gregory arief liem and youyan nie (2008) found that cultural characteristics are shown to have a direct influence on achievement orientation because it is closely aligned with most students cultural values and beliefs. sonja dekker and ronald fischer's (2008) meta-analysis across thirteen different societies revealed that students from western cultures tend to be motivated more by "mastery-approach orientation" because the degree of incentive value for individual achievement is strongly reflective of the values of western culture. by contrast, most students from eastern cultures have been found to be performance-avoidance orientated. they often make efforts to maintain a positive image of their abilities, which they display while in front of their peers. in addition, hazel rose markus and shinobu kitayama (1991) showed that in non-western cultures, rather than standing out through their achievements, people tend to be motivated to become part of various interpersonal relationships and to fit in with those that are relevant to them.