ABSTRACT
Previous research indicates that, compared with North American students, East Asian students in Confucian heritage cultures (CHCs) are more likely to persist after failure. Prior research has focused mainly on the cognitive aspect, neglecting the affective domain of academic failure. Control-value theory suggests that negative feelings can be motivating or demotivating after failure based on an individualist-oriented perspective, with little reference to the relational nature of emotions after failure. Furthermore, research on implicit theories emphasizes the malleability of personal traits through effort, without reference to the obligatory nature of self-improvement in the relationally oriented CHCs. To bridge this gap, we proposed a role obligation theory of self-cultivation (ROT). This study aims to investigate if academic failure may trigger both motivating and de-motivating emotions and what effects these opposing emotions may have on students’ persistence. A sample of 636 Taiwanese tenth graders were assessed for negative emotions and persistent behavior after academic failure. Structural equation modeling was conducted to analyze the data. The results showed that students experience both the de-motivating emotion of hopelessness and the motivating emotion of indebtedness, which creates a predicament – whether to work hard or not. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are further discussed.
