Using Social Psychology to Li Achievement and Reduce Inequality in the Classroom

Valerie Purdie-Vaughns Columbia University Broadening participation?

More effective tools for assessing change….

Smart people in key places…. 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, movaon, and health.

• Broadening parcipaon requires altering the psychological climate to reduce this stress. Racial Achievement Gap (Reading, 8th Grade) by State, 2011

Darker red = greater gap Grey = no data available

(National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2012)

Project ACHIEVE

Field-based research intervenons designed by social psychologists to reduce racial and gender opportunity gaps in academic performance.

• Partnering with educators to apply social psychology theories of identy to educaon. • Longitudinal-experimental intervenons in middle schools, high schools and colleges.

NSF ADVANCE #0723909, 154685 (Closing achievement gap: A social psychological intervenon) NSF RAPID# 0918075 Tesng the effects of the inauguraon of the first African American President on the affirmaon process NSF ADVANCE #1109548 (Reducing racial achievement gaps: Tesng Neurobiological Mechanisms)

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, movaon, and health.

STEREOTYPE THREAT

6 Stereotype Threat

The threat of being viewed through the lens of a negave stereotype or the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype.

Members of diverse groups can be wary of situaons 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))

Stereotype Threat

“Something I deal with constantly, especially considering my educaon 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)

II. Hidden Stress Stereotype Threat

“I knew I was just as intelligent as everyone else . . . . For some reason I didn’t score well on tests. Maybe I was just nervous. There’s a lot of pressure on you, knowing that if you fail, you fail your race.”

Rodney Ellis, State Senator (Texas), 1997

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 instrucons say “no- gender- differences” OR standard test instructions.

(Steele, Quinn, & Spencer, 1997) Women in the Math and Sciences

30 Men 25 Women

20

15

10

5 Scorecorrected guessing for 0 Control No-Gender-Difference (Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999) African-Americans

1. Black and white undergraduates take a difficult section of Verbal GRE.

2. Test instructions: Test is accurate Test is instrument for measure of verbal ability solving problems

3. Measure test performance: number of questions correct (corrected for guessing, used SAT as covariate)

African-Americans

15 Whites Blacks

10

5 Score corrected for guessing for corrected Score

0 Diagnostic Nondiagnostic

(Steele & Aronson, 1995) Other forms of stereotype threat

Female college student Female college test performance with student test two male test takers. performance with two female test takers.

Other forms of stereotype threat

White male students in comparison to Asian American male student in math

Older adults and memory

15 younger older

10

5 Score on memory taskmemory on Score

0 Control No-Age-Difference

(Levy, Slade, Kunkel & Kasl, 2002) Stereotype threat in the real world

Performance: (Dananhar & Crandall; Massey & Fischer, 2005; Reardon, Aeberry, Arshan, & Kurlander, 2009; Walton & Spencer, 2009 )

Leadership: (Schmader et al., under review)

Health: (Cook, Purdie-Vaughns, et al., under review; Logel & Cohen, 2012)

Stereotype threat stems from historic

and contemporary threat systemic in school structures. “…innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers.” Classroom Environments Stereotypical room

Star Trek poster

Sci Fi books Coke cans

Cheryan, Plaut, Davies & Steele, 2009 Classroom Environments Non-stereotypical room

Nature poster

Neutral books Water bottles

Cheryan, Plaut, Davies & Steele, 2009 Environment influences women’s interest in CS

Interaction: F(1, 35) = 10.22, p < .01

Cheryan, Plaut, Davies & Steele, 2009 Beyond Performance: A Multilevel Phenomenon

• Low recruitment of areas associated with learning (inf. Contextual PFC, le inf. parietal cort., bilateral angular gyrus), over recruitment of areas associated with self- Cognive regulaon of emoons (ventral anterior cingulate cort) • Increased arousal (corsol), Physiological higher cardiovascular reacvity, heightened immune system response (TNFα) • Impaired execuve Neurological funconing, working memory • Decreased trust/belonging, perceived threat Krendl, Richeson, Kelley, & Heatherton, 2008; Schmader & Johns, 2003; Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008; Blascovich, Spencer, Quinn, & Steele, 2001; Take Home Message

• Stereotype threat affects any group that is seen “through the lens” of a negave stereotype in a parcular context.

• Stereotype threat is a mullevel 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 instuons more broadly.

