Work ethic, motivation, and parental influences in Chinese and North American children learning to play the piano

Abstract

This study compared 50 Chinese and 100 North American Caucasian children aged 6 to 17 who were learning piano, in terms of their work ethic, motivation, and parental influences. Compared to North American Caucasians, Chinese children and parents believed more strongly that musical ability requires hard work, and Chinese children were more interested in working hard at piano practice, and practiced nearly twice as much. We also found differences in autonomous motivation, as defined by Self-Determination Theory: compared to Caucasians, Chinese children identified more with playing the piano, found it more intrinsically enjoyable, and pressured themselves less by shame or guilt, though they were more motivated by a desire to please their teachers and parents. Furthermore, Chinese parents more frequently sat in on their child’s piano lessons. These findings suggest several reasons that may contribute to the success of Chinese musicians.