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Jenifer JB, Rozek CS, Levine SC, Beilock SL. Effort(less) exam preparation: Math anxiety predicts the avoidance of effortful study strategies. J Exp Psychol Gen 2022; 151:2534-2541. [PMID: 35286113 DOI: 10.1037/xge0001202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Previous research suggests that math anxiety, or feelings of apprehension about math, leads individuals to engage in math avoidance behaviors that negatively impact their future math performance. However, much of the research on this topic explores global avoidance behaviors in situations where math can be avoided entirely rather than more localized avoidance behaviors that occur within a mathematics context. Since the option to completely avoid math is not common in most formal education systems, we investigated how and if math avoidance behaviors manifest for math-anxious high school students enrolled in math courses. Given previous research highlighting the utility of effortful study strategies as well as recent findings identifying a relation between math anxiety and the avoidance of math-related effort, we hypothesized that math anxiety would be associated with decreased planned engagement of effortful study strategies by students and that such effort avoidance would result in worse performance on a high-stakes mathematics exam. We found (N = 190) that the majority of students ranked problem-solving as the most effortful study strategy and that math anxiety was associated with less planned engagement with effortful problem-solving during studying. Moreover, the avoidance of effortful problem-solving engagement partially mediated the association between math anxiety and exam performance, marking it as a potential target for intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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2
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Allen KA, Kern ML, Rozek CS, McInereney D, Slavich GM. Belonging: A Review of Conceptual Issues, an Integrative Framework, and Directions for Future Research. Aust J Psychol 2021; 73:87-102. [PMID: 33958811 DOI: 10.1080/00049530.2021.1883409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Objective A sense of belonging-the subjective feeling of deep connection with social groups, physical places, and individual and collective experiences-is a fundamental human need that predicts numerous mental, physical, social, economic, and behavioural outcomes. However, varying perspectives on how belonging should be conceptualised, assessed, and cultivated has hampered much-needed progress on this timely and important topic. To address these critical issues, we conducted a narrative review that summarizes existing perspectives on belonging, describes a new integrative framework for understanding and studying belonging, and identifies several key avenues for future research and practice. Method We searched relevant databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and ClinicalTrials.gov, for articles describing belonging, instruments for assessing belonging, and interventions for increasing belonging. Results By identifying the core components of belonging, we introduce a new integrative framework for understanding, assessing, and cultivating belonging that focuses on four interrelated components: competencies, opportunities, motivations, and perceptions. Conclusion This integrative framework enhances our understanding of the basic nature and features of belonging, provides a foundation for future interdisciplinary research on belonging and belongingness, and highlights how a robust sense of belonging may be cultivated to improve human health and resilience for individuals and communities worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly-Ann Allen
- Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton Australia.,Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Margaret L Kern
- Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | | | - Dennis McInereney
- Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - George M Slavich
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A
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Abstract
PURPOSE The COVID-19 pandemic presents unique challenges for adolescents because of disruptions in school and social life. We compiled a diverse group (36.8% nonwhite or multiracial) of high schoolers' open-ended responses to the question: "What are your three biggest challenges right now?" (N = 719 adolescents). METHODS Using open and axial coding, we identified N = 1,902 thematic units (M = 2.64, SD = .701) and 14 thematic categories, including mental health, physical health, family, friends, social connection and community, academics, missing important events, socioeconomic issues, routine, COVID rules and adjustment, contraction/exposure to COVID, technology, and future plans. RESULTS Adolescents most commonly reported challenges related to academics (23.7%) but also cited high numbers of challenges in mental (14.8%) and physical (13.2%) health and friend (11.4%) domains. CONCLUSIONS Efforts should focus on helping adolescents cultivate academic skills needed during school closures, providing mental/physical health resources and helping them navigate peer relationships-especially given ongoing remote education and social distancing due to the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha R Scott
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado.
| | - Kenia M Rivera
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
| | - Ella Rushing
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
| | - Erika M Manczak
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
| | - Christopher S Rozek
- Department of Education, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Jenalee R Doom
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
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Scott SR, Rivera KM, Rushing E, Manczak EM, Rozek CS, Doom JR. "I Hate This": A Qualitative Analysis of Adolescents' Self-Reported Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Adolesc Health 2021; 68:262-269. [PMID: 33288454 PMCID: PMC7867622 DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 10/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The COVID-19 pandemic presents unique challenges for adolescents because of disruptions in school and social life. We compiled a diverse group (36.8% nonwhite or multiracial) of high schoolers' open-ended responses to the question: "What are your three biggest challenges right now?" (N = 719 adolescents). METHODS Using open and axial coding, we identified N = 1,902 thematic units (M = 2.64, SD = .701) and 14 thematic categories, including mental health, physical health, family, friends, social connection and community, academics, missing important events, socioeconomic issues, routine, COVID rules and adjustment, contraction/exposure to COVID, technology, and future plans. RESULTS Adolescents most commonly reported challenges related to academics (23.7%) but also cited high numbers of challenges in mental (14.8%) and physical (13.2%) health and friend (11.4%) domains. CONCLUSIONS Efforts should focus on helping adolescents cultivate academic skills needed during school closures, providing mental/physical health resources and helping them navigate peer relationships-especially given ongoing remote education and social distancing due to the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha R Scott
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado.
