Middle class and marginal? Socioeconomic status, stigma, and self-regulation at an elite university

In four studies, the authors investigated the proposal that in the context of an elite university, individuals from relatively lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds possess a stigmatized identity and, as such, experience (a) concerns regarding their academic fit and (b) self-regulatory depletion as a result of managing these concerns. Study 1, a correlational study, revealed the predicted associations between SES, concerns about academic fit, and self-regulatory strength. Results from Studies 2 and 3 suggested that self-presentation involving the academic domain is depleting for lower (but not higher) SES students: After a self-presentation task about academic achievement, lower SES students consumed more candy (Study 2) and exhibited poorer Stroop performance (Study 3) relative to their higher SES peers; in contrast, the groups did not differ after discussing a nonacademic topic (Study 3). Study 4 revealed the potential for eliminating the SES group difference in depletion via a social comparison manipulation. Taken together, these studies support the hypothesis that managing concerns about marginality can have deleterious consequences for self-regulatory resources.     

Counselor perceptions of students who vary in gender and socioeconomic status

The present study experimentally examined how counselor perceptions of hypothetical students are affected by student gender and socioeconomic status (SES). Results showed that counselors perceive students from low SES backgrounds as having less promising futures and lower math abilities. Counselors also rated female students as lower in math abilities than male students. Our results indicate that institutions should consider providing more school counselor training to reduce bias based on gender and SES.

The Role of Socioeconomic Status in SAT-Grade Relationships and in College Admissions Decisions

This article examines the role of socioeconomic status (SES) in the relationships among college admissions-test scores, secondary school grades, and subsequent academic performance. Scores on the SAT (a test widely used in the admissions process in the United States), secondary school grades, college grades, and SES measures from 143,606 students at 110 colleges and universities were examined, and results of these analyses were compared with results obtained using a 41-school data set including scores from the prior version of the SAT and using University of California data from prior research on the role of SES. In all the data sets, the SAT showed incremental validity over secondary school grades in predicting subsequent academic performance, and this incremental relationship was not substantially affected by controlling for SES. The SES of enrolled students was very similar to that of specific schools' applicant pools, which suggests that the barrier to college for low-SES students in the United States is a lower rate of entering the college admissions process, rather than exclusion on the part of colleges.     

Thoughts about a successful future encourage action in the face of challenge

College environments can put lower socioeconomic status (SES) female students at particular risk of withdrawing during challenging academic situations. However, thinking about reaching a successful future identity may encourage these students to take action rather than withdraw. In a laboratory experiment, we tested the hypothesis that imagining a successful future identity would help lower SES female students to actively and successfully confront challenging tasks (i.e., a mock student–faculty interaction and difficult academic test). As predicted, when future identities were cued rather than past identities, lower SES female students demonstrated greater action readiness. Specifically, they showed more expansive body posture during the mock interaction and more attempts to complete the academic test, which led to better performance. The motivation to take action among higher SES and male students, who are at lower risk of vulnerability in college environments, was not influenced by future identities.     

Predicting College Achievement of Students from Farm Backgrounds

Academic achievement in various types of colleges was studied for a statewide population of college freshmen from farm backgrounds. As a group, farm freshmen obtained lower scholastic aptitude test scores, had achieved higher grades in high school, and continued to achieve higher grades in college than did freshmen from other backgrounds. They did not appear to be handicapped by their lower verbal test scores. Patterns of academic achievement among farm students did not differ in most of the different types of colleges studied. Differing patterns were found among those farm students who attended certain colleges at the state university.     

Quick to the draw: How suspect race and socioeconomic status influences shooting decisions

We examined the role of both suspect race and socioeconomic status (SES) on shooting decisions during a first‐person shooter task. Two studies revealed that both suspect race and SES influenced shooting decisions. Non‐Black participants shot armed high‐SES Black suspects faster than armed high‐SES White suspects and responded “don't shoot” faster for unarmed high‐SES White suspects than unarmed high‐SES Black suspects. No race differences appeared in the low‐SES conditions—responses resembled high‐SES Black suspect. Signal detection, misses, and false alarm analyses revealed participants erred toward not shooting high‐SES White suspects. The current studies draw attention to considering both race and SES during shooting decisions.     

