PERSONAL CONCEPTIONS OF INTELLIGENCE, SELFESTEEM, AND SCHOOL ACfflEVEMENT IN ITALIAN AND PORTUGUESE STUDENTS Annamaria Pepi, Luisa Faria,

and Marianna Alesi

ABSTRACT

Educational research places emphasis on the fact that different cultures have different self-construals. These construals can influence cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes in individuals. Great importance is attached to individuals' imphcit conceptions of the nature of their intelligence (incremental or entity) and self-esteem. In general, both representation of intelligence and self-esteem seem to play an important role in scholastic performance in terms of both a predispostion to leaming and the results actually achieved. The aim of this research is to determine the relationship between variables such as school, and socioeconomic level and gender in Italian and Portuguese students. A questionnaire was administered to 1,540 high school and university students assessing socioeconomic level and school performance, the Personal Conceptions of Intelligence Test (Faira & Fontaine, 1997), and the Self-Esteem Test (Rosenberg, 1965). In general, results show that Portuguese subjects are more incremental than Italians. Moreover, signiflcant differences have to be determined regarding motivational factors linked to school and socioeconomic level and gender.The research highlights the importance of macro-contextual factors in the social, economic, and political organizations that influence how people develop their motivational beliefs.

Motivation and Learning Considerable evidence in the literature demonstrates how scholastic achievement depends on the reciprocal enhancement of students' cognitive abilities and emotional-motivational attributes. When there is a disfunctional pattern of motivation in relation to studying, characterized by an inappropriate representation of the subject's abilities, then low self-esteem, negative attribution style, and lack of persistence creThis study was funded by the University of Palermo/Italy (Bando CoRI, 2002) and the Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Porto/Portugal. Annamaria Pepi, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universita di Palermo, Italia. Luisa Faria, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciencias da Educafao, Universidade do Porto, Portugal. Marianna Alesi, Dipartimento di Psicologia, University di Palermo, Italia. Requests for reprints should be sent to Annamaria Pepi, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universita di Palermo, V. le delle Scienze, Ediflcio 15, 90128 Palermo, Italy. E-mail: ape@unipa.it.
ADOLESCENCE, VoL 41, No. 164, Winter 2006 Libra Pubiishers, inc., 3089C Clairemont Dr., PMB 383, San Diego, CA 92117

ate conditions for poor use of an individual's cognitive capacity, with the inevitable negative consequences not only for scholastic achievement, but for the process of constructing personality. This relationship is especially important during adolescence (Bacchini, Freda, & Cassaro, 2000; Vermigli, Travaglia, Alcini, & Galluccio, 2001). School, seen as a kind of test bank, and where the student's future is mapped out, influences the process of constructing self-image, self-esteem, and a sense of self-sufficiency. Simultaneously, new cognitive skills centralize the decision-making and planning processes (Canigati, 1997; Cattelino, Bigotti, & Bonino, 2001). Personal Conceptions of Intelligence and School Achievement Personal conceptions of intelligence direct individuals towards either a dynamic-incremental or static representation of their own abilities, and influence their formulation of causal attributions, achievement goals, persistence, and task choices (Dweck, 1999; Levy, Stroessner, & Dweck, 1998; Levy & Dweck, 1999). In particular, subjects taking the incremental view consider intelligence as a quality which can be improved through effort. They also set themselves goals based on their desire to master new skills, thereby increasing their competence. Moreover, they tend to adopt effective strategies, seek challenging tasks, and make greater effort, which is seen under their control. On the other hand, subjects with a static view consider intelligence as a sort of gift with which the individual is endowed and cannot change. They tend to adopt goals aimed at ensuring positive judgements of their abilities. They see effort as an indicator of their limited ability, emplojdng superflcial strategies and favoring easily achievable goals (Dweck, 1999; Erdley, Cain, Loomis, Dumas-Hines, & Dweck, 1997). The way people view intelligence seems to be linked to gender; that is, girls tend to adopt a static view of intelligence, which influences their choice of goals. They tend to avoid challenge, to have more limited expectations of success than their male counterparts, and to attribute failure to their own lack of ability. Failure is likely to be followed by worsening performance and an increased tendency toward learned helplessness and a generally lower level of self-esteem (Eccles, Wigfleld, Harold, & Blumenfeld, 1993; Stetsenko, Little, Grasshof, & Oettingen, 2000). An individual's conception of intelligence thus has a powerful influence on scholastic achievement, both in terms of the predisposition to leam and of the results actually achieved. On the one hand, students who see ability and performance as relativelyflxedtend to focus on performance, and are more likely to fall back on superflcial strategies in order to complete a task. On the other hand, students 616

