motivational and cognitive conditions for learning. For example, Brazilian
children peddling in streets requires semantic transparency; that is, they need
to explain to their customers the computational procedures used are mathe-
matically correctly. This requirement engenders the need for conceptual un-
derstanding, which leads to adaptive expertise. In contrast, Japanese children
learning abacus in school are simply engaged in routine exercises; no inquiry
is necessary about the justification of specific procedures. The end result is
routine expertise. With this highly contextual view of intellectual functioning,
Hatano seemed to part company with Piaget and makes himself more aligned
with the school of situated cognition and learning (e.g., Greeno, 1989; Lave,
1988). By the same token, children learning to playpokemonwith peers oper-
ate under very different motivational, emotional, and cognitive conditions in
comparison with their learning of rules of phonemes or grammar in school.
Effects of Beliefs, Values, and Affect on Intellectual
Functioning and Development
Mandler (1989b) cogently pointed out that we live in a world of artifacts, not
only in terms of tools we invented, but in terms of folk beliefs and values
shared in a community of culture or subculture. These folk beliefs and values
can be just as powerful a regulator of emotion as biological needs. He dis-
cussed why math anxiety is a cultural phenomenon, and how playing math
idiot can be a strategy of mental disengagement. Similarly, cross-cultural dif-
ferences in implicit theories of intelligence (Sternberg & Kaufman, 1998) and
of learning (Li & Fischer , chap. 14) reflect what is perceived as essential for
effective functioning and what is important in the subjective culture of a com-
munity (Triandis, 1989). Steinberg (1996) found fault with the popular myth
of intelligence as a fixed entity, possibly perpetuated by the IQ movement,
which is detrimental to motivation and learning for many school-age children
in the United States. From a functional point of view, the findings that West-
ern folk conceptions of learning place more emphasis on cognitive processes
than do Eastern ones (Li & Fischer, chap. 14) may reflect an instrumental
and technical orientation (i.e., what it takes to get the job done). In contrast,
Chinese folk conceptions of learning, which put more emphasis on character
building and personal perfection, might well be a cultural strategy to ward off
negative emotions and debilitated motivation in the face of setbacks, failures,
and difficulties. Also, in collectivist cultures such as China and Japan, em-
phasis is given to interdependence, reliability, and proper behavior, whereas
in individualistic cultures such as the United States, characteristics such as in-
dependence and creativity are rewarded (Triandis, 1989). These cultural dif-
ferences have profound ramifications for intellectual development, including
the development of self (Dai, 2002b; Markus & Kitayama, 1991, 1994).
26 DAI AND STERNBERG