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Cited by 34Education, Achievement, and GiftednessInnovative Teaching and Learning MethodsPsychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Psychological affordances help explain where a self-transcendent purpose intervention improves performance.

Open access
Reeves, Stephanie L., Henderson, Marlone D., Cohen, Geoffrey L., Steingut, Rebecca R., Hirschi, Quinn, Yeager, David S.·2021·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
DOI 10.1037/pspa0000246PMC PMC7790870
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Abstract

, which are defined as cues that allow individuals to view a lay theory as legitimate and adaptive in that context. The present research directly and experimentally tested this hypothesis using the example of a "purpose for learning" lay theory intervention, which taught the lay theory that school is a place to develop skills that allow one to make progress toward self-transcendent aims. A double-blind 2 (student purpose intervention) × 2 (purpose-affording note) field experiment was conducted in a relatively low-performing public middle school in the United States. Students first received a web-based purpose for learning lay theory intervention (or a control activity), and 2 weeks later attended a class in which an assignment was accompanied by a purpose-affording note that was hand-written by a teacher (or a control note). Results showed that the purpose lay theory intervention increased performance on an English class writing assignment, but only when it was accompanied by a purpose-affording note. Exploratory analyses revealed that the effects of the manipulations were apparent among students who were at greater risk for poor performance in the class: nonnative English-speaking students. Thus short, online lay theory interventions may reduce performance gaps, provided that the contexts afford the opportunity for the proffered lay theory to seem legitimate and adaptive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

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  • For a new perspective from a wise intervention to bring about lasting and meaningful change, the context needs to react to, support, and sustain such a change.

    “but in order for this new perspective to bring about lasting and meaningful change, the context needs to react to, support, and sustain such a change: the seed that the intervention plants needs fertile soil in which to grow”

    From Tackling Educational Inequalities with Social Psychology: Identities, Contexts, and Interventions (2021) · cites this paper as Reeves et al., 2020

    The paper’s discussion of psychological affordances says situational cues help people put an intervention’s new perspective into practice; its discussion of implications says the context’s alignment with the message is critical when scaling interventions. The Conclusion, however, says interventions *may work better* in supportive contexts. It does not establish that such support is necessary for every lasting, meaningful change. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Cohen GL, Garcia J, & Goyer JP (2017). Turning point: Targeted, tailored, and timely psychological intervention In Elliot AJ, Dweck CS, & Yeager DS (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation: Theory and application (pp. 657– 686). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
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  5. Hahn PR, Murray JS, & Carvalho C. (2019). Bayesian regression tree models for causal inference: Regularization, confounding, and heterogeneous effects. ArXiv:1706.09523 [Stat]. Retrieved from http://arxiv.org/abs/1706.09523 · arXiv
  6. Markus HR, & Conner A. (2013). Clash!: How to thrive in a multicultural world. New York, NY: Penguin.
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Authors
Reeves, S. L., Henderson, M. D., Cohen, G. L., Steingut, R. R., Hirschi, Q., & Yeager, D. S.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2021-01
Volume
120
Issue
1
Pages
1-15
ISSN
  • 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1315
DOI
10.1037/pspa0000246
PMC
PMC7790870
OpenAlex
W3043581683
Cited by
34
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1
FWCI
4.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Raikes Foundation
  • University of Chicago
  • William T. Grant Foundation
  • National Science Foundation (HRD 1761179, 1911643)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (10.13039/100000071 R01HD084772-01; P2CHD042849)
  • Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Keywords
lay theories, student performance, performance gap, junior high school students, online intervention
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Child, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Learning, Male, Psychological Theory, Reading, Schools, Students, United States, Writing

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