n t i th a d i i t llinurturing the academic intelligence ... · n t i th a d i i t llinurturing...

N t i th A d i I t lliNurturing the Academic Intelligenceof Children

Joshua Aronson, Ph.D.k i iNew York University

The Minority-White GapThe Minority White GapPrison: Prison:

Blacks and Latinos vastly overrepresentedBlacks and Latinos vastly overrepresentedBlacks and Latinos vastly overrepresentedBlacks and Latinos vastly overrepresented

College College Blacks 1/2 as likel to go; 2 as likel to drop o tBlacks 1/2 as likel to go; 2 as likel to drop o tBlacks 1/2 as likely to go; 2x as likely to drop outBlacks 1/2 as likely to go; 2x as likely to drop out

High School: High School: 50% drop out rate; 250% drop out rate; 2--4 year reading gap4 year reading gap

KK--12 12 Lower standardized test scores and gradesLower standardized test scores and grades

BirthBirth--PreschoolPreschoolBirthBirth PreschoolPreschoolNearly equal ability test scoresNearly equal ability test scores

Under-Performance of Women In Math & Science

While outperforming men in all other areas of academia, While outperforming men in all other areas of academia, women earn less than 25% of the degrees in Computer women earn less than 25% of the degrees in Computer

Science, Physics, and EngineeringScience, Physics, and Engineering, y , g g, y , g gCollege: women perform worse on standardized tests of College: women perform worse on standardized tests of

mathematics but do well in their courses; far fewer choose mathematics but do well in their courses; far fewer choose / i j/ i jmath/ hard science majorsmath/ hard science majors

Middle School: Girls earn equally high grades but begin to Middle School: Girls earn equally high grades but begin to lose confidence in math abilities; test score gap on lose confidence in math abilities; test score gap on

standadized tests emergesstandadized tests emergesKK 12: Girls Perform at or above the same level as boys on12: Girls Perform at or above the same level as boys onKK--12: Girls Perform at or above the same level as boys on 12: Girls Perform at or above the same level as boys on

tests and in school; show less intrinsic interest in spatial taskstests and in school; show less intrinsic interest in spatial tasks

Common Explanations for Group Differences

1. Lower innate intelligence

Th B ll C--The Bell Curve

--Biological differences in math ability

2. Poverty (lower skills and preparation)

3 S b l h di d i3. Subculture that discourages academic success

“Acting White”g

Larger Culture of Anti-intellectualism

Larger Culture of Anti-Larger Culture of AntiIntellectualism

Larger Culture of Anti-Larger Culture of AntiIntellectualism

Recent polls indicate among Americans:

• 20% Believe that the Sun revolves around Earth

20 % C t l t th U S W ld M• 20 % Cannot locate the U.S. on a World Map

• 80% believe the Government is hiding evidence of space80% believe the Government is hiding evidence of space Aliens

All of the traditional explanations fallAll of the traditional explanations fall short of explaining the gap, even when

bi d hi l bcombined; something else must be involved…

Part One:Intelligence is FragileIntelligence is Fragile

Operational Definition: Intelligence = IQ Scores, Performance in School, Verbal

Fluency, etc.

“Human intelligence is among the most fragile things in nature. It doesn’t take g gmuch to distract it, suppress it, or even annihilate it.”

Neil Postman--Neil Postman

The Fragility of IntelligenceSome social factors:

• Interpersonal Intimidation (being smarter, funnier etc with some people)funnier, etc with some people)

• Threatened Belongingness (Baumeister, 2002)

• Stereotype Threat/ Identity threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995), )

Identity ThreatIdentity Threat

Apprehension arising from the awareness of a negative stereotype or personal reputation in anegative stereotype or personal reputation in a situation where the stereotype or identity is relevant and thus confirmablerelevant, and thus confirmable

i thi i f– everyone experiences this in some form

Examples of Identity ThreatExamples of Identity Threat

• Jewish person in the Bible Belt

• African American Taking an IQ test

• Woman called upon in math classp

Stereotype Threat: No Explicit Bigotry Required

Stereotype ThreatAnecdotal EvidenceAnecdotal Evidence

“When I talk in class, I feel as though I’m totally on lik ’ hi ki ‘ h h ’ h l kstage, like everyone’s thinking, ‘oh what’s the Black

girl going to say?’ But I don’t speak up in class much anymore so I guess it’s not a big deal ”anymore, so I guess it s not a big deal.

