PsyCh journal
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Previous meta-analytic studies have revealed that set-shifting ability contributes to achievement in math and reading equally during childhood, but less is known about whether set-shifting ability plays an equally important role in achievement in different school subjects during high-school learning. To fill this research gap, the current study examined the association between set-shifting ability and academic achievement among 10th-grade Chinese adolescents who attended high school (N = 221). Meanwhile, we further explored the possible mechanisms underlying this association by testing the mediating role of math abilities (i.e., arithmetic and algebraic ability). ⋯ Furthermore, the association between set-shifting ability and science and math achievement is partly mediated by algebraic ability. Together, these results suggest that set-shifting ability plays a domain-specific role in achievement. That is, set-shifting ability is specifically linked to science and math achievement in Chinese adolescents, and this specific link may be partly mediated by algebraic ability.