Jumping the Achievement Gap: Grit and Socioeconomic Status in Princeton Students

Abstract

In recent years the personality characteristic grit, defined by Duckworth et al., 2007 as “perseverance and the passion for long term goals,” has been shown to have a significant positive impact on many kinds of achievement. The present study used a sample of students at Princeton University (N = 178) to examine the connections between grit, achievement, and socioeconomic status in a population of high achievers. The results confirmed those of Duckworth et al., and also partially confirmed my hypothesis, that low-SES students would have higher grit than high- SES students. Specifically, mother’s educational attainment was a highly significant negative predictor of grit. It was also discovered that optimism and attributional style are positively predictive of grit.