Cross-cultural validity of the CAMI 
5 
Introduction 
The primary goal of this report is to examine the multi-cultural validity of the revised 
version of the Control, Agency and Means-Ends Interview (CAMI; Skinner, Chapman, & 
Baltes, 1988a, b, c). Specifically, we test the CAMI across various socio-cultural samples of 
children, all of whom were of middle childhood age (i.e., grades 2 through 6). We note here 
that the revised CAMI examined in this report is essentially the same as the original (i.e., 
Skinner et al., 1988a) except that some items have been removed due to unreliability (see below 
for details), and the instrument has been translated into Czech, Polish, Russian, and Japanese. 
In addition to the original English and German version of the CAMI, the Russian and Japanese 
translations are enclosed in the Appendix (due to technical difficulties, the Czech and Polish 
versions were not available at press time). 
An Action Theory of School Performance-Related Beliefs 
The action-theory approach represents an integrative three-fold conception; it is a 
comprehensive theoretical umbrella under which three major types of control-related, self- 
related, and causality-related beliefs are covered (M. Baltes & Baltes, 1986; Skinner, in press). 
Three-fold theoretical conceptualization. Figure 1 presents a schematic representation of 
the theoretical framework. The theory focuses on goal-directed behavior that is produced by 
intentionally acting agents as the central unit of psychological analysis. In an action-theory 
framework, three constituents of goal-directed behavior are distinguished: the agent, various 
means, and an end (or outcome). The relations among these entities constitute three sets (or 
types) of belief systems (see e.g., Chapman, 1984; Skinner, 1985). Each belief system applies 
to a particular domain of human performance such as academic performance (the domain 
measured here), friendship acquisition, athletic performance, family relations, and so on (see 
e.g., Heckhausen, 1994; Little, 1995a; see Figure 1 of Appendix H). 
The dimensions of the first action-related belief system are termed Agency beliefs. They 
refer to the agent's perception of his/her access to certain outcome-relevant means. In the 
school performance domain, four means to which an agent may have access are specified: Effort 
(e.g., trying hard), Ability (e.g., being smart), Luck (e.g., having luck), and Teachers (e.g.,