Broadening participation requires altering the psychological climate to reduce this stress.

THE SCIENCE OF BROADENING PARTICIPATION 25 The Science of Broadening Participation…

• Diagnosing the psychological climate. • Tesng intervenons that reduce stereotype threat. • Providing unambiguous clear feedback of high expectaons and identy will not be a barrier to success. (Wise Intervenons) • Providing psychological resources to reduce threat (Values-Affirmaon Intervenons) • Capture a moment in me when psychological climate changed in schools (Obama Effect Intervenons) • Extracng best pracces and lessons learned that can be applied naonwide in schools and workplaces. WISE-FEEDBACK INTERVENTIONS

(Yeager, Purdie-Vaughns, Cohen, & Garcia, under review, Child Development)

27 The Mentor’s Dilemma…

How can you be crical of a student’s behavior without undermining the movaon and self-confidence needed to improve?

Today’s proposal: Providing unambiguous clear feedback of high expectaons and assurance that student can reach those expectaons. This reassures them that their identy will not be a barrier to success. “Wise” Interventions

• Convey to stereotyped individuals that they are seen in their “full humanity,” and not

through the lens of a stereotype. (Goffman, 1963; Cohen & Steele, 2002) Original test of wise intervenon strategy on minority student performance in college. STUDY 1

(Cohen, Steele, & Ross, 1999)

30 “Wise” Interventions: Laboratory study with college students.

• Unbuffered cricism • “Unwise”: Cricism + posive buffer: – Overall, nice job. Your enthusiasm for your teacher really shows through, … You have some interesng ideas in your leer and make some good points. … I’ve provided …. suggested several areas that could be improved. • “Wise”: Cricism + high standards + Assurance: – Judged by a higher standard, the one that really counts, that is, whether your leer will be publishable in our journal, I have serious reservaons. The comments I provide in the following pages are quite crical but I hope helpful. Remember, I wouldn’t go to the trouble of giving you this feedback if I didn’t think, based on what I’ve read in your leer, that you are capable of meeng the higher standard I menoned. 31 “Wise” Interventions: Laboratory study with college students.

• Unbuffered cricism • “Unwise”: Cricism + posive buffer: – Overall, nice job. Your enthusiasm for your teacher really shows through, … You have some interesng ideas in your leer and make some good points. … I’ve provided …. suggested several areas that could be improved. • “Wise”: Cricism + high standards + Assurance: – Judged by a higher standard, the one that really counts, that is, whether your leer will be publishable in our journal, I have serious reservaons. The comments I provide in the following pages are quite crical but I hope helpful. Remember, I wouldn’t go to the trouble of giving you this feedback if I didn’t think, based on what I’ve read in your leer, that you are capable of meeng the higher standard I menoned. 32 “Wise” Interventions: Laboratory study with college students.

Whites Blacks 6

5

4

3

2 task motivation taskmotivation

1 unbuffered cricism cricism + posive cricism + high buffer standards and assurance

(Cohen, Steele, & Ross, 1999) Field experiment in middle school. STUDIES 1-2

(Yeager, Purdie-Vaughns, Cohen, & Garcia, under review, Child Development)

34 “Wise” Interventions: Field experiment in Research site information middle school

• 7th graders in middle school (may be development “fork in the road”) (Eccles, Lord, & Midgley, 1991; Simmons, Black, & Zhou, 1991)

• School is economically middle class (23% receive free lunch) and located in Northeastern U.S.

• Student body approximately 50% African- American, 50% White.

“Wise” Interventions: Field experiment in middle school

• Black and White 7th grade students wrote an essay about their hero.

• White teachers grade and give feedback.

– “Control”

– “Wise” (High standards + assurance).

“Wise feedback” group: I’m giving you these comments because I have high standards and I know that you can meet them. Control group: I’m giving you these comments so you have feedback on your essay. Percentage of students resubmitting their essay at end of week.

Control

100% High Standards + Assurance

90%

80% 87%

70% 72% 60% 62% 50%

40%

30%

20%

10% PercentRevising Essay 17%

0% White Students Black Students Study 2 Quality of Final Essay (15 pt. metric)

14 Control High Standards + Assurance

13

12 12.11 11.95

11 11.41

10

9 9.42 FinalScore on Revised Essay

8 White Students Black Students Take Home Message

• Many minority students encounter or are aware of bias, stereotypes or discriminaon. These past adversies have effects in part because they leave a psychological residue.

