GENDER DIFFERENCES IN CHILDRENS ACHIEVEMENT-RELATED BELIEFS AND EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN MATHEMATICS

A sample of 194 3rd graders and 279 junior high school students completed questionnaires measuring achievement-related beliefs before and after they took a regularly scheduled mathematics exam. Girls rated their ability lower, expected to do less well, were less likely than boys to attribute success to high ability and failure to luck, and were more likely to attribute failure to low ability. Girls also reported less pride in their success and a stronger desire to hide their paper after failure and were less likely to believe that success could be achieved through effort. Further associations were observed between attributions and the belief that success could be achieved by effort on one hand and a desire to avoid mathematics tasks and future performance expectations on the other. The results expand our understanding of achievement-related beliefs that might explain gender differences in performance and in future course and occupational choices.