SEX DIFFERENCES IN CHILD TRAINING ANTECEDENTS OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AMONG CHINESE CHILDREN.

This article presents information related to a study focusing on achievement motivation among Chinese children. Studies of achievement motivation have demonstrated that its characteristics are different for men and women, the nAch of women being closely bound up with social approval. It might be expected that the origins of nAch would be different for the two sexes, but the generally accepted link between independence training and achievement motivation is based almost exclusively upon samples of boys. Since dependency is expected of girls, interference with its expression may indicate maternal rejection and that an achievement motivation based upon desire for approval cannot thrive under such circumstances. Passive-dependency and anxiety are detrimental to achievement strivings, and anxious dependency results when the child's dependent overtures are both rewarded. The subjects were 36 six to ten-year-old children from an agricultural village in northern Taiwan. A verbal measure was used to evaluate achievement motivation. Two of the four items, low reward for dependent overtures and early training in self-reliance (feeding and dressing), were significantly related to achievement motivation in boys, as was a summary score based on all four items.