictors of academic success, measured using college GPA and retention. We obtained data from 165 undergraduate students. Participants completed the Short Grit Scale and Perceived Stress Scale. We obtained participants’ college GPA, high school GPA, and ACT scores. We assessed longitudinally, 1.5 years later, whether participants were retained. ACT score and high school GPA were excellent predictors of college students’ GPA, but poor predictors of retention. Conversely, perceived stress and grit were poor predictors of college students’ GPA, but were statistically significant predictors of retention. Traditional factors, often used for college admissions, are less important than non-traditional, psychological factors, in predicting who will complete college. We discuss potential strategies for improving college retention.     

Persevering with Positivity and Purpose: An Examination of Purpose Commitment and Positive Affect as Predictors of Grit

Grit, defined as a passion and perseverance for one’s goals, has been consistently demonstrated as an adaptive resource across multiple domains. Less explored, however, are the correlates of and sources from which grit is derived. The current studies examined two plausible candidates for promoting grit, positive affect and commitment to a purpose, using college student samples from Canada and the United States. Study 1 confirmed our predictions that grittier students tended to report greater positive affect and purpose commitment, and demonstrated that these variables appear to be unique and independent predictors of grit. Study 2 examined these claims using two-wave data collected across a semester, and found that while both purpose and positive affect were initially correlated with grit, only initial levels of purpose predicted grit at wave two. In other words, having a life direction may help more than positive affect when predicting who is likely to become grittier over a college semester. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Frustration of Life Goals Mediates the Negative Effect of Unemployment on Subjective Well-Being

The present study investigated whether unemployment influences the importance and the realization of life goals and whether a reduced realization of life goals mediates the negative effect of unemployment on subjective well-being. A sample of 256 employed and unemployed German adults was studied with scales measuring six different life goal domains (power, achievement, variety, altruism, intimacy, affiliation). Only weak differences between unemployed and employed people were found for importance ratings of life goals. However, current realization of life goals, particularly of agency goals such as power, achievement and variety, was significantly lower among unemployed persons than among employed persons. Thus, unemployment did not change the goals people wanted to achieve in their lifetime, but it inhibited the success of these strivings. Furthermore, current realization of life goals was found to be a mediator of the detrimental effect of unemployment on life satisfaction and positive/negative affect.     

To grit or not to grit,that is the question!

The current study tested the validity of grit as a non-cognitive construct related to, yet distinct from self-control. Data were collected from N = 1907 adults spanning the life-course (53.1% female, M age = 41.4 years). Associations between grit and present and past goals were very similar to ones observed with self-control. Extensive model tests using structural equation modeling provided evidence of substantial overlap between these two constructs, calling into question the conceptual and empirical distinctiveness of grit vis-à-vis self-control, as well as the importance of grit as a unique and independent characteristic salient for the pursuit and achievement of long-term goals. This finding was consistent and invariant across adult developmental periods. Study implications for grit-investment are discussed.     

Grit in adolescence is protective of late-life cognition: non-cognitive factors and cognitive reserve

Various psychological assets have been shown to protect against late-life cognitive impairment by promoting cognitive reserve. While factors such as educational attainment and IQ are well-established contributors to cognitive reserve, noncognitive factors, such as grit, have not been studied in this regard. We examined the contribution of adolescent grit, indexed by high school class rank controlling for IQ, to late-life cognition and its decline among approximately 4000 participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, a random sample of high school graduates followed from 1957 to 2011. Adolescent grit significantly predicted both immediate and delayed memory at ages 64 and 71, over and above the contribution of IQ. While the relative contributions of IQ and grit to immediate memory were comparable, grit was a stronger predictor of delayed memory. Cognitive reserve has noncognitive, as well as cognitive, components.     

A Quantitative Trait Locus Associated With Cognitive Ability in Children

Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with general cognitive ability ( g ) were investigated for several groups of children selected for very high or for average cognitive functioning. A DNA marker in the gene for insulin-like growth factor-2 receptor (IGF2R) on Chromosome 6 yielded a significantly greater frequency of a particular form of the gene (allele) in a high- g group (.303; average IQ = 136, N = 51) than in a control group (.156; average IQ = 103, N = 51). This association was replicated in an extremely-high- g group (all estimated IQs > 160, N = 52) as compared with an independent control group (average IQ = 101, N = 50), with allelic frequencies of .340 and .169, respectively. Moreover, a high-mathematics-ability group ( N = 62) and a high-verbal-ability group ( N = 51) yielded results that were in the same direction but only marginally significant ( p = .06 and .08, respectively).     

Dimensions of Success and Motivation Needs Among Managers

In this study, we examined the relationship between needs for achievement (n Ach) and power (n Pwr) and the importance of six dimensions of life success among a sample of 454 managerial women and men in southeastern Florida. Results showed that n Ach was significantly correlated with all four work-related success dimensions: status/wealth, personal fulfillment, and professional fulfillment (positively), and with security (negatively). N Ach was not correlated with either of the two nonwork-related success dimensions of family relationship and social contribution. N Pwr was significantly correlated with all the same work-related success dimensions except professional fulfillment; it was also correlated significantly with the non work-related dimension of social contribution but not with family relationships.     

Examining the Merit of Grit in Women's Soccer: Questions of Theory,Measurement, and Application

The purpose of the current study was to examine the factorial validity of existing grit measures and to examine differences in the grit level of athletes across performance tiers (i.e., collegiate, professional, Olympic). Female soccer players (N = 305) of varying competitive levels completed measures of grit. Results revealed preliminary support for the 8-item Grit Scale factorial validity, as well as a significant age-adjusted difference in grit level between Division I and Division II collegiate athletes. Taken together, study results prompt questions regarding the theoretical underpinnings, and consequent measurement, of the grit construct in sport psychology practice.     

