TY - JOUR
T1 - Why children differ in motivation to learn
T2 - Insights from over 13,000 twins from 6 countries
AU - Kovas, Yulia
AU - Garon-Carrier, Gabrielle
AU - Boivin, Michel
AU - Petrill, Stephen A.
AU - Plomin, Robert
AU - Malykh, Sergey B.
AU - Spinath, Frank
AU - Murayama, Kou
AU - Ando, Juko
AU - Bogdanova, Olga Y.
AU - Brendgen, Mara
AU - Dionne, Ginette
AU - Forget-Dubois, Nadine
AU - Galajinsky, Eduard V.
AU - Gottschling, Juliana
AU - Guay, Frédéric
AU - Lemelin, Jean Pascal
AU - Logan, Jessica A.R.
AU - Yamagata, Shinji
AU - Shikishima, Chizuru
AU - Spinath, Birgit
AU - Thompson, Lee A.
AU - Tikhomirova, Tatiana N.
AU - Tosto, Maria G.
AU - Tremblay, Richard
AU - Vitaro, Frank
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the grant from the Government of the Russian Federation [Grant 11.G34.31.0043] and Tomsk State University; by a program grant [G0901245; previously G0500079] from the U.K. Medical Research Council (MRC); by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development [HD059215; HD038075], and [HD075460]; by the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture; the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec; the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada; the National Health Research Development Program; the Canadian Institutes for Health Research; and Sainte-Justine Hospital ’ s Research Center; and the Canada Research Chair Program.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015.
PY - 2015/7/1
Y1 - 2015/7/1
N2 - Little is known about why people differ in their levels of academic motivation. This study explored the etiology of individual differences in enjoyment and self-perceived ability for several school subjects in nearly 13,000 twins aged 9-16 from 6 countries. The results showed a striking consistency across ages, school subjects, and cultures. Contrary to common belief, enjoyment of learning and children's perceptions of their competence were no less heritable than cognitive ability. Genetic factors explained approximately 40% of the variance and all of the observed twins' similarity in academic motivation. Shared environmental factors, such as home or classroom, did not contribute to the twin's similarity in academic motivation. Environmental influences stemmed entirely from individual specific experiences.
AB - Little is known about why people differ in their levels of academic motivation. This study explored the etiology of individual differences in enjoyment and self-perceived ability for several school subjects in nearly 13,000 twins aged 9-16 from 6 countries. The results showed a striking consistency across ages, school subjects, and cultures. Contrary to common belief, enjoyment of learning and children's perceptions of their competence were no less heritable than cognitive ability. Genetic factors explained approximately 40% of the variance and all of the observed twins' similarity in academic motivation. Shared environmental factors, such as home or classroom, did not contribute to the twin's similarity in academic motivation. Environmental influences stemmed entirely from individual specific experiences.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.paid.2015.02.006
DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2015.02.006
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84924202579
SN - 0191-8869
VL - 80
SP - 51
EP - 63
JO - Personality and Individual Differences
JF - Personality and Individual Differences
ER -