Students’ understandings of their socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds have important implications for their motivation, achievement, and the emergence of SES-based educational disparities. Educators’ beliefs about students’ backgrounds likely play a meaningful role in shaping these understandings and, thus, may represent an important opportunity to support students from lower-SES backgrounds. We first experimentally demonstrate that educators can be encouraged to adopt background-specific strengths beliefs—which view students’ lower-SES backgrounds as potential sources of unique and beneficial strengths (NStudy 1 = 125). Subsequently, we find that exposure to educators who communicate background-specific strengths beliefs positively influences the motivation and academic persistence of students, particularly those from lower-SES backgrounds (NStudy 2 = 256; NStudy 3 = 276). Furthermore, lower-SES students’ own beliefs about their backgrounds mediated these effects. Altogether, our work contributes to social-psychological theory and practice regarding how key societal contexts can promote equity through identity-based processes.
AdlerN. E.StewartJ. (2010). Health disparities across the lifespan: Meaning, methods, and mechanisms. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05337.x
2.
AutinF.BatruchA.ButeraF. (2019). The function of selection of assessment leads evaluators to artificially create the social class achievement gap. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(4), 717–735. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000307
3.
BanksJ. A.BanksC. A. M. (Eds.). (2019). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. John Wiley & Sons.
4.
BatesD.MächlerM.BolkerB.WalkerS. (2015). Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v067.i01
BrowmanA. S.DestinM. (2016). The effects of a warm or chilly climate toward socioeconomic diversity on academic motivation and self-concept. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42(2), 172–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167215619379
7.
BrowmanA. S.DestinM.CarswellK. L.SvobodaR. C. (2017). Perceptions of socioeconomic mobility influence academic persistence among low socioeconomic status students. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 72, 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.03.006
8.
ButtrickN. R.SilvermanD. M.WormingtonS. V. (under review). Educators’ false growth mindsets negatively impact student beliefs and performance. Open Science Framework. Preprint. https://osf.io/vbrsc
9.
CanningE. A.MuenksK.GreenD. J.MurphyM. C. (2019). STEM faculty who believe ability is fixed have larger racial achievement gaps and inspire less student motivation in their classes. Science Advances, 5(2), Article eaau4734. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau4734
10.
ChettyR.FriedmanJ. N.RockoffJ. E. (2014). Measuring the impacts of teachers II: Teacher value-added and student outcomes in adulthood. American Economic Review, 104(9), 2633–2679.
11.
CroizetJ. C.ClaireT. (1998). Extending the concept of stereotype threat to social class: The intellectual underperformance of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24(6), 588–594. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167298246003
12.
CurranP. J.HussongA. M. (2009). Integrative data analysis: The simultaneous analysis of multiple data sets. Psychological Methods, 14(2), 81–100. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015914
13.
DestinM. (2020). Identity research that engages contextual forces to reduce socioeconomic disparities in education. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(2), 161–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420901588
14.
DestinM.ManzoV. M.TownsendS. S. (2018). Thoughts about a successful future encourage action in the face of challenge. Motivation and Emotion, 42(3), 321–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-017-9664-0
15.
DittmannA. G.StephensN. M.TownsendS. S. M. (2020). Achievement is not class-neutral: Working together benefits people from working-class contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(3), 517–539. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000194
16.
DominaT.Pharris-CiurejN.PennerA. M.PennerE. K.BrummetQ.PorterS. R.SanabriaT. (2018). Is free and reduced-price lunch a valid measure of educational disadvantage?Educational Researcher, 47(9), 539–555. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X18797609
GorskiP. C. (2011). Unlearning deficit ideology and the scornful gaze: Thoughts on authenticating the class discourse in education. Counterpoints, 402, 152–173.
19.
HarveyK. E.SuizzoM. A.JacksonK. M. (2016). Predicting the grades of low-income–ethnic-minority students from teacher-student discrepancies in reported motivation. The Journal of Experimental Education, 84(3), 510–528. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2015.1054332
20.
HattB. (2007). Street smarts vs. book smarts: The figured world of smartness in the lives of marginalized, urban youth. The Urban Review, 39(2), 145–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-007-0047-9
21.
HernandezI. A.SilvermanD. M.DestinM. (2021). From deficit to benefit: Highlighting lower SES students’ background-specific strengths reinforces their academic persistence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 92, Article 104080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104080
22.
HoggM. A. (2003). Social identity. In LearyM. R.TangneyJ. P. (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (pp. 462–479). The Guilford Press.
23.
JacksonC. K. (2018). What do test scores miss? The importance of teacher effects on non–test score outcomes. Journal of Political Economy, 126(5), 2072–2107. https://doi.org/10.1086/699018
24.