—Stanford Undergraduate


“Group work was a nightmare. I could tell that no one h h id d b ’ i ”thought my ideas were any good because I’m Latina.”

—NYU Undergraduate


“Everyone expects me to be good at math because I’m A i f l id b ’ dAsian, so I feel extra stupid because I’m not so good at math.”

—NYU Undergradg

Stereotype ThreatyAnecdotal Evidence

“I knew I was just as intelligent as everyone else... but f did ’ ll bfor 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 ”knowing that if you fail, you fail your race.

State Senator Rodney Ellis (TX)—State Senator, Rodney Ellis (TX)

Laboratory Experiment on Stereotype Threat

Steele & Aronson (1995). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

• Method: Reducing Evaluative Scrutiny

• Measure: Blacks’ and Whites’ Verbal GRE Performance

Verbal Test Performance

13

15

whites

9

11

lved

7

9

item

s so

l

blacks

3

5

# of

1

"Measuring Your Ability" "Not Measuring Your Ability"


13

15

whiteswhites

9

11

lved

blacks

7

9

item

s so

l

blacks

3

5

# of

1

"Measuring Your Ability" "Not Measuring Your Ability"

Verbal Test PerformanceCorrected for SAT

blackswhites whites9

10

blackswhites

6

7

8

lved

blacks

4

5

6

item

s so

2

3

4

# of

1STEREOTYPE THREAT NO STEREOTYPE THREAT

Laboratory Experiment on Stereotype Threat

Steele & Aronson (1995)

Method: Inducing the Relevance of Race

Measure: Blacks’ and Whites’ Verbal GRE Performance


blackswhites whites8

9

10

6

7

8

lved

blacks4

5

6

item

s so

2

3

4

# of

1Asked to Indicate Race Not Asked to Indicate Race

Math Test PerformanceOf College Men and WomenOf College Men and Women

(Spencer, Steele & Quinn, 1999)

men

16

21

ed

11

of it

ems

solv

6

# women

1

Control "No Gender Differences"

Math Test PerformanceOf College Men and WomenOf College Men and Women

(Spencer, Steele & Quinn, 1999)

men

16

21

ed

menwomen

11

of it

ems

solv

6

# women

1

Control "No Gender Differences"

Additional Studies Finding Performance Effectsg

• Latinos taking verbal tests

• Elderly taking short-term memory tests

• Low SES Students taking verbal tests

• Blacks and Miniature Golf

• Women taking tests of Political Knowledge, Driving, Chess

• White males taking tests of social sensitivity

• White Males Taking Math Tests

When White Men Can’t Do MathAronson et al (1999) Journal of Experimental Social PsychologyAronson, et al., (1999). Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

12

9

1011

12

d

5

67

8

tem

s So

lved

1

23

4

It

1

Test of Your Math AbilityTest of Your Math AbilityRelative to Asians

When White Men Can’t Do MathAronson, et al., (1999). Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

12

9

1011

12

d

d = .93

5

67

8

tem

s So

lved

1

23

4

It

1

Test of Your Math AbilityTest of Your Math Ability Relativeto Asians

Stereotype Threat in the “Real World”

Educational Testing ServiceField Study:Field Study:

Asking About Gender before or After Before Taking APg

ETS Field Study:Asking Gender Before Taking AP Calculus

Test Hurts Girls

16

17

14

15

rmul

a S

core Female

Male

12

13

AP

For

11

Inquiry Before Inquiry After

(Stricker, 2002). Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

Educational Testing Service Study:Asking Gender Before AP Calculus Test

Hurts Girls, Helps Boysp y

16

17

14

15

mul

a Sc

ore

Female

12

13

14

AP

For

m Male

11

12

Inquiry Before Inquiry Afterq y q y

Danaher and Crandall (2008)Danaher and Crandall (2008)Reanalysis of ETS Study

“Women benefited substantially on the calculus test when demographics were g pasked after testing rather than before. This simple, small, and inexpensive change p , , p gcould increase U.S. women receiving AP Calculus AB credit by more than 4,700 y ,every year.”

