Document Detail


Incentivizing education: Seeing schoolwork as an investment, not a chore.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20824201     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Most American children expect to attend college but because they do not necessarily spend much time on schoolwork, they may fail to reach their imagined "college-bound" future self. The proposed identity-based motivation model helps explain why this gap occurs: Imagined "college-bound" identities cue school-focused behavior if they are salient and feel relevant to current choice options, not otherwise. Two studies with predominantly low-income and African American middle school students support this prediction. Almost all of the students expect to attend college, but only half describe education-dependent (e.g., law, medicine) adult identities. Having education-dependent rather than education-independent adult identities (e.g., sports, entertainment) predicts better grades over time, controlling for prior grade point average (Study 1). To demonstrate causality, salience of education-dependent versus education-independent adult identities was experimentally manipulated. Children who considered education-dependent adult identities (vs. education-independent ones) were eight times more likely to complete a take-home extra credit assignment (Study 2).
Authors:
Mesmin Destin; Daphna Oyserman
Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of experimental social psychology     Volume:  46     ISSN:  0022-1031     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2010 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-9-8     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0045332     Medline TA:  J Exp Soc Psychol     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  846-849     Citation Subset:  -    
Affiliation:
University of Michigan.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
R01 MH058299-01A2//NIMH NIH HHS

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