Self-discipline gives girls the edge: Gender in self-discipline, grades, and achievement test scores.
Abstract
Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, girls earn higher grades than boys in all major subjects. Girls, however, do not outperform boys on achievement or IQ tests. To date, explanations for the underprediction of girls' GPAs by standardized tests have focused on gender differences favoring boys on such tests. The authors' investigation suggests an additional explanation: Girls are more self-disciplined, and this advantage is more relevant to report card grades than to achievement or aptitude tests. Eighth-grade girls at an urban magnet school were more self-disciplined than their male counterparts according to delay of gratification measures and self-report, teacher, and parent ratings. Whereas girls earned higher grades in all courses, they did only marginally better on an achievement test and worse on an IQ test. Mediation analyses suggested girls earned higher GPAs at least in part because they were more self-disciplined.
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Most research on the female advantage in school grades has examined gender differences in self-discipline, and none to date have considered gender differences in sleep as a mediating factor on school grades.
“Most of the research conducted to understand this female advantage in school grades has examined gender differences in self-discipline,40–42 and none to date have considered gender differences in sleep as a mediating factor on school grades.”
From Sleep quality, duration, and consistency are associated with better academic performance in college students (2019) · cites this paper as [42]
Girls do not reliably outperform boys on either standardized achievement or intelligence tests.
“do not reliably outperform boys on either standardized achievement or intelligence tests (Duckworth and Seligman [2006]).”
From Personality Psychology and Economics (2011) · cites this paper as Duckworth and Seligman [2006]
Girls reliably earn higher grades than boys in every subject from primary school through college.
“girls, who are higher than boys in Conscientiousness, reliably earn higher grades than boys in every subject from primary school through college”
From Personality Psychology and Economics (2011) · cites this paper as Duckworth and Seligman [2006]
Girls are higher than boys in Conscientiousness.
“girls, who are higher than boys in Conscientiousness, reliably earn higher grades than boys in every subject from primary school through college”
From Personality Psychology and Economics (2011) · cites this paper as Duckworth and Seligman [2006]
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- Authors
- Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Educational Psychology
- Published
- 2006-02
- Volume
- 98
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 198-208
- ISSN
- 0022-0663 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-2176
- OpenAlex
- W2106326623
- Cited by
- 1,097
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 35 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 69 · 2022: 72 · 2021: 81 · 2020: 67 · 2019: 88 · 2018: 64 · 2017: 73 · 2016: 96 · 2015: 47 · 2014: 67 · 2013: 60 · 2012: 41
- FWCI
- 26.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Educational Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation
- Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
- Keywords
- gender differences, self-control, academic performance, grade point average, achievement tests, intelligence testing, delay of gratification, eighth grade students, mediation
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