THIS CONTENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology - read more

Are boys more motivated and girls more compassionate?

In 8th grade, boys score higher on everything related to motivation. Girls do best when it comes to compassion. But the picture is a bit more nuanced than that.

Teenage girl writing in a notebook beside a laptop and lamp at a desk.
Many girls could benefit from becoming a little more self-aware. Boys would benefit from learning compassion.
Steinar Brandslet journalist
Presented by: Presented by: NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Published

In 8th grade, there are large gender differences related to motivation and compassion, which are in turn linked to how psychologically resilient the pupils are. 

At least when the pupils assess themselves.

“Several factors influence motivation. We wanted to find out how lower-secondary pupils feel they are doing when it comes to these factors,” says Vegard Renolen Litlabø, a researcher at NTNU’s Department of Psychology.

A total of 7,260 grade 8 pupils took the questionnaire, with slightly more girls than boys participating.

Illustration of a flourishing tree with leaves labelled with student wellbeing factors.
This illustration shows the different factors the students were asked about.

Multiple forms of motivation

The pupils were asked to assess themselves in relation to:

  • Passion
  • Grit
  • Growth mindset – the belief that you improve through effort
  • Self-efficacy – the belief that you can succeed at something
  • Courage
  • School well-being
  • School safety
  • Compassion (for others, for themselves, and received from others)
  • Flourishing – which is about fulfilling your potential

The gender differences were generally small for all the motivational factors except ‘compassion for others’, but one striking characteristic stands out.

Boys score highest on motivation

“Boys reported significantly higher levels of passion, grit, growth mindset, self-efficacy, courage, school well-being, and school safety. They also reported higher levels of compassion for themselves,” says Litlabø.

The girls generally rate themselves highest on two things:

“Girls scored significantly higher on compassion for others. They also believe that they receive more compassion from others,” he says.

In terms of flourishing, which refers to how well you are able to fulfil your potential, there was no significant gender difference in the scores.

So, it looks like it is almost a clean sweep for the boys. But the picture is a bit more complicated than that. The researchers also looked at correlations between the various factors.

Vegard Renolen Litlabø stands on stage smiling and holding a microphone.
“Boys can benefit from developing greater compassion for others. This will not only benefit the boys themselves, but the entire school environment,” says Vegard Renolen Litlabø.

Some stronger correlations among girls

“Boys scored higher on all factors related to motivation. This is quite clear when we look at the factors individually. Girls, however, showed stronger correlations between self-efficacy, grit, and growth mindset,” says Litlabø.

That means we need to look at the different factors together, the researcher explains.

Girls show a stronger correlation between believing they can succeed, having grit, and believing they can improve through effort.

Boys may have a greater need for socio-emotional learning

“Girls are also more strongly influenced by how safe they feel at school. They then thrive more and score even higher than boys on the compassion they receive from others and show towards themselves. But it's not the case that boys are inherently lacking in compassion," says Litlabø, elaborating:

 "They seem to be more compassionate towards others when they receive more compassion or show greater compassion for themselves.”

This may be a sign that boys have a greater need for socio-emotional learning. In other words, developing skills to understand and manage emotions, build positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and set goals.

Girls should be kinder to themselves, boys more compassionate

So, what does this mean for the pupils themselves and for the people around them who want to improve their well-being?

According to the researchers, girls in particular could benefit from increased self-efficacy and compassion towards themselves.

Perhaps girls simply need to be encouraged to believe more in their own abilities, be kinder to themselves, and treat themselves better.

Many boys already have plenty of this, but they may need something different.

“Boys can benefit from developing greater compassion for others. This will not only benefit the boys themselves, but the entire school environment,” says Litlabø.

More research is needed to investigate how these patterns develop over time, he adds.

Reference:

Litlabø et al. Exploring Gender Differences in Norwegian Eighth-Grade Students: The Role of Passion, Grit, Growth Mindset, Self-Efficacy, Compassion, Courage and Well-Being, Frontiers in Education, 2026. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1703538

———

Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no

More content from NTNU:

psychology society and culture ntnu gender and society adolescents school and education partner
Powered by Labrador CMS