Two studies comparing urban and kibbutz children found that the acquisition of normative understandings was associated with a shift from mastery to ability explanations in urban, but not kibbutz, children. Cooperative learning settings helped maintain interest in using peers to promote mastery, even after the acquisition of the normative…

First- and fifth-grade kibbutz and city children (320 in two studies) individually were requested to distribute rewards between themselves and a partner who had produced either more or less than the subject had. Fifth graders were also asked about the level of effort and merit displayed by themselves and their partners. (Author/RH).