Effect of socioeconomic status on general and at-risk high school boys' willingness to accept same-sex peers with LD

Thirty-eight educationally successful and 33 educationally at-risk high school boys from varying SES backgrounds participated in a study to determine their willingness to allow same-sex peers with LD to participate in activities in the school, out-of-school, and both contexts. Kruskal Wallis One-way Analysis of Valance of Ranks results indicated that, regardless of academic designation, boys from low SES backgrounds were more willing than their counterparts to accept peers with LD. Significant differences among SES groups were found in several activities performed in the out-of-school contexts, especially those with emotional or cognitive connotations. Discussion addresses the importance of training classroom teachers and general education students in maintaining an inclusive environment.     

Actual,ideal, and expected relatedness with parents across and within cultures

Differences in actual, ideal, and expected relatedness with mothers and fathers were explored across two cultural groups (i.e., university students from the U.S. and Turkey) in Study 1, and across two socioeconomic status (SES) groups (i.e., high school students from the upper and lower SES in Turkey) in Study 2. In both studies associations of perceived relatedness with individualistic and collectivistic value orientations as well as with self‐construal types were also explored. Results indicated cultural groups to be quite similar in actual relatedness, but to differ in expected and ideal relatedness, with Turks reporting more relatedness. In Turkey, lower SES adolescents reported more relatedness in ideal and actual conditions than upper SES adolescents, while they did not differ in expected relatedness. Results involving self‐types and value orientations pointed to both cross‐cultural similarities and within‐cultural diversity in relatedness. Theoretical implications of the differential impact of culture, SES, self‐construals, and value orientations on actual, ideal, and expected relatedness are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social experiences and daily routines of African American infants in different socioeconomic contexts

Sixty-two 3- to 4-month-old African American infants from lower, middle, and upper socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds were each observed in naturalistic contexts for 12 hr. The social experiences of infants in the 3 groups were similar in many ways: Infants from all backgrounds slept and were vocalized to for similar amounts of time. However, infants in the upper SES families engaged in more self-play, vocalized less, fussed less, had fewer but longer naps, and fewer but longer bouts of social interaction than did infants in the middle- and lower SES families. Infants in the upper SES families also received more verbal affection and soothing responses to their fussing and crying than did the other infants, whereas infants in the lower SES families interacted more with extended kin than did infants in the upper SES families. These results underscore the need to study African American families in a variety of socioeconomic contexts because families in more advantaged circumstances may greatly differ from those who are more disadvantaged, especially in terms of reliance on extended kin as caregivers.     

School socio-economic status and student socio-academic achievement goals in upper secondary contexts

In recent years motivational researchers have spent considerable time examining race/ethnicity and gender differences in academic and social achievement goals, but little time examining the influence of socioeconomic status (SES). This lack of attention is surprising given that both student motivation and SES have been shown to predict academic attainment. This study surveyed the academic and social achievement goal orientations of 16–17 year old students (n = 130) attending two schools with markedly different socioeconomic profiles. Analyses showed significant differences between the schools on the academic achievement goal scales, with students at the low SES school less likely to endorse adaptive combinations of mastery and performance goals than their high SES counterparts. Students who did not expect to finish senior high school also endorsed social goals that may manifest as disruptive behaviours in the classroom. The findings suggest that SES may influence the adoption of academic achievement goals but not necessarily social achievement goals. Implications for theory and research are discussed.     

Type A behavior,academic aspirations,and academic success1

This study investigated the link between the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern and attainment of success in an academic setting. First semester college freshmen were administered 3 sets of questionnaires during the course of the fall semester that were designed to assess academic activities, outside responsibilities, and importance of academic success. Indices of actual academic performance were obtained from university records. The hypotheses that Type A students (1) would be involved in more activities, (2) place greater importance on academic success, and (3) actually achieve higher performance levels than Type B students, were confirmed. In addition, the results found that compared to Type B, the Type A students perceived more parental pressure, came from higher SES families, and were more clear as to what was expected of them. Implications for further research are discussed.     

