Of these three kinds of achievement, the first two are more closely related
with one another than with the third one although when striving to be one’s
best is aligned with understanding the world, developing expertise in a field,
and applying one’s knowledge and skill creatively to solving problems, the
three kinds of standards are synergistically linked and inform each other.
Affect. Affects imbued in purposes, processes, and achievement within
the U.S. learning beliefs contain both positive and negative valences. As Ta-
ble 14.1 shows, three positive affects in both purposes and processes of learn-
ing were salient: (a) curiosity, interest, and motivation for learning; (b) intrin-
sic enjoyment; and (c) challenging attitudes. For achievement, pride was
found as one general affect. Two negative affects were found for purposes
and processes: (a) indifference and boredom, and (b) extrinsic motivation.
For lack of achievement, there was also only one general negative affect of
disappointment and low self-esteem.
As discussed earlier, respondents did not make statements about pur-
poses, processes, and achievement apart from affect. Instead, they fre-
quently described their model learners with their affects intimately inter-
twined with their thoughts and understanding. With respect to curiosity,
interest, and motivation, respondents presented integrative descriptions of
these elements: “his purpose of learning is to understand more about the
world, to find something that excites and intrigues him” and “just that, to
learn more, this person is fascinated with many things, with almost every-
thing.” Regarding intrinsic enjoyment, examples of statements include “the
most important thing is that this person enjoys learning... if he is pre-
sented with a topic he is especially interested in, he goes the extra mile to
learn the material.” Challenging attitudes, as shown earlier, are deeply
rooted in the Western learning tradition that is clearly demonstrated in all
four processes noted earlier. This integration is well expressed in the words
of a participant: “having interest in learning more and a passion for discov-
ery, and an intelligence that makes it possible to continue to think critically
and pursue further inquiry.”
It is worth pointing out that these affects mirror the fascination, wonder,
and intrinsic passion about the world, as well as the inquisitive and critical
spirit that characterize great scientists in the West (Csikszentmihalyi, Ra-
thunde, & Whalen, 1993). These affects are also eloquently expressed by Ba-
con himself.
The general positive affect associated with U.S. model learners’ achieve-
ment is pride that they display in themselves. Such pride is an expression for
self-acknowledgement and self-esteem. These positive feelings about oneself
in turn motivate the person to learn further. One respondent indicated that
“he would see it as a source of pride. He does not mind when people praise his
intelligence—he smiles.”
402 LI AND FISCHER