who believe in incremental intelligence and performance demonstrate a greater predisposition for long-term leaming. Furthermore, numerous studies have found a correlation between school grades and representations of intelligence. Students who adopt an incremental view tend to get higher grades than those with a static view (Faria, 1996; Stipek & Gralinski, 1991). Self-esteem and School Achievement Self-esteem is a fundamental aspect of a person's experience and quality of life (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001). A positive self-evaluation is a crucial predictor of one's general well-being and degree of adaptation to the social context, as well as a powerful factor in protecting against psycho-social risks in adolescence (Forzi & Not, 2003). Self-esteem, traditionally seen as a one-dimensional construct corresponding to the evaluative component of the self (Rosenberg, 1979), emerges precociously when children are required early on to verify self-evaluation comparing it with actual performance on a variety of tasks. Moreover, this process of comparison and negotiation between the perceived self and the ideal self takes on new importance during adolescence because of the ever more diversifled job of developing and the psycho-physical changes taking place (Bracken, 1992; D'Urso, Spagnolo, & Quaranta, 2000). Numerous differences have been noted between the self-esteem of males and females during adolescence because they tend to adhere to gender stereotypes. Speciflcally, male selfesteem seems to be more influenced by goals related to independence and autonomy, while female self-esteem is more closely deflned by goals characterized by sensitivity and interdependence (Cross & Madson, 1997). In general, high self-esteem seems to be associated with personal conceptions oriented more toward the incremental end of the continuum, to a view of oneself as active and capable of promoting change through effort, and of setting goals which involve leaming new things. In contrast, a need for continual conflrmation of one's view of oneself, coupled with interpreting challenge as a threat to self-esteem, and reacting to failure by lowering self-esteem, are all more common in subjects who tend more toward a static view of intelligence (Alesi, 2003; Pepi & Alesi, 2002). The relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement has been well documented in the literature. While self-esteem is powerfully influenced by results achieved and appreciation shown by others from primary school on, it is also a good predictor of academic success. Adequate self-esteem is related to the capacity to cope Avith academic tasks by employing effective study methods and actively participating in the leaming process, both of which are involved in achieving set goals (Vermigli, Travaglia, Alcini, & Galluccio, 2001; Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper, & Bouvrette 2003).

617

Cultural Influences The recent increase in popularity of social conceptualizations of leaming has encouraged educational psychologists to focus on the role of different social and cultural motivational factors, in their turn considered powerful mediators of academic success (Boekaerts, 1999). The role of cultural factors in directing belief systems relates to ability and effort, and in influencing cognitive and motivational patterns, has been well documented (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Speciflcaily, different cultures seem to encourage certain constructs of self dependence (Epstein, 1992; Kitayama, Markus, Matsumoto, & Norasakkunkit, 1997; Harrington & Liu, 2002). Up to now, cross-cultural studies of motivational constructs have concentrated mostly on comparing Asian with Western groups from Europe and the United States. These studies have shown how Western cultures that focus primarily on the individual, see the results of their efforts as reflecting on themselves and their own abilities. Asian students, who focus more on the group, see personal involvement and effort as relevant not only to themselves but to their group (Lundeberg, Fox, & Brown, 2000). As far as personal conceptions of intelligence are concerned, the research has shown that Asian cultures attribute greater value to effort in their view of intelligence (Henderson, Marx, & Kim, 1999; Little & Lopez, 1997). North Americans seem to be signiflcantly more incremental, thereby reflecting their cultural ideology as one based on the notion that it is possible to modify society to satisfy individual needs (Levy, Plaks, Hong, Chiu, & Dweck, 2001). Studies on the conception of intelligence conducted in Italy and Portugal have emphasized the importance of the subject's socioeconomic background. Both young children and adults from low socioeconomic classes tend to adopt a more static representation, to feel less control of their efForts and to prefer goals which offer a quick positive outcome and immediate conflrmation of their competence. Moreover, Italian and Portuguese students tend to perceive intelligence as less of a gift or static entity, and more as something djmamic, as they get older. This flnding could be interpreted as a reflection both of developmental factors, attributable to increasing cognitive ability linked to age, and also of the similarity between the Italian and Portuguese education systems, which both focus on promoting a spirit of collaboration and cooperation in the classroom (Faria, 2002; Pepi & Alesi, 2000). The need for self-esteem also seems to be especially important in Western cultures, unlike the Japanese culture for example, in which self-criticism is appreciated much more (Forzi & Not, 2003). Self-esteem, like the individual's concept of self, may depend on the influences 618