School counselors as gatekeepers: guidance in poor versus affluent neighborhoods

Previous studies reveal that career guidance is usually based on a mixture of meritocratic criteria (academic ability and achievement) and nonmeritocratic considerations (students' SES and their social labeling by counselors). The present study argues that school counselors in affluent neighborhoods emphasize the meritocratic criteria, while those in poorer neighborhoods tend to focus on the more nonmeritocratic. This hypothesis is examined in a random sample of 210 male, primary school graduates from the 10 state schools of an Israeli town, 125 of whom are from schools in affluent neighborhoods, and 85 from schools in poorer neighborhoods. A path analysis of determinants of guidance to specific high school tracks shows that students' ethnicity and labeling as problematic directly affect guidance by counselors only in the poor neighborhoods. The effect of students' "problems" is due to their being labeled as problematic with respect to psychological or physical attributes rather than to behavioral problems at school. The findings are subsequently interpreted as reflecting a patronizing attitude toward lower status students by counselors. Additional studies which may further elaborate the determinants of guidance in poor versus affluent neighborhoods are proposed.     

College freshman attitudes toward cheating

This article proposed to study characteristics of students with lenient attitudes toward cheating and to identify the types of colleges that enroll these students. By using a sample of 1,500 students, it was found that those with lenient attitudes toward academic cheating shared similar attitudes about cheating in government and industry. Furthermore, these students tended to be less academically motivated, have fewer artistic-literary interests, and come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. From the use of a sample of 119 institutions, it was found that those enrolling students with strong attitudes against cheating were generally more selective, all-female, and small in size.     

Natural Mentoring Relationships and the Adjustment to College among Underrepresented Students

This study investigated associations between natural mentoring relationships and academic performance via psychological distress among underrepresented college students attending an elite predominantly White institution (PWI). Specifically, this study explored whether the quantity of natural mentors possessed upon college entry, the retention of natural mentors across the first year of college, and overall changes in the number of natural mentors possessed during the first year of college predicted improvements in students' semester grade point averages (GPAs) via reductions in psychological distress. Participants in this study included 336 first‐year undergraduate students attending a selective PWI. Students were eligible to participate in this study if they were first‐generation college students, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, or students from underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups. Results of this study indicated that a greater number of retained natural mentoring relationships across the first year of college were associated with improvements in students' GPAs via reductions in symptoms of depression from the Fall to Spring semester. The results of this study suggest that institutional efforts to support the maintenance of preexisting mentoring relationships may be an effective approach to promoting the academic success of underrepresented college students during the first year of college.     

General and specific self-esteem in late adolescent students: race x gender x SES effects

This study assessed the effects of gender, race, and social class on the general and area-specific self-esteem of high school students. One hundred and ninety-five high school students served as subjects in a 2 (gender: male, female) X 2 (race: black, white) X 3 (social class: low, middle and high) factorial design. The Rosenberg General Self-Esteem, the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept, and the Brookover Self-Concept of Ability and School Achievement scales were the measures of either general or specific self-esteem. Females, whites, and lower social class adolescents were consistently lower in their self-esteem scores than were males, blacks, and upper social class teenagers, respectively. White females were found to be lower in general and happiness self-esteem than all other gender by race subgroups. High SES white students were lower on the happiness and behavior self-esteem measures than black students and white middle-class students. Black males and white females were less confident in their school ability than were black females and white males.     

