A Cross-Cultural Study of Task Persistence of Young Children in Japan and the United States

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that Japanese children do demonstrate higher task persistence, under noncompetitive conditions, than their peers in the United States. The subjects for the study were 107 first-grade students in Japan and 86 first-grade students in the United States from four elementary schools in each country. The research was designed to include three major independent variables: culture, school type, and sex. The results supported the hypothesis in demonstrating greater persistence by Japanese children, compared to their American peers. Type of school or sex of the pupil did not have any significant effect on task persistence.