Self-Regulation Strategies in Achievement Settings

The study investigates culture and gender differences in a specific self-regulation task: choosing a level of difficulty that will maximize achievement. Two hundred psychology students from Singapore and Israel accomplished a computerized anagram-solving task that allowed participants to choose a level of difficulty (25 trials, six difficulty levels). In this task, the number of points given for correct solutions was increased as the difficulty level was raised. Results showed cultural differences in attained scores: Israelis earned more points than Singaporeans. Moreover, women preferred significantly easier tasks, though this preference did not result in a different number of points. Immediate reaction to feedback (success vs. failure) showed a culture by gender interaction. It was suggested that Singaporean women prefer tasks that are too easy, whereas Israeli men prefer tasks that are too difficult. Both these preferences are detrimental to self-regulation efficiency.