We are more alike than we think we are: Implicit theories of intelligence with a Korean sample

Abstract

When people engage in intelligent activity, their thoughts and actions are guided by personal definitions of these constructs. Lay beliefs about how to foster and evaluate intelligence may be very different from the theories developed by experts. Recent research has elucidated many issues surrounding implicit theories of intelligence, but examinations of these theories within non-American cultures are uncommon or, more frequently, underdeveloped. The nature and structure of implicit intelligence theories of 384 Korean adults were identified in two experiments (267 and 117 subjects, respectively), and Koreans' use of these implicit theories were examined in a third experiment ( n=52). Results suggest that Korean adults emphasize social skills in implicit intelligence theories to a greater degree than Americans and several other Asian samples studied previously. However, when asked to use their implicit theories to evaluate the intelligence of hypothetical profiles, Korean adults' implicit theories looked surprisingly similar to that of previously studied American samples. Reasons for this phenomenon are explored.