• Raising classroom rigor may not close achievement gaps if they don’t address identy-based ambiguity. “Wise” strategies can disabuse students of this ambiguity and unlock movaon • However, these depend crically on context: – That teachers and administrators are trustworthy – That students are being taught meaningful and rigorous content 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 43 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.

I don’t drink as much sugary stuff as the person sing next to me...and anyway, I walk to my car EVERY day, which is exercise…AND…the “I do not consume researchers who study sugary drinks. This ad diabetes are paid by medical does not apply to me.” companies...who can trust them?? Whew, this ad does not apply to me!

Academic contexts are threatening for students who belong to stereotyped groups.

Here we protect “the self” with strategies that undermine performance (not seeking feedback, disengagement). Values-affirmation reminds people of sources ofself affirmaon their self-worth.

• Self-affirmaon refers to thoughts or behaviors that bolster one’s sense of self as competent, effecve, and able to control important outcomes (Sherman & Cohen, 2006; Steele, 1988)

• Self-affirmaon is not self-esteem!

50 The self-system

Global Self-Integrity

Roles Relationships (e.g., student, (e.g., family, parent) friends

Values Group Goals (e.g., humor, identities Central (e.g., health, beliefs religion) (e.g., race, academic (e.g., ideology, success) culture, political beliefs) nation) Do values-affirmaon intervenons improve academic performance for students under threat? STUDIES 1-3

52 Operationalizing values-affirmation

• Structured wring exercises, integrated into middle-school classroom in 7th grade. Developed in conjuncon with teachers and administrators at school site.

• Controlled and scripted procedures developed with help of teachers and administrators at each specific site.

• Administered at periods of high stress. Only treatment delivered 6 weeks aer start of middle school.

• Double-blind randomized field experiments.

[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 Sample excerpts from 7th graders

“[Art] is important to me because it makes me feel calm. When I'm very upset, like I'm going to cry I sit down and start listening to music or start drawing a picture.”

“If I didn't have creativity, I'd be bored out of my mind.”

“If I didn't have my family, I [wouldn’t] be raised right and if I didn't have my friends I would be a boring person. If I didn't have my religion, I wouldn't know what to do, I would be lost.”

End-of-quarter course grade End-of-term(Social Studies)course grade

3.5

3 Control Affirmation 2.5

2 European African Americans Americans

Covariates in analysis of each racial group: prior performance, teacher Cohen, Garcia, Apfel, & Master, 2006, Science

End-of-quarter course grade (Social Studies)

3.5

3 Control Affirmation 2.5

2 European African Americans Americans

Covariates in analysis of each racial group: prior performance, teacher Cohen, Garcia, Apfel, & Master, 2006, Science

End-of-quarter course grade (Social Studies)

3.5

3 Control

Affirmation 2.5

2 European Americans African Americans

Covariates in analysis of each racial group: prior performance, teacher Cohen, Garcia, Apfel, & Master, 2006, Science Original Two Studies:

3.5 3.5

3 3 Control Control Affirmation Affirmation 2.5 2.5

2 2 European African Americans European African Americans Americans Americans Two Replication Studies in Math:

3.5 3.5

3 3 Control Control Treatment 2.5 Treatment 2.5

2 2 European African Americans Americans European Americans African Americans Original Two Studies:

3.5 3.5

3 3 Control Control Affirmation Affirmation 2.5 2.5

2 2 European African Americans European African Americans Americans Americans Two Replication Studies in Math:

3.5 3.5

3 3 Control Control Treatment 2.5 2.5 Treatment

2 2 European African European African Americans Americans Americans Americans

Intervention affects contact with academic gateway: Percentage of students moving up versus down in math level from year 1 to year 2

8% 7% 6% 5% % going up in 4% course difficulty 3% 2% 1% 0%0%

1%

2% % going down in 3% course difficulty 4% 5%

6%

7% White, White, Minority, Minority, Control Affirm Control Affirm Intervention affects contact with academic gateway: Percentage of students moving up versus down in math level from year 1 to year 2

