Prediction of Academic Performance among Chinese Students: Effort Can Compensate for Lack of Ability

Abstract

Previous studies appear to show that effort was strongly emphasized by Chinese students. The present study examined the issue by asking subjects to predict the performance of hypothetical students whose effort, ability, and study skill levels were given. The way these various pieces of information were integrated and the relative importance of each of them were analyzed using the information integration model (Anderson, 1981). The subjects were 609 Chinese students at various educational levels and 102 teachers in Hong Kong. Results showed that Chinese students tended to use either the adding or the averaging rules, but not the multiplying rule. This supported the notion that Chinese students believed greater effort could compensate for the lack of ability.