Using Social Psychology to Lift Achievement and Reduce Inequality in the Classroom. Valerie Purdie Vaughns Columbia University

Transcription

1 Using Social Psychology to Lift Achievement and Reduce Inequality in the Classroom Valerie Purdie Vaughns Columbia University

2 I simply decided it would be better not to [mention my Jewish background]. There was no obvious reason for being cagey. In my short time at the school, I d seen no bullying or manifest contempt of that kind, and never did. Yet it seemed to me that the Jewish boys, even the popular ones, even the athletes, had a subtly charged field around them, an air of apartness [T]his apartness did not emanate from the boys themselves, from any quality or wish of their own, but from the school as if some guardian spirit, indifferent of their personal worth, had risen from the fields and walkways and weathered stone and breathed that apartness upon them. Tobias Wolff

3 My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my Blackness than ever before... no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my White professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don t belong... - Michelle Robinson (1985)

4 Take Home Message For people who are members of diverse groups, hidden and overt bias can cause added stress (stress not faced by others) that can undermine performance, motivation, and health. Broadening participation requires altering the psychological climate to reduce this stress.

5 Underperformance Performing lower than test scores predict that one should perform Underperformance among women in science majors (example) SAT scores college grades males A female B

6 A Research Strategy IQ Preparedness Internal Social Context Contending w/societal stereotypes

7 For people who are members of diverse groups, hidden and overt bias can cause added stress (stress not faced by others) that can undermine performance, motivation, and health. STEREOTYPE THREAT 7

8 Are there two people in the room who share the same birthday?

9 Stereotype Threat The threat of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype or the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype. Members of diverse groups can be wary of situations in which their behavior can confirm that their GROUP lacks a valued ability. This extra pressure caused by the concern of reinforcing stereotypes can interfere with performance. (C.M. Steele & Aronson, 1995))

10 II. Hidden Stress Women in the Math and Sciences Female and male college students who care about math take a difficult math test (Sample Math GRE). Test instructions say no genderdifferences OR standard test instructions. (Steele, Quinn, & Spencer, 1997)

11 Women in the Math and Sciences Score corrected for guessing Control Men Women No-Gender-Difference (Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999)

12 African-Americans 1. Black and white undergraduates take a difficult section of Verbal GRE. 2. Test instructions: Test is accurate measure of verbal ability Test is instrument for solving problems 3. Measure test performance: number of questions correct (corrected for guessing, used SAT as covariate)

13 African-Americans Score corrected for guessing Whites Blacks 0 Diagnostic Nondiagnostic (Steele & Aronson, 1995)

14 Other forms of stereotype threat Female college student test performance with two male test takers. Female college student test performance with two female test takers.

15 Other forms of stereotype threat White male students in comparison to Asian American male student in math

16 Older adults and memory 15 younger older Score on memory task Control No-Age-Difference (Levy, Slade, Kunkel & Kasl, 2002)

17 Stereotype threat in the real world Performance: (Dananhar & Crandall; Massey & Fischer, 2005; Reardon, Atteberry, Arshan, & Kurlander, 2009; Walton & Spencer, 2009 ) Leadership: (Schmader et al., under review) Health: (Cook, Purdie Vaughns, et al., under review; Logel & Cohen, 2012)

18 Stereotype Threat Something I deal with constantly, especially considering my education taking place in the North, is how since I came from North Carolina like I should be a red neck or have a southern drawl and drop out of college. The Southern town I live in is Chapel Hill, one of my liberal college towns in the USA (college student)

19 Stereotype Threat I am a woman in STEM. I don t feel like my performance is any lower through the stereotype of being female. I DO sometimes feel out of place in other courses like poetry, or history with everyone in the class having a similar major and no one in the class besides me in math, bio, physics. Realizing that kinda freaked me out and thinking about now I do avoid talking to those professors like I would talk to my physics professor. (college student)

20 Stereotype threat stems from historic and contemporary threat systemic in school structures.

21 innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers.