exercised by culture on the deflnition of intemal standards of an individual's effectiveness and competence. In the face of failure. North American students tend to minimize negative extemal feedback in order to maintain high self-esteem, increasing their belief in themselves and in their abilities in those situations in which they feel most competent. In contrast, Japanese students are more susceptible to extemal feedback, and tend to be more self-critical. They also try to make more of an effort to correct their mistakes and improve their knowledge and skills. Furthermore, self-esteem seems to be especially susceptible to the cultural dependence-independence continuum (Heine, Kitayama, & Lehman, 2001; Hofstede, 1980). Self-esteem is based more on one's own abilities, qualities, and achievements in more independent cultures. Taking a broader perspective, analysis of self-esteem and of personal conceptions of intelligence should be viewed in relation to individualistic or collectivist connotations associated with any given culture. However, Italy seems to defy categorization in these terms (Triandis, McCusker, & Huk, 1990). As a southern European country, like Greece, it can be seen as a primarily collectivist culture, but numerous studies have also revealed traits characterizing it as an individualistic society (Stefanile, Giannini, & Smith, 2003). On the other hand, Portugal appears easier to classify as an individualistic culture. Hofstede (1997) highlights those traits which seem to characterize modem Portugal's economic rebirth. These traits include a dominance of individual interests, increasing national per-capita productivity, freedom of the press, political power exercised by the electorate, less state involvement in the economic system, prevalence of the value of freedom over that of equality, and the search for self-realization as the main objective of the individual. Given these theoretical premises, this paper aims to compare the representation of intelligence and the self-esteem of Italian and Portuguese students as a function of educational level, gender, and socioeconomic class. The study also examines in more detail the relationships between representation of inteUigence, self-esteem, and academic achievements in both countries.
METHOD

Subjects Participants in this study were 1,540 Italian and Portuguese students attending their flnal year of high school (humanistic, scientiflc, and technical schools) or their flrst year of university (Psychology, Motor Sciences, Medicine and Engineering courses). In particular, the 619

Italian group consisted of 814 students, with an average age of 18.26 years (44% attending secondary school and 56% attending university). The Portuguese group consisted ofthe remaining 730 students with an average age of 19.07 years (52.2% attending secondary school and 47.8% attending university). There were more female than male subjects in both the Italian group (57% females and 43% males) and in the Portuguese group (61% females and 39% males). The medium socioeconomic level was predominant in the samplesfromboth countries (44% in Italy and 43% in Portugal). Materials and Procedure The Sociodemographic Questionnaire, whicb analyses family background, was used during the sampling pbase to divide the subjects into groups as a function of their socioeconomic level (high, medium, EUid low). Specifically, the evaluation parameters were femily size and parents' academic bistory and jobs. Scbool acbievement was evaluated by grades whicb were obtained in tbe second part of tbe questionnaire. This assessment took into account botb performance in individual subject areas sucb as Italian or Portuguese language and literature, matbematics, and motor activities, as well as a global score. Subjects administered tbe Personal Conceptions of Intelligence Test (Faria & Fontaine, 1997) consisting of 26 items, 15 for tbe entity conception and 11 for tbe incremental. Tbe entity or static items described intelligence as a fixed trait wbicb is not under tbe individual's controlas a gift tbe individual is endowed witb and cannot cbange. In contrast, tbe incremental items described intelligence as a quality tbat is controllable, malleable, and capable of improvement as a function of commitment and effort (see Table 1). Tbe administration modality was collective and tbe task did not last more tban 20 minutes. Tbe Portuguese version of tbe test was treinslated into Italian by tbe collaborative efforts of tbe Portuguese and Italian autbors. Tbe same administration procedure was used in botb countries. In particular, subjects were asked to read eacb sentence carefully and express tbeir degree of agreement, using an answer scale ranging from Totally agree to Totally disagree. Tbe scoring parameters of tbe evaluation were from 1 point to 6 points for eacb dynamic item and from 6 points to 1 point for eacb static item. Witb regard to tbe psycbometric qualities, tbe properties of tbe ECPI were satisfactory botb in Italian and Portuguese contexts. Tbe results of factor analyses bigbligbted tbe existence of two distinct factors, a static and a dynamic, wbicb togetber explained 40% of tbe total variance observed. Tbe internal consistency of tbe scales 5delded alpba coefficients between 0.72 and .80. 620

Tbe subjects' self-esteem was measured by tbe Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). Tbis scale consisted often items related to tbe way people feel about tbemselves. Five items were expressed in a positive way and tbe otber five in a negative way. Subjects were asked to express tbeir degree of agreement on a scale from 1 {Totally agree) to 6 {Totally disagree), witb 4 as tbe midpoint. Tbe test was administered by group (see Table 2).