Field Experiment: Women in the Science Pipeline

Highest Level Calculus Students

Field Study: Women in the Science Pipeline

Highest Level College Calculus Students

44.5

5

ved

2.53

3.54

item

s sol

v

FemaleMale

0 51

1.52

Cal

culu

s Male

00.5

CONTROL "NO GENDERDIFFERENCES"

Good, Aronson, & Harder (in press) Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Field Study: Women in the Science Pipeline

Advanced Level Women Outperform Advanced Men in Calculus When Threat Reduced

4

4.5

5

2.5

3

3.5

tem

s so

lved

FemaleMale

1

1.5

2

Cal

culu

s i Male

0

0.5

CONTROL "NO GENDER DIFFERENCES"

Good, Aronson, & Harder (2008) Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

California Exit Study Experiment:Comparing performance on HighComparing performance on High

and Low Stakes Tests

High Stakes Tests Hurt Minorities and Girls

Graduation effects are concentrated i i damong minority students

Estimated Differences in 10th Grade Scores on High Stakes (CAHSEE) vs. Low Stakes (11th grade ELA CST) Tests, for Average Student in Bottom Quartile of State ELA CST Score Distribution, Classes of 2006 & 2007State ELA CST Score Distribution, Classes of 2006 & 2007

10th Grade ScoreELA CAHSEE Math CAHSEE

Black ‐0.263 *** ‐0.339 ***(0.042) (0.042)

Hispanic ‐0.215 *** ‐0.319 ***p(0.039) (0.039)

Asian ‐0.277 *** ‐0.073(0.044) (0.044)

Female ‐0.027 ‐0.192 ***(0.020) (0.020)

FRPLE ‐0.073 * 0.002(0.033) (0.033)

ELL ‐0.283 *** ‐0.002(0.024) (0.024)

Note: Coefficients indicate the difference in the estimated difference in scores on the CAHSEE and the 11th grade ELA CST between a given group and the reference category, conditional on the full model (which includes additional controls for 9th & 10th grade CST scores and district fixed effects).

Conclusions from 300 Studies

• develops around age 10 in most children

• can affect even those students with lots of ability and lots of confidence in their abilities, from any group, y g p

• can arise as a function of grouping alone, integrated groups trigger ittrigger it.

• mediated by anxiety, reduced working memory capacity, and reduced self-regulation capacity.

• Stereotype threat influences GPA as well as immediate• Stereotype threat influences GPA as well as immediate performance: Accounts for about 10% of the GPA Gap

Chronic Stereotype VulnerabilityChronic Stereotype Vulnerability Can lead to Lower Ability

Chronic Stereotype VulnerabilityChronic Stereotype Vulnerability Can lead to Lower Ability

•Avoidance of Challenge/practiceg p

•Disengagement

From Vulnerability to Inabilityy y

"No circle is more vicious than the one having to do with intelligence. Children who may be only a little behind their peerswho may be only a little behind their peers to begin with tend to avoid those things that could have made them a little smarter. As a result they fall further and further behind. Meanwhile the kids who started out a little ahead are doing push ups without a little ahead are doing push-ups with their brains.”

Judith Rich HarrisJud t c a s

Part Two:Part Two:

Reducing ThreatMindset MattersMindset Matters

Biological Differences in Spatial Ability

L t diff S ti l Abilit• Largest sex differences: Spatial Ability

• May account for most of the math test score gapy g p

• Testosterone?

Vandenberg Mental RotationVandenberg Mental Rotation Task

A t l i t i i 286 d t t d 100 000A meta-analysis containing 286 data sets and 100,000 subjects found a highly significant male advantage for mental rotation; this pattern remains stable across age and has not decreased in recent yearsdecreased in recent years.