无惧失败预测幸福:成就动机对心理幸福感的预测作用

前人研究发现成就动机影响个体的主观幸福感,而对心理幸福感的研究较少。本研究利用成就动机量表和心理幸福感量表,采用随机抽样的方法对214名大学生进行问卷调查。研究发现,成就动机与心理幸福感及其各维度呈显著正相关;成就动机的两个维度(追求成功的动机和避免失败的动机)对心理幸福感具有显著预测作用,且避免失败的维度相对贡献更大。结果提示,成就动机可以较好的正向预测心理幸福感,且避免失败的预测作用更强。     

Threat and defense as goal regulation: from implicit goal conflict to anxious uncertainty, reactive approach motivation, and ideological extremism

Four studies investigated a goal regulation view of anxious uncertainty threat (Gray & McNaughton, 2000) and ideological defense. Participants (N = 444) were randomly assigned to have achievement or relationship goals implicitly primed. The implicit goal primes were followed by randomly assigned achievement or relationship threats that have reliably caused generalized, reactive approach motivation and ideological defense in past research. The threats caused anxious uncertainty (Study 1), reactive approach motivation (Studies 2 and 3), and reactive ideological conviction (Study 4) only when threat-relevant goals had first been primed, but not when threat-irrelevant goals had first been primed. Reactive ideological conviction (Study 4) was eliminated if participants were given an opportunity to attribute their anxiety to a mundane source. Results support a goal regulation view of anxious uncertainty, threat, and defense with potential for integrating theories of defensive compensation.     

中国大学生成就动机变迁的横断历史研究:1999~2014

本研究对1999~2014年间88项采用成就动机量表测量中国大学生（共涉及40801名被试）成就动机水平的研究报告进行横断历史元分析,以考察大学生成就动机水平随年代的变化趋势。研究结果表明：（1）追求成功因子与年代的相关不显著,避免失败因子与年代呈显著正相关,而成就动机总分与年代呈显著负相关。这说明,我国大学生成就动机总体水平在这16年间显著降低。（2）男生和女生的成就动机总分与年代均呈显著负相关,追求成功和避免失败因子均与年代没有显著相关,并且在成就动机总分及各因子得分上没有显著性别差异。     

家长投入对子女成就目标的影响:教养风格的调节作用

本研究通过调查2038名中小学生,考察不同方面的家长投入(学业社会化、基于家庭的投入、基于学校的投入)与子女成就目标的关系,以及教养风格(自主支持/控制)在其中的调节作用。结果表明,学业社会化正向预测三种成就目标,基于家庭的投入正向预测成绩回避目标,基于学校的投入正向预测掌握目标;自主支持的教养风格增强了家长投入与掌握目标的关系,控制的教养风格增强了家长投入与成绩目标的关系;结果存在一定的年龄差异。     

Sex differences in math performance: The role of children's approach to schoolwork

This research examined whether the tendency for girls to outperform boys in the classroom is due to differences in how girls and boys approach schoolwork. In 5th grade and then again in 7th grade, children (N=518) reported on how they approach schoolwork (i.e., achievement goals and classroom behavior), their learning strategies, and their self-efficacy in math; math grades and achievement test scores were also collected. Girls were more likely than boys to hold mastery over performance goals and to refrain from disruptive classroom behavior, which predicted girls' greater effortful learning over time. The sex difference in learning strategies accounted for girls' edge over boys in terms of grades. Girls did not do better on achievement tests, possibly because self-efficacy, for which there was also no sex difference, was the central predictor of performance on achievement tests.     

Depressed people are not less motivated by personal goals but are more pessimistic about attaining them

Despite its theoretical importance, personal goal motivation has rarely been examined in clinical depression. Here we investigate whether clinically depressed persons (n = 23) differ from never-depressed persons (n = 26) on number of freely generated approach and avoidance goals, appraisals of these goals, and reasons why these goals would and would not be achieved. Participants listed approach and avoidance goals separately and generated explanations for why they would (pro) and would not (con) achieve their most important approach and avoidance goals, before rating the importance, likelihood, and perceived control of goal outcomes. Counter to hypothesis, depressed persons did not differ from never-depressed controls on number of approach or avoidance goals, or on the perceived importance of these goals. However, compared to never-depressed controls, depressed individuals gave lower likelihood judgments for desirable approach goal outcomes, tended to give higher likelihood judgments for undesirable to-be-avoided goal outcomes, and gave lower ratings of their control over goal outcomes. Furthermore, although controls generated significantly more pro than con reasons for goal achievement, depressed participants did not. These results suggest that depressed persons do not lack valued goals but are more pessimistic about their likelihood, controllability, and reasons for successful goal attainment.     

Maternal intrusive support in the academic context: transactional socialization processes

Although transactional models of socialization have received support, there has been little investigation of the processes involved. The goal of this research was to move in this direction in the context of the socialization of achievement. Mothers and their elementary school children (N = 166) took part in an 18-month longitudinal study including a 2-week daily checklist. The results suggested that children's low achievement elicits intrusive support from mothers through 2 mechanisms. Mothers worried over their children's performance, and this was associated with heightened intrusive support. Children's low achievement manifested itself in uncertainty, which was linked to heightened intrusive support. The achievement of children whose mothers frequently used intrusive support improved over time but did not exceed that of children whose mothers infrequently used intrusive support. Day-to-day analyses suggested that although intrusive support promotes success, it also fosters failure for low-achieving children.