Recursive processes in self-affirmation: Intervening to close the minority achievement gap (2009)
It seems too early to be talking about interventions. Maybe too early for the film’s sequence, but not for society.
Cohen et al. conducted a 2-year follow-up to their study of middle school students. The researchers implemented an intervention (Cohen et al. 2006), in an effort to bridge the achievement gap between African American and European American students. Their goal was to interrupt the negative psychological effects that stereotypes can ultimately have on the academic performance of African American students.
The researchers premised their study on work that shows stress as an inhibiting factor in academic performance. All students deal with stress, but only minority students deal with the stress related to racial stereotypes. This is an especially pertinent observation because of the wide achievement gap between African American and European American students.
Cohen et al. believed that by breaking this vicious cycle (stereotypes = stress = poorer performance = stereotypes) they could beneficially affect the academic outcomes and psychological states of middle school children.
The intervention consisted of self-affirmation writing exercises for 7th graders (2006). Through a series of assignments, students wrote about “the personal importance of a self-defining value,” “such as relationships with friends and family or musical interests…” The purpose was to reduce psychological threat and stress, otherwise freeing the students to perform better.
The results, compared with the control group and pre-intervention scores, showed an improvement in the grade point averages of the African American students. European American students were unaffected (2006).
This 2-year follow-up showed that an uncomplicated intervention can have long-term effects. African American students’ GPAs benefited from the intervention, as seen two years later. Declines in the GPA were also less steep for affirmed African American students than for non-affirmed (control group). Again, no effect was seen in European American students.
Another finding shows not only that the effect of intervention was strongest in African American students in the experimental condition, but especially in those who had poorer academic performances before the intervention. In other words, because the intervention interrupts a negative feedback loop, it’s effects are most fruitful in lower-performing students—more ground to make up.
Relevance to documentary: Although this study highlights the importance of early intervention, it also reminds me that discrimination occurs everywhere and at any time. The earlier the occurrence, the more detrimental the effects. Students who deal with the stress of discrimination and racism have poorer outcomes in school, which goes a long way in preventing income and racial equality and contributing to the negative feedback loop of racism in society.
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