8% 7% 6% 5% % going up in 4% course difficulty 3% 2% 1% 0%0%

1%

2% % going down in 3% course difficulty 4% 5%

6%

7% White, White, Minority, Minority, Control Affirm Control Affirm Intervention affects contact with academic gateway: Percentage of students moving up versus down in math level from year 1 to year 2

8% 7% 6% 5% % going up in 4% course difficulty 3% 2% 1% 0%0%

1%

2% % going down in 3% course difficulty 4% 5%

6%

7% White, White, Minority, Minority, Control Affirm Control Affirm Replication with Latino American students: Global GPA over year

Sherman & Hartson, 2011 Replication with Latino American students: Global GPA over year

4

3.5 White - 3 Affirmaon White - Control 2.5 Lano - Affirmaon 2 Lano - Control Grade Point Average 1.5

1 Q1 Q2 (esmate) Q3 Q4 (esmate) Time point

Sherman & Hartson, 2011 Take Home Message

• Value-affirmaons work by securing self-concept under chronic condions of stereotype threat, like middle school, high school and college.

SYMBOLIC ROLE MODEL INTERVENTION CAN REDUCE THREAT AND IMPROVE PERFORMANCE: THE “OBAMA” EFFECT

• Purdie-Vaughns, Cook, Cohen & Garcia, under review, Personality • and Social Psychology Bulletin; • Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2012; reviewed in ”Post-Racial America?” • Eibach & Purdie-Vaughns, 2010; Dubois Review

69 Reducing Stereotype Threat…

Did the elecon of Obama alter the psychological climate for minority students. If so, can experimental reminders of Obama reduce threat and improve performance?

Obama Effect Field Experiment

• 158 parcipants in 6th grade

• Middle school research site in northern United States (CT). School district is economically middle class (~25% receiving free or reduced school lunch)

• Student body: 49% African American/ 9% Lano American, 42% European American

Purdie-Vaughns, Cook, Garcia & Cohen, in prep

Obama Effect Field Experiment

• Experiment conducted one week aer November 2008 elecon.

• Two experimental condions

– Obama salient condion:

Students answered 12 quesons about the importance of the elecon and Obama

– Control condion:

Students answered 12 quesons about the importance of items they put in their locker

Obama Salient Condition (12 total questions. Sample questions)

• “Is it important to you who won the United States presidenal elecon? If so, why?”

• Who won this year’s United States presidenal elecon? (John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton etc)

• I am happy with who won the United States presidenal elecon. (1=not at all happy, 4 = very happy)

• I care about who won the United States presidenal elecon (1=not at all, 4 = very much)

Dependent measures

• Social identy threat (Cohen & Garcia, 2006) e.g., “In school, I worry that people will think I am dumb if I do badly” “Somemes in school, other people think bad thoughts about how smart my racial group is” (1-strongly disagree to 6-strongly agree) (10 items: alpha = .87)

• Grade point average Official school records in 2nd quarter of school year Math, English, Social Studies, Science (7 weeks post experiment)

Social identy threat and grades

Time 1 Time 1 TIME 2 TIME 3 6th Grade Quarter 2 6th Grade 7th Grade THREAT GRADES THREAT THREAT

School Year (by quarter)

Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Quarter 1 Sept.-Oct. Nov.-January Feb.-April April-June Summer Sept.-Oct. 2008 2008 2009 2009 2009

Exp. Manip . Students’ attitudes about election and awareness of election 6th grade students’ attitudes towards Obama and awareness of politics as a function of race.

4.00 ns * * 3.50 ns 3.00 Black White 2.50

2.00 Respect for Following *Care about *Naonal Obama elecon (school/ polics Idenficaon home) * = significant racial group difference (p < .05). Means adjusted for gender. Scale ranges from 1 to 4. Excerpts from Obama condition

Yes, it is because it will show racist stereotypers that Blacks aren't dumb but smart.” -Black student, 6th grade

“Yes, Barack Obama has great ideas and can help our world.” -White student, 6th grade

“It's important to me because Barack Obama's win meant that we can do anything no matter what race we are.” -Black student, 6th grade Identy Threat Obama intervenon reduces threat among black 6th grade students unl start of 7th grade. - 2.90

2.70

2.50

2.30 * Threat 2.10

1.90 + 1.70 Fall 2008 Spring 2009 Fall 2009 White/Control Condition White/Obama Condition Black/Control Condition Black/Obama Condition Obama intervention significantly improves 2nd quarter grades for Black and White 6th grade students, 7 weeks post intervention.