22 Classroom Environments Stereotypical room Star Trek poster Sci Fi books Coke cans Cheryan, Plaut, Davies & Steele, 2009

23 Classroom Environments Non-stereotypical room Nature poster Neutral books Water bottles Cheryan, Plaut, Davies & Steele, 2009

24 Environment influences women s interest in CS Interaction: F(1, 35) = 10.22, p <.01 Cheryan, Plaut, Davies & Steele, 2009

25 Stereotype threat applies to a broad range of identities.

26 Stereotype Threat Other research on stereotype threat (2,500+ studies): Women and math, science, logic tests Older women and driving performance White males and math performance White males and athletic performance Older individuals and memory performance Economically disadvantaged and intelligence tests (France) Gay males and play behaviors with young children Whites and conversations about race with Black conversation partners Situations that trigger stereotype threat: Being a numerical minority Reminders of negative stereotype (affirmative action dust ups, hate crimes) Race/ethnicity of instructor

27 Beyond Performance: A Multilevel Phenomenon Contextual Cognitive Physiological Neurological Low recruitment of areas associated with learning (inf. PFC, left inf. parietal cort., bilateral angular gyrus), over recruitment of areas associated with selfregulation of emotions (ventral anterior cingulate cort) Increased arousal (cortisol), higher cardiovascular reactivity, heightened immune system response (TNFα) Impaired executive functioning, working memory Decreased trust/belonging, perceived threat Krendl, Richeson, Kelley, & Heatherton, 2008; Schmader & Johns, 2003; Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008; Blascovich, Spencer, Quinn, & Steele, 2001;

28 Take Home Message Stereotype threat affects any group that is seen through the lens of a negative stereotype in a particular context. Stereotype threat is a multilevel phenomenon that implicates psychological and biological systems in the human body. Stereotype threat stems from historic and contemporary structural factors that perpetuate stereotypes in classrooms and institutions more broadly.

29 First Steps to Reduce Stereotype Threat Mindfulness related to students subject position. Direct engagement with instructors, mentors, administrators to minimize negative stereotypes. Credible messages and subtle signals that reassure under-represented students that societal stereotypes are not relevant on your campus.

30 Broadening participation requires altering the psychological climate to reduce this stress. THE SCIENCE OF BROADENING PARTICIPATION 30

31 Project ACHIEVE Field based research interventions designed by social psychologists to reduce racial and gender opportunity gaps in academic performance. Partnering with educators to apply social psychology theories of identity to education. Longitudinal experimental interventions in middle schools, high schools and colleges. NSF ADVANCE # , (Closing achievement gap: A social psychological intervention) NSF RAPID# (Testing the effects of the inauguration of the first African American President on the affirmation process) NSF ADVANCE # (Reducing racial achievement gaps: Testing Neurobiological Mechanisms)

32 VALUES AFFIRMATION INTERVENTIONS Cohen, Garcia, Purdie-Vaughns, Apfel, & Brzustoski, 2009, Science; Cook, Purdie-Vaughns, Garcia, & Cohen, 2012, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; Shnabel, Purdie-Vaughns, Cook, Garcia & Cohen, under revision, 2012, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin; Purdie-Vaughns, Cohen, Garcia, Sumner, Cook, & Apfel, 2009, Teacher s College Record Cohen, Purdie-Vaughns, & Garcia, 2012, Stereotype Threat: Theory, Process & Applications 32

33 Reducing Stereotype Threat Knowing that psychological climates can impair performance, how can we reduce threat so students can achieve in the face of these climates? Today s proposal: Reduce threat by affirming students core sense of self.

34 Values-affirmation reminds people of sources self affirmation of their self-worth. Self affirmation refers to thoughts or behaviors that bolster one s sense of self as competent, effective, and able to control important outcomes (Sherman & Cohen, 2006; Steele, 1988) Self affirmation is not self esteem! 34

35 Operationalizing values-affirmation Structured writing exercises, integrated into physics courses. Developed in conjunction with teachers and administrators at school site. Controlled and scripted procedures developed with help of faculty at each specific site. Administered at periods of high stress. Only treatment delivered 3 weeks after start of middle school. Double blind randomized field experiments.

36 [Affirmation Condition Worksheet:] WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL VALUES? The most important values to me are: (circle two or three) Athletic Ability Being Good at Art Creativity Independence Living in the Moment Membership in A Social Group (such as your community, racial group, or school club) Music Politics Relationships with Friends or Family Religious Values Sense of Humor

37 Miyake et al., Science, College Physics * 37