Quantum mechanics

Scale (ratio)

Microeconomics

Attrition

Social psychology

Public relations

Cartography

Collectivism

Inefficiency

Psychiatry

Economics

Set (abstract data type)

Computer science

Dentistry

Institution

Individualism

Individualistic culture

Physics

Psychology

Geography

Political science

Demographic economics

Credential

Sociology

Educational attainment

Intervention (counseling)

Medicine

Programming language

Economic growth

Social science

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance High attrition from educational programs is a major obstacle to social mobility and a persistent source of economic inefficiency. Over two-thirds of students entering a 2-y institution fail to earn a credential in the United States. In online courses, attrition rates are even higher. In two large field experiments, we tested the conditions under which a writing activity that facilitates goal commitment and goal-directed behavior reduces attrition in online courses. The activity raised completion rates by up to 78% for members of individualist cultures and primarily for those who contended with predictable and surmountable obstacles in the form of everyday obligations, but it was ineffective in collectivist cultures and for people contending with other types of obstacles.

Eight-minute self-regulation intervention raises educational attainment at scale in individualist but not collectivist cultures