RESULTS

Analysis of variance was performed to investigate tbe relationsbip between tbe conception of intelligence and self-esteem in Italian and Portuguese students. Tbe independent variables were cultural background, educational level, gender, and socioeconomic level, wbile tbe dependent variables were static and dynamic conceptions of intelligence and self-esteem. Analysis revealed a significant interaction between cultural background and educational level in tbe group witb a static conception of intelligence [F{1), = 11.12; p = 0.001]. More specifically, Italians attending tbeir final year of bigb scbool were more likely to bave a static conception of intelligence {M = 67.1) tban did Italian university students (M = 64.7), tban tbeir peers in Portuguese bigb scbools {M = 63.2), and tban Portuguese university students {M = 64.6), as sbown in Table 3. A significant interaction was also found on self-esteem between cultural background and educational level [F(l) = 10.24; p = 0.001]; tbat is, tbe self-esteem scores of tbe Portuguese university students were significantly bigber {M = 46.9), wbile tbose of Portuguese bigb scbool students were tbe lowest self-esteem scores {M = 43.63) (see Table 4). Furtbermore, tbere was a significant interaction for self-esteem between cultural background and socioeconomic level [F(2) = 3.27; p < 0.05]. Portuguese students from a bigb socioeconomic level bad tbe bigbest self-esteem {M = 46.3). Witbin tbe Italian group, bowever, tbere was no significant difference in self-esteem between subjects in tbe low {M = 44.6), medium {M = 45.4) and bigb {M = 44.7) socioeconomic groups (see Table 5). Finally, tbere was a significant interaction between gender and socioeconomic level for self-esteem [F{1) = 3.59; p < 0.051], witb males from tbe medium socioeconomic group scoring tbe bigbest (M = 47.1), and females from tbe mediimi socioeconomic group scoring tbe lowest self-esteem {M = 43.5) (see Table 6). 621

Anotber aim of tbis researcb was to analyze tbe relationsbips among personal conception of intelligence, self-esteem, and scbool acbievement in tbe two countries. Significant positive correlations were found between scbool acbievement and conception of intelligence botb for tbe static and incremental Italians. Tbese correlations were also found to be significant for tbe subject areas of Italian language and literature, matbematics, and motor activities. It is wortb noting tbat tbe correlations between incremental conception and tbe various aspects of scbool acbievement were stronger tban tbose for static representation. For tbe Italian group, self-esteem also correlated witb global assessment and witb matbematics scores (see Table 7). In contrast, conception of intelligence in tbe Portuguese group 5delded significant correlations between static representation and tbe scores for Portuguese language and literature, matbematics, and for tbe global assessment scores. On tbe otber band, tbe relationsbip between self-esteem and scbool acbievement seems to be stronger tban tbat found for tbe Italian group. Significant positive correlations were found between self-esteem and scores for individual subject areas considered botb individually and togetber (see Table 8).
DISCUSSION

Tbe present resesircb was designed to compare tbe representations of intelligence and tbe self-esteem of Italian and Portuguese students as a iunction of educational and socioeconomic level, and gender. Tbis cross-cultural comparison bigbligbts tbe interaction between cultural background and botb educational and socioeconomic level in infiuencing self-esteem and perception of abilities. Specifically, Italian bigb scbool students bave a more static conception of intelligence, wbile tbeir Portuguese peers bave a more dynamic conception. On tbe otber band, Portuguese university students bave bigber self-esteem tban botb Portuguese final-year bigb scbool students and Italian students at botb educational levels. Tbe infiuences of Italian and Portuguese cultural backgrounds are interwoven witb tbe intrinsic nature of motivational constructs. Indeed, tbe conception of intelligence could be seen as a construct wbicb is more oriented toward tbe cbance of coping witb cbanges, and could tbus favor improvement in capacity where self-esteem is a subordinate concept in global self-assessment (Bolognini, Plancberel, Bettscbart, & Halfon, 1996; CatteUno, Bigotti, & Bonino, 2001; Heimpel, Wood, Marsball, & Brown, 2002). Moreover, self-assessment wbicb empbasizes one's ability to deal witb cbange, implying a dynamic conception of intelligence, could be under622

