Not stupid, but lazy? Psychological benefits of disruptive classroom behavior from an attributional perspective

Disruptive student behavior is a frequent part of school life, most often shown by male students and related to many negative academic outcomes. In this study, we examined the psychological benefits of engaging in disruptive behavior for low-achieving students from an attributional perspective. In an experimental vignette study of 178 ninth graders from Germany, we tested whether the students’ ratings of a target student who displayed disruptive behavior (instead of unobtrusive behavior) in a vignette would evoke lack-of-effort attributions for academic failure through students’ expectations of teachers’ reprimands. In order to account for the nested data structure (vignettes nested in participants), we applied multilevel analysis while testing for mediation effects. Results showed that the disruptive behavior of a target student triggered lack-of-effort attributions in students instead of lack-of-ability attributions for low academic achievement. This effect was mediated by students’ expectations of teachers’ reprimands. In addition, low-achieving students showing disruptive behavior were perceived as more popular but less liked personally and as more masculine and less feminine. The study adds to the understanding of disruptive behavior in class as an attempt of poor-performing students to elicit face-saving attributions for academic failure and enhance their peer status

Nice, but not smart? Attributional backlash from displaying prosocial behavior in the classroom

According to attributional theory, when the application of effort leads to success we praise the achievement. Effort and ability, however, are seen as compensatory and thus, paradoxically, being praised can lead to attributions of low ability. Our study investigates whether praise, not for academic performance, but for social classroom behavior, would also incur attributional backlash. We examined whether prosociality relates to attributions of high effort and low ability, mediated by expected teacher praise and happiness. In adolescence, prosocial behavior is displayed more by females and aligns with femininity. We conducted an experimental vignette study with 324 German ninth graders to examine whether prosocial students experience a denigration of achievement via expected teacher reaction. Multilevel modelling showed that compared to nondescript students, prosocial students were judged to receive good grades as a result of effort and less due to ability, but this was not related to expected teacher reactions. Prosocial students were also judged to be more likeable and popular. Examination of gender-related outcomes showed that prosocial students were believed to be more feminine, but also more masculine than the nondescript student. Female prosocial targets were thought to be more typical, but not as occurring more frequently than their male counterparts. The results are discussed in reference to the paradox of praise. The limitations and implications of the research are discussed, particularly regarding female students’ achievements

How choosing science depends on students’ individual fit to ‘science culture’

In this paper we propose that the unpopularity of science in many industrialized countries is largely due to the gap between the subculture of science, on the one hand, and students’ self-image, on the other hand. We conducted a study based on the self-to-prototype matching theory (Burke & Reitzes, 1981), testing whether the perceived mismatch between the typical representative of the science culture (the science prototype) and students’ self-image is linked to not choosing science as a major. Fifty-four Dutch 9th-grade students currently choosing their subject majors (so-called profiles) completed a Dutch version of a questionnaire previously designed by Hannover and Kessels (2004), which measures students’ perceptions of typical peers favouring different school subjects (prototypes for physics, biology, economics, languages) and students’ self-image. Students chose a profile to the extent that they conceived of themselves as similar to the typical peer who likes the key subject of that profile. Fifty percent of variance was explained when using an aggregated science vs. humanities distance score and predicting whether a student had chosen a science- or a humanities-related profile. A comparison of Dutch students’ description of the physics prototype with the German data from Hannover and Kessels (2004) revealed similar prototypes in both countries. The traits ascribed to the physics prototype were in line with science-related values and the culture of science as described by Merton (1973) and Traweek (1992), for example. The relevance of the perceived fit of the culture of science to students’ selves for academic choices is discussed

Non-communicated judgments of, versus feedback, on students’ essays: Is feedback inflation larger for students with a migration background?

When providing feedback, teachers are concerned not only with the simple transmission of information, but also with motivational and interpersonal dynamics. To mitigate these concerns, teachers may inflate feedback by reducing negative or increasing positive content. The resulting difference between initial judgments and feedback may be even more drastic for ethnic minority students: In non-communicated judgments, negative stereotypes may result in more negative judgments, whereas in feedback, concerns about being or appearing prejudiced may inflate feedback towards ethnic minority students. These hypotheses were tested in a sample of 132 German teacher students in a 2 (between subjects: feedback vs. non-communicated judgment) × 2 (within subjects: target student's migration background: Turkish vs. none) design in which participants read supposed student essays and provided their written impressions to the research team or the supposed student. Findings revealed that teacher students’ feedback was more positive than their non-communicated judgments on a multitude of dimensions. Contrary to expectations, these effects were not stronger when the student had a Turkish migration background. Instead, teacher students rated the essay of the student with a Turkish migration background more favorably both in the judgment and feedback conditions. Our results suggest that teachers adapt their initial judgments when giving feedback to account for interpersonal or motivational dynamics. Moreover, ethnic minority students may be especially likely to receive overly positive feedback. While the motivational/interpersonal dynamics may warrant some inflation in feedback, negative consequences of overly positive feedback, for which ethnic minority students may be especially vulnerable, are discussed

Instrumentality Gives Girls the Edge: Gender-Differential Relations Between Instrumentality, Achievement Motivation, and Self-Esteem