(Math, English, Social Studies, Science) Analysis controls for 1st quarter grades

B 2.9

2.85

2.8

2.75 Obama Control 2.7

2.65

2.6 C+ GPAQ2 with Q1 Summary of results

• Among African Americans, a group that contends with negave intellectual stereotypes, reflecng about President Obama had same protecve effects as reflecng about the self. European Americans, a group not stereotyped in this context, were unaffected. THE SCIENCE OF BROADENING PARTICIPATION

Broadening participation in STEM and beyond requires altering the psychological climate to reduce this stress. 84 Concluding Remarks

Ø Importance of social psychological approach to STEM movaon and achievement

Ø Three social psychological intervenons help li achievement and promote equality in the classroom

Ø Combining social-psychological intervenons with pedagogical and curricular intervenons may yield greater benefits

Ø Understanding the effects of identy threat help explain when and why people from “all walks of life” perform below their potenal

Thank you.

Valerie Purdie-Vaughns [email protected] hp://www.columbia.edu/cu/ psychology/vpvaughns/people.html

Research Team, Collaborators, and Funders

Acknowledgments Teachers, administrators, and students at our Research Consultants school sites Edward Zigler Donald Green Faculty and student collaborators Edmund Gordon Julio Garcia; Geoffrey C. Cohen Greg Walton; Jonathan Cook Joseph Mahoney Claude Steele; Lee Ross Chrisne Logel; David Yeager Funding Sources

Research Project Team National Science Foundation Nancy Apfel Spencer Foundation Suzanne Taborsky-Barba W.T. Grant Foundation Nick Camp American Psychological Association Jusn Busch Institute for Social and Policy Studies Pa Brzustoski Allison Master National Institute of Mental Health Courtney Bearns Nellie Mae Education Foundation Natalie Golaszewski School of Arts & Sciences, Yale University Sarah Tomasse Sarah Wert Society for the Psychol. Study of Social Issues Marie Scully

Cognive and Neural mechanisms Threat Biological Marker Behavioral Outcome References Response Physiological - Skin conductance - Poor performance Blascovich, Spencer, Quinn, & Steele, 2001; Cassady & Johnson, Arousal response (SCR) on hard tests 2001 - Cardiac reacvity - Beer per. easy test Neurobiological Corsol (hormone - Impairs working (Dickerson, Gable, et al., 2009; Dickerson, et al.2004;, ( (HPA-axis) mobilizes energy in memory Beilock, Rydell, & McConnell, response to stress) - Increased anxiety 2007, Schmader & Johns, 2003; Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008 Neurobiological Proinflammatory Increased immune Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008 (theory) (immune cytokines (TNFα) response from stress system) (mobilized to fight against (sickness behavior = biological threats ) more sleep, prevenon behaviors) Brain acvaon Failure to increase ac. - Low recruitment of Krendl, Richeson, Kelley, & Heatherton, 2008 of inf. prefrontal cort., areas associated le inf. parietal cort., with learning and bilateral angular - Over recruit areas gyrus but increased associated with vent. anterior self-regulaon of cingulated cort. emoons Symbolic Firsts

Transformave public figures, historic characters, and pioneers that are symbols of special achievement widely expected to inspire others (Eibach & Purdie-Vaughns, 2011; Purdie-Vaughns, Summner & Cohen, 2010).

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 . . . It often seems as if, to them, I will always be Black first and a student second. - Michelle Robinson

(1985)

Stereotype threat applies to a broad range

of identities.

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 athlec performance - Older individuals and memory performance - Economically disadvantaged and intelligence tests (France) - Gay males and play behaviors with young children - Whites and conversaons about race with Black conversaon partners

Situaons that trigger stereotype threat: - Being a numerical minority - Reminders of negave stereotype (affirmave acon dust ups, hate crimes) - Race/ethnicity of instructor Obama intervention significantly improves 2nd quarter grades for Black and White 6th grade students, 7 weeks post intervention.

4.25 3.75 3.25 2.75 2.25 1.75 GPA quarter 2 1.25 0.75 0.25 1.25 1.75 2.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 4.25 GPA from Quarter 1 of 6th Grade

Control Obama Control Obama Grades (Math, English, Social Studies, Science) Analysis controls for 1st quarter grades