Developmental associations between bilingual experience and inhibitory control trajectories in Head Start children

Children from lower socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds tend to be at‐risk for executive function (EF) impairments by the time they are in preschool, placing them at an early disadvantage for academic success. The present study examined the potentially protective role of bilingual experience on the development of inhibitory control (IC) in 1146 Head Start preschoolers who were followed for an 18‐month period during the transition to kindergarten as part of the longitudinal Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2009 study. Using three waves of data, we predicted individual variation in developmental trajectories of IC for three groups that differed in bilingual experience—English monolinguals, Spanish‐English bilinguals, and a group of children who transitioned from being Spanish monolingual to Spanish‐English bilinguals during the course of the study. Compared to their English monolingual peers, bilingual children from Spanish‐speaking homes showed higher IC performance at Head Start entry, as well as steeper IC growth over time. Children who were Spanish monolingual at the beginning of Head Start showed the lowest IC performance at baseline. However, their rate of IC growth exceeded that of children who remained English monolingual and did not differ from that of their peers who entered Head Start being bilingual. These results suggest that acquiring bilingualism and continued bilingual experience are associated with more rapid IC development during the transition from preschool to kindergarten in children from lower SES backgrounds.     

Analyses of Student Demonstrators Involved in the Overthrow of the Greek Military Dictatorship

Data collected in a survey of Greek college students were reanalyzed to compare personality, attitudes, and social class scores of students at colleges which did and did not instigate demonstrations and riots during the 1973 overthrow of the military dictatorship. Results indicate that at colleges where demonstrations occurred, males had higher needs for affiliation and lower needs for achievement and order than males at other colleges. Demonstrators indicated general dissatisfaction with many aspects of their university programs and came from higher social class backgrounds than students who did not demonstrate. Results are briefly compared with analyses of student demonstrators in the United States.     

Qualitative insights into the relationship between socioeconomic status and students’ academic achievement goals

Recent research using quantitative methodologies and an emerging social psychological theory of socioeconomic status (SES) has found an association between students’ SES and their academic achievement goals. As a new area of research in the achievement goal tradition, there has been little investigation of the contextual influences upon particular goal orientations in divergent SES contexts. To explore these influences, focus groups were conducted with 24 secondary school students aged 16–17 years attending a high and a low SES school in New South Wales, Australia. These teenagers were approaching a ‘developmental deadline’ which required immediate decisions about future work and education pathways. As such, they could be experiencing a period of heightened contextual influences. Directed content analysis of the focus groups observed the broad distinctions in achievement goals seen in previous quantitative studies. However, the analysis elucidated some of the ways in which norms and values in different SES contexts influenced the adoption of particular goal orientations. In some cases, the same orientation had markedly different contextual influences stemming from students’ SES backgrounds. From these exploratory findings, we argue for further research into the factors which influence the adoption of different achievement goals by students from different SES backgrounds.     

Extracurricular Participation and Course Performance in the Middle Grades: A Study of Low-Income,Urban Youth

The transition to middle/junior high school is associated with declines in students’ academic performance, especially among low‐income, urban youth. Developmental psychologists posit such declines are due to a poor fit between the needs of early adolescents—industry, identity, and autonomy—and the environment of their new schools. Extracurricular participation during these years may act as a buffer for youth, providing a setting for development outside the classroom. The current study examines participation within and across activity settings among low‐income, urban youth in New York City over this transition. Using the Adolescent Pathways Project data, this study explores how such participation relates to course performance. We find that a large percentage of youth are minimally or uninvolved in extracurricular activities during these years; that participation varies within youth across time; and that the association between participation and course performance varies by activity setting. Youth who participate frequently in community or athletic settings or have high participation in two or more settings are found to have higher GPAs in the year in which they participate and youth who participate frequently in the religious setting are found to have lower GPAs. High participation in more than two settings may be detrimental.     

Exploring University Counselors' Perceptions of Distinctions Between Gifted Black and Gifted White Students

This study examined the perceptions of a sample of university counselors relative to social, cultural, and psychological barriers to achievement among gifted Black and gifted White students. Ninety-three counselors at institutions of higher education throughout the nation participated in the study by responding to a mailed survey questionnaire. Comparisons were made relative to counselors' demographic variables (ethnicity, gender, multicultural training, and geographic locale). The results indicate that the university counselors sampled disagreed with or were undecided about the special dilemmas confronting gifted learners. Moreover, most counselors perceived that gifted Black and gifted White students experience social, cultural, and psychological problems in the same way. The study concludes with recommendations for university counselors working with gifted students in general and gifted Black students in particular