Gender differences in school are often discussed in reference to a particular type of masculinity, negative masculinity, which is often conceptualized as detrimental to success. Another type of masculinity, instrumentality, has rarely been studied in schools even though instrumental characteristics are often exalted outside the academic context. The current study focuses on potential benefits that students may reap from instrumentality. The extent to which an instrumental self-concept is directly and indirectly associated with achievement motivation and self-esteem was examined for adolescent boys and girls in a structural equation model (SEM). A sample of German ninth graders (N = 355) completed self-report measures pertaining to their gender role self-concept, hope for success, fear of failure, and global and academic contingent self-esteem. The SEM revealed that instrumentality was associated with lower fear of failure and higher hope for success for both male and female adolescents. High scores in instrumentality were associated with greater self-esteem and lower academic contingent self-esteem. The association between instrumentality and global self-esteem was stronger for adolescent girls, and the indirect association between instrumentality and fear of failure through global self-esteem was significant only for girls. Results indicate that instrumentality can be an asset for students and that female students especially reap the benefits of an instrumental self-concept. The results are discussed in reference to the dangers of emphasizing solely the association between negative masculinity and academic failure, and the importance of studying relations with gender role self-concept separately for male and female adolescents

When ethnic minority students are judged as more suitable for the highest school track: a shifting standards experiment

When students are grouped into school tracks, this has lasting consequences for their learning and later careers. In Germany to date, some groups of students (boys, ethnic minority students) are underrepresented in the highest track. Stereotypes about these groups exist that entail negative expectations about their suitability for the highest track. Based on the shifting standards model, the present research examines if and how stereotypes influence tracking recommendations. According to this theory, members of negatively stereotyped groups will be judged more leniently or more strictly depending on the framing of the judgment situation (by inducing minimum or confirmatory standards). N = 280 teacher students participated in a vignette study in which they had to choose the amount of positive evidence for suitability they wanted to see before deciding to recommend a fictitious student to the highest track. A 2 (judgment standard: minimum vs. confirmatory) × 2 (target student’s gender: male vs. female) × 2 (target student’s ethnicity: no migration background vs. Turkish migration background) between-subjects design was used. No effects of target gender occurred, but the expected interaction of target’s ethnicity and judgment standard emerged. In the minimum standard condition, less evidence was required for the ethnic minority student to be recommended for the highest track compared to the majority student. In the confirmatory standards condition, however, participants tended to require less evidence for the ethnic majority student. Our experiment underlines the importance of the framing of the recommendation situation, resulting in a more lenient or stricter assessment of negatively stereotyped groups

Do Teachers' Beliefs About Math Aptitude and Brilliance Explain Gender Differences in Children's Math Ability Self-Concept?

The self-concept of ability in math in elementary school is an early predictor for future math-related choices and careers. Unfortunately, already at this early age girls report lower ability self-concepts in math than boys—despite their comparable performances in objective math competence tests. In the present study we focus on teachers' beliefs as factors explaining these gender differences. Women's underrepresentation in math and science in academia has recently been explained by the belief held by the environment that success in these domains requires an innate ability that cannot be taught (“brilliance”). In addition, teachers' beliefs regarding their students' mathematical aptitude have also been found to influence students' self-concepts of ability. Here, we study if teachers' beliefs regarding their students' mathematical aptitude and brilliance beliefs may account for gender differences in elementary school students' self-concept of ability in math and thus potentially contribute to entering the gendered path into math and science professions. In a sample of 830 fourth graders (M = 9.14 years old, 49% female) and 56 elementary school teachers from Germany, we assessed teachers' beliefs regarding their students' mathematical aptitude and their belief that children need brilliance to succeed in math as well as children's mathematical ability self-concept and competencies. In line with prior research, boys reported a statistically significantly more positive math ability self-concept (d = 0.50), although boys and girls reached similar scores in a standardized math competence test (d = 0.07). However, multilevel regression analyses revealed that teachers' math brilliance beliefs were not related to the gender gap in students' ability self-concept in expense of girls whereas the gender gap was mediated by teachers' beliefs about their students' mathematical aptitude. These findings suggest that math brilliance beliefs held by important socializers such as teachers might not play a role in explaining gender differences in math-related motivation in elementary school whereas teachers' beliefs about students' math aptitude do. Results are discussed against the background of teacher expectancy effects, developmental changes in elementary school, and cultural differences

Challenge the science-stereotype. Der Einfluss von Technik-Freizeitkursen auf das Naturwissenschaften-Stereotyp von Schülerinnen und Schülern

Der Aufsatz untersucht Aspekte von Kultur, die die individuelle Interessen- und Leistungsentwicklung von Schülerinnen und Schülern prägen ... . Es stehen die Kulturen spezifischer Schulfächer im Vordergrund. Im Aufsatz werden kulturell geteilte Annahmen über mathematisch- naturwissenschaftliche Schulfächer im Unterschied zu geistes- und sozialwissenschaftlichen Disziplinen untersucht; nämlich stereotype Vorstellungen über den Gegenstandsbereich, über Unterrichtsscripts, über typische Lehrpersonen und Schüler/innen, die die jeweiligen Fächer mögen oder ablehnen. (DIPF/Orig.

Review of: Gisela Steins (Hg.): Handbuch Psychologie und Geschlechterforschung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2010.

In 22 Kapiteln veranschaulichen die Autor/-innen dieses Bandes die facettenreiche psychologische Forschung zum Thema Geschlecht. Auch wenn die Zusammenstellung der Beiträge und die Konzeption des Gesamtwerkes nicht an jeder Stelle überzeugen können, bieten zahlreiche Einzelbeiträge einen hervorragenden Überblick über den Beitrag der psychologischen Fächer zu den Fragen der Geschlechterforschung.In 22 chapters, the authors of this volume display the richly faceted aspects of psychological research on the topic of gender. Even if the structure of the chapters and the conception of the volume as a whole are not always convincing, many individual essays offer an excellent overview of the contribution that psychological disciplines make to the problematic of gender research