Chapter 3: Cultural Interpretations of Achievement Motivation: A Situated Perspective

This chapter questions the universal applicability of the conception of achievement motivation as directed toward personal advancement. Key motivational constructs in major social cognitive theories of motivation—among them self-efficacy, autonomy, choice, relatedness, ability and effort attributions, and achievement goals—are defined from a primarily Western, individualistic perspective. We re-examine these constructs from an Eastern, more sociocentric worldview, in which achievement and the motives to achieve are more social and less individual and endorse more interdependent values. We also explore how globalization and re-location of individuals from Eastern cultures to the West affect their conceptualization of motivation, their behavior and, ultimately, their cultural identity from a choice and decision theory perspective. Finally, drawing on a study of Asian Indian Hindu (AIH) adolescents, we illustrate how their worldview, the meaning and significance they ascribe to concepts such as effort and ability, and control and autonomy are informed by their experiences in multiple cultural contexts—home, religious community, schools, peers, and the larger cultural context. Implications of this study for multicultural education are discussed.