title: Breaking the double-edged sword of effort/trying hard: Developmental equilibrium and longitudinal relations among effort, achievement, and academic self-concept.
abstract: Ever since the classic research of Nicholls (1976) and others, effort has been recognized as a double-edged sword: while it might enhance achievement, it undermines academic self-concept (ASC). However, there has not been a thorough evaluation of the longitudinal reciprocal effects of effort, ASC, and achievement, in the context of modern self-concept theory and statistical methodology. Nor have there been developmental equilibrium tests of whether these effects are consistent across the potentially volatile early-to-middle adolescence. Hence, focusing on mathematics, we evaluate reciprocal effects models (REMs) over the first 4 years of secondary school (grades 5-8), relating effort, achievement (test scores and school grades), ASC, and ASC × Effort interactions for a representative sample of 3,144 German students (Mage = 11.75 years at Wave 1). ASC, effort, and achievement were positively correlated at each wave, and there was a clear pattern of positive reciprocal positive effects among ASC, test scores, and school grades-each contributing to the other, after controlling for the prior effects of all others. There was an asymmetrical pattern of effects for effort that is consistent with the double-edged sword premise: prior school grades had positive effects on subsequent effort, but prior effort had nonsignificant or negative effects on subsequent grades and ASC. However, on the basis of a synergistic application of new theory and methodology, we predicted and found a significant ASC × Effort interaction, such that prior effort had more positive effects on subsequent ASC and school grades when prior ASC was high-thus providing a key to breaking the double-edged sword. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University.
authors.forename: Herbert W
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1078-9717
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Munich.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pekrun
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Munich.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lichtenfeld
authors.affiliation: Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University.
authors.forename: Jiesi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: German Institute for International Educational Research.
authors.forename: A Katrin
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Arens
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Reading.
authors.forename: Kou
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murayama
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009042:Motivation; D012574:Schools; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students