Divergent consequences of success and failure in Japan and North America: An investigation of self-improving motivations and malleable selves

Self-enhancing and self-improving motivations were investigated across cult ures. Replicating past research, North Americans who failed on a task persi sted less on a follow-up task than those who succeeded. In contrast, Japane se who failed persisted more than those who succeeded. The Japanese pattern is evidence for a self-improving orientation: Failures highlight where cor rective efforts are needed. Japanese who failed also enhanced the importanc e and the diagnosticity of the task compared with those who succeeded, wher eas North Americans did the opposite. Study 2 revealed that self-improving motivations are specific to the tasks on which one receives feedback. Study 3 unpackaged the cultural differences by demonstrating that they are due, at least in part, to divergent lay theories regarding the utility of effort . Study 4 addressed the problem of comparing cultures on subjective Likert scales and replicated the findings with a different measure.