Identity Salience Influences Women’s Mental R i P fRotation Performance25 WOMEN

MEN

20

OR

E

10

15

VMR

SC

O

5

10

GENDER ELITE COLLEGESTUDENT

CONTROL

McGlone & Aronson (2006). Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

Identity Salience Influences Women’s Mental R i P fRotation Performance

25 WOMEN

MEN

20

E

MEN

15

VMR

SC

OR

E

10

V

5


CONTROLSTUDENT

McGlone & Aronson (2006). Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

Identity Salience Influences Mental Rotation P fPerformance

25 WOMEN

MEN

20

E

MEN

15

VMR

SC

OR

E

10

V

5


CONTROLSTUDENT

Reducing Stereotype Threat:Reducing Stereotype Threat:The role of conceptions of intelligence

“The mind is much more like a muscle than we’ve ever realized… it needs to get cognitive exercise. It’s not some piece of clay on which you put an indeliblesome piece of clay on which you put an indelible mark.”

James Flynn, intelligence expert, 2007

ExperimentAAronson (in preparation)

Question:What if you were led to believe ability is

malleable? Would it reduce effects of stereotype threat?

Method: Framing test as a measure of a fixed or a malleable ability

M Bl k ’ d Whit ’ T t P fMeasure: Blacks’ and Whites’ Test Performance

Conceptions of Ability and Test PerformancePerformance

11

91011

678

solv

ed

45

# of

item

s

123#

Non-improvableAbility

Like SAT Verbal Improvable Skill

Conceptions of Ability and Test PerformancePerformance

1011

African Americans Whites

789

olve

d

African Americans Whites

456

of it

ems

s

123#

o

"Non-improvable

Ability"

"Like SATVerbal"(control)

"ImprovableSkill"

Reducing the effects of Stereotype Threat In the real world: Shaping implicit theories

Question: Can getting people to believe in expandable intelligence reduce effects of stereotype threat on GPA?

• Method: Attitude change• Measure: End of year GPA• Measure: End of year GPA

Year End Follow-Up:

GPA

3.553 34

4 MALLEABLECONTROL

3.32

3.05

3.34

3GPA

2

Blacks Whites

Aronson, Fried & Good (2002). Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Reducing Stereotype Threat in Middle School: A field Intervention

Question: Can psychological intervention raise test scores of minority students?

• Method: mentoring study; attitude change• Method: mentoring study; attitude change• Conditions:

– Malleability of intelligence– Role Models: senior students who stress the normality of early difficulty– Control (drug abuse message)

• Measure: Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS)( )

7th Grade Reading TAAS--Latinos7th Grade Reading TAAS LatinosGood, Aronson & Inzlicht (2003) Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

100

EA

S SC

OR

E

90

DIN

G T

AA

80

REA

D

80MalleabilityIntervention

Role Model Control

7th Grade Girls’ Math TAAS7th Grade Girls Math TAAS100 GIRLS

90OR

E

BOYS

TAA

S SC

O

80

Mat

h T

70MalleabilityIntervention

Role Model ControlIntervention

Good, Aronson & Inzlicht (2003) Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

Cooperative Learning

Slavin & Oilicke (1981)

Method: Study Cooperatively or Alone

Measure: Test performancep


blackswhites whites

75

80

blacks70

OR

E

60

65

TEST

SC

O

55

60T

50Individual Learning Cooperative Learning

Some Policy Implications

• Strict, high stakes testing regimes may be hurting minorities; some believe exit exams should be discontinued

• If they are kept steps need to be taken to reduce their• If they are kept, steps need to be taken to reduce their harmful effects

• Psychological interventions are far cheaper and often more effective than large expensive ones

Reducing Effects of Stereotype Threat: Effective Strategies

• De-emphasize ability; emphasize effort, persistence

• Stress the malleability of intelligence

• Exposure to Role Models who overcame struggles• Exposure to Role Models who overcame struggles

• Cooperative learning

"By nature emplanted, for nurture to enlarge"enlarge

Richard Mulcaster, 1581First Headmaster of Merchant Taylors' School in London

Thank You!Thank You!

[email protected]

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