stood witb reference to tbe specific stage of tbe educational career reacbed, and tbat is close to completion of bigb scbool and immediately prior to entry into tbe world of work or of university. At tbis stage, tbe cognitive advances acbieved in terms of logical reasoning support a refusal of conformist acceptance of adult rules and principles because youngsters tend at tbis point to be more oriented toward autonomy and independence, elaborating decisional processes and action plans witb ever-increasing awareness and independence (Carugati, 1997; Vianello, 1998). From a broader perspective, it is interesting to note differences in tbe current economic, social, and political positions of tbe two countries under investigation. Tbe more static conception of tbe Italian subjects seem to refiect a general sense of pessimism and of economic difficulty. Differing beliefs about one's own ability need to be interpreted witb reference to a wider macro-context, wbicb is botb structural, including tbe economic and political systems, as well as social, wbicb encompasses globalization, industrialization, urbanization and social mobility (Kapoor, Hugbes, Baldwin, & Blue, 2003; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Somecb, 2000). Tbeories on culture agree tbat values, beliefs, and different representations of a society are tbe result of a complex bistorical process wbicb takes in every aspect of social, economic, and political life, and involves a complex interaction between tbe ecological, geographic, and climatic environment (Kemmelmeier, Bumstein, Krumov, Genkova, Kanagawa, Hirsbberg, Erb, Wieczorkowska, & Noels, 2003). Otber findings from tbis researcb were tbe differing cbsu-acterizations of self-esteem as a function of gender and socioeconomic level. Tbe general assessment of self was bigbest for tbe male group from tbe medium socioeconomic level, and lowest for femalesfromtbe same socioeconomic level. Tbis is consistent witb otber findings on gender wbicb bave generally associated tbe most static view of ability to females and to tbe lower socioeconomic levels (Dweck, 1999; Stipek & Gralinski, 1991). Researcb in tbis field bas examined gender stereotypes from tbe educational, family, and scbolastic points of view (Baccbini, Freda, & Cesaro, 2000). Anotber aim of tbis researcb was to examine in more detail tbe relationsbip between internal conceptions of intelligence, self-esteem, and scbool acbievement. Botb incremental and static representations were positively correlated witb scbool acbievement for tbe Italian group, wbetber one looked at individual scores for language and literature, matb, and motor activities, or at global measures of acbievement. Tbesefindingsconfirm tbe importance of tbe role played by representation of intelligence in determining scbool acbievement, botb in terms of students' willingness to learn and tbe results actually acbieved (Faria, 1996; Stipek & Gralinski, 1991). Self-esteem, on tbe otber band, was 623

correlated only witb tbe global scores and tbose on matb for tbe Italian group. However, self-esteem scores for tbe Portuguese group revealed more consistent correlations witb tbe global and individual acbievement scores. Indeed, tbe perception of bow mucb one is wortb and in wbat way is strictly related to scbool acbievement during adolescence, witb bigber self-esteem being related to better scbool results (Vermigli, Travaglia, Alcini, & Galluccio, 2001). It is also wortb noting tbat tbe strongest correlations for tbe Portuguese group were tbose between self-esteem and motor activities. Tbis finding is interesting because it is in line witb recent studies wbicb bave sbown bow important tbe role of self-esteem is for competence in sports, wbicb was considered tbefieldof cboice for tbe self-assessment of adolescents and for assessment of tbemselves in relation to otbers. Tbe link between motivational constructs and scbool acbievement, in line witb a metacognitive approacb, promotes and encourages tbe development of self-regulated learning, wbicb causes tbe student to refiect on wbat is bappening and wbat is needed to reacb tbe objectives wbicb bave been set (Di Paula, & Campbell, 2002; Heimpel, Wood, Marsball, & Brown, 2002). In sum, tbe results of tbis study suggest some interesting ideas for furtber researcb using cross-cultural studies. In line witb tbe close relationsbip between cultural complexity, belief systems, and economic determinants, tbe conceptions of intelligence and self-esteem in Italy and Portugal in relation to tbe individualism-collectivism continuum may be wortb examining. Tbere is ample evidence tbat complex cultures tend to be more individualistic, botb in terms of tbe elevated number of ingroups and of tbe population's increased autonomy of cboice and action (Triandis, McCusker, & Hvii, 1990).

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Table 7 - CorrelatioiIS between Personal Conceptions of Intellig enee, Self-Esteem an d School Marks in Italian Group Italian language and literature 0,128* 0,223** Mathematics 0,115* 0,185** Motor Activities 0,187* 0,266** Global Assessment 0,136** 0,189**

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Entity Conception of Intelligence

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Self-Esteem

Global Assessment

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