JohnsonS. E.RichesonJ. A.FinkelE. J. (2011). Middle class and marginal? Socioeconomic status, stigma, and self-regulation at an elite university. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(5), 838–852. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021956
25.
KrausM. W.PiffP. K.KeltnerD. (2009). Social class, sense of control, and social explanation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(6), 992–1004. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016357
26.
LedgerwoodA. (2019). New developments in research methods. In FinkelE. J.BaumeisterR. F. (Eds.), Advanced social psychology: The state of the science (2nd ed., pp. 39–61). Oxford University Press.
McAdamsD. P. (2011). Narrative identity. In SchwartzS.LuyckzK.VignolesV. (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 99–115). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_5
29.
MidgleyC.MaehrM. L.HrudaL. Z.AndermanE.AndermanL.FreemanK. E.UrdanT. (2000). Manual for the patterns of adaptive learning scales. University of Michigan.
30.
OkonofuaJ. A.PauneskuD.WaltonG. M. (2016). Brief intervention to encourage empathic discipline cuts suspension rates in half among adolescents. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(19), 5221–5226. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1523698113
OysermanD.DestinM. (2010). Identity-based motivation: Implications for intervention. The Counseling Psychologist, 38(7), 1001–1043. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000010374775
33.
OysermanD.DestinM.NovinS. (2015). The context-sensitive future self: Possible selves motivate in context, not otherwise. Self and Identity, 14(2), 173–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2014.965733
34.
OysermanD.TerryK.BybeeD. (2002). A possible selves intervention to enhance school involvement. Journal of Adolescence, 25(3), 313–326. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2002.0474
35.
PlautV. C.MarkusH. R. (2005). The “inside” story: A cultural-historical analysis of being smart and motivated, American style. In ElliotA. J.DweckC. S. (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 457–488). The Guilford Press.
36.
ReardonS. F. (2013). The widening income achievement gap. Educational Leadership, 70(8), 10–16.
37.
ReichD. A.ArkinR. M. (2006). Self-doubt, attributions, and the perceived implicit theories of others. Self and Identity, 5(02), 89–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860500441965
38.
ReisH. T.HolmesJ. G. (2012). Perspectives on the situation. In DeauxK.SnyderM. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of personality and social psychology (pp. 64–92). Oxford University Press.
39.
SchmaderT.SedikidesC. (2018). State authenticity as fit to environment: The implications of social identity for fit, authenticity, and self-segregation. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 22(3), 228–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868317734080
40.
SorhagenN. S. (2013). Early teacher expectations disproportionately affect poor children’s high school performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(2), 465–477. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031754
41.
StephensN. M.FrybergS. A.MarkusH. R.JohnsonC. S.CovarrubiasR. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: How American universities’ focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1178–1197. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027143
42.
StephensN. M.MarkusH. R.PhillipsL. T. (2014). Social class culture cycles: How three gateway contexts shape selves and fuel inequality. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 611–634. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115143
43.
StephensN. M.TownsendS. S.MarkusH. R.PhillipsL. T. (2012). A cultural mismatch: Independent cultural norms produce greater increases in cortisol and more negative emotions among first-generation college students. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(6), 1389–1393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.07.008
44.
ThomaesS.SedikidesC.van den BosN.HuttemanR.ReijntjesA. (2017). Happy to be “me?” Authenticity, psychological need satisfaction, and subjective well-being in adolescence. Child Development, 88(4), 1045–1056. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12867
45.
TingleyD.YamamotoT.HiroseK.KeeleL.ImaiK. (2014). Mediation: R package for causal mediation analysis. Journal of Statistical Software, 59(5), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v059.i05
46.
TownsendS. S.StephensN. M.SmalletsS.HamedaniM. G. (2019). Empowerment through difference: An online difference-education intervention closes the social class achievement gap. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(7), 1068–1083. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218804548
47.
United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. (2020). Child nutrition programs income eligibility guidelines (2020-2021). USDA.
48.
WaltonG. M.CohenG. L. (2007). A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(1), 82–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.1.82
49.
WoodS. N. (2011). Fast stable restricted maximum likelihood and marginal likelihood estimation of semiparametric generalized linear models. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (B), 73(1), 3–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9868.2010.00749.x
50.
YeagerD. S.HanselmanP.WaltonG. M.MurrayJ. S.CrosnoeR.MullerC. . . . DweckC. S. (2019). A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement. Nature, 573(7774), 364–369. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1466-y
51.
YeagerD. S.WaltonG. M. (2011). Social-psychological interventions in education: They’re not magic. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 267–301. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311405999
52.
YossoT. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