| | - Kenia M Rivera
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
| | - Ella Rushing
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
| | - Erika M Manczak
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
| | - Christopher S Rozek
- Department of Education, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Jenalee R Doom
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
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5
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Schaeffer MW, Rozek CS, Maloney EA, Berkowitz T, Levine SC, Beilock SL. Elementary school teachers' math anxiety and students' math learning: A large-scale replication. Dev Sci 2021; 24:e13080. [PMID: 33382186 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A solid foundation in math is important for children's long-term academic success. Many factors influence children's math learning-including the math content students are taught in school, the quality of their instruction, and the math attitudes of students' teachers. Using a large and diverse sample of first-grade students (n = 551), we conducted a large-scale replication of a previous study (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2010, 1860; n = 117), which found that girls in classes with highly math anxious teachers learned less math during the school year, as compared to girls whose math teachers were less anxious about math. With a larger sample, we found a negative relation between teachers' math anxiety and students' math achievement for both girls and boys, even after accounting for teachers' math ability and children's beginning of year math knowledge, replicating and extending those previous results. Our findings strengthen the support for the hypothesis that teachers' math anxiety is one factor that undermines children's math learning and could push students off-track during their initial exposure to math in early elementary school.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Sian L Beilock
- Barnard College, Columbia University and University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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6
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Pantoja N, Schaeffer MW, Rozek CS, Beilock SL, Levine SC. Children’s Math Anxiety Predicts Their Math Achievement Over and Above a Key Foundational Math Skill. Journal of Cognition and Development 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2020.1832098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Choe KW, Jenifer JB, Rozek CS, Berman MG, Beilock SL. Calculated avoidance: Math anxiety predicts math avoidance in effort-based decision-making. Sci Adv 2019; 5:eaay1062. [PMID: 31799398 PMCID: PMC6867883 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aay1062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 09/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Math anxiety-negative feelings toward math-is hypothesized to be associated with the avoidance of math-related activities such as taking math courses and pursuing STEM careers. However, there is little experimental evidence for the math anxiety-avoidance link. Such evidence is important for formulating how to break this relationship. We hypothesize that math avoidance emerges when one perceives the costs of effortful math engagement to outweigh its benefits and that this perception depends on individual differences in math anxiety. To test this hypothesis, we developed an effort-based decision-making task in which participants chose between solving easy, low-reward problems and hard, high-reward problems in both math and nonmath contexts. Higher levels of math anxiety were associated with a tendency to select easier, low-reward problems over harder, high-reward math (but not word) problems. Addressing this robust math anxiety-avoidance link has the potential to increase interest and success in STEM fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyoung Whan Choe
- Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | | | - Marc G. Berman
- Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Grossman Institute for Neuroscience, Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Sian L. Beilock
- Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- President, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Schaeffer MW, Rozek CS, Berkowitz T, Levine SC, Beilock SL. Disassociating the relation between parents' math anxiety and children's math achievement: Long-term effects of a math app intervention. J Exp Psychol Gen 2018; 147:1782-1790. [PMID: 30284862 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Although parents' fears and worries about math-termed math anxiety-are negatively associated with their children's math achievement in early elementary school, access to an educational math app that 1st-grade children and parents use together can ameliorate this relation. Here we show that children of higher-math-anxious parents learn less math during 1st-3rd grades, but this is not the case when families are given a math app (even after app use markedly decreases). Reducing the link between parents' math anxiety and their positive attitudes about math for their children helped to explain the sustained benefit of the math app. These findings indicate that interventions involving parents and children together can have powerful lasting effects on children's academic achievement and suggest that changes in parents' expectations for their children's potential for success in math, and the value they place on this success, play a role in these sustained effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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Borman GD, Grigg J, Rozek CS, Hanselman P, Dewey NA. Self-Affirmation Effects Are Produced by School Context, Student Engagement With the Intervention, and Time: Lessons From a District-Wide Implementation. Psychol Sci 2018; 29:1773-1784. [DOI: 10.1177/0956797618784016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-affirmation shows promise for reducing racial academic-achievement gaps; recently, however, mixed results have raised questions about the circumstances under which the self-affirmation intervention produces lasting benefits at scale. In this follow-up to the first district-wide scale-up of a self-affirmation intervention, we examined whether initial academic benefits in middle school carried over into high school, we tested for differential impacts moderated by school context, and we assessed the causal effects of student engagement with the self-affirming writing prompted by the intervention. Longitudinal results indicate that self-affirmation reduces the growth of the racial achievement gap by 50% across the high school transition ( N = 920). Additionally, impacts are greatest within school contexts that cued stronger identity threats for racial minority students, and student engagement is causally associated with benefits. Our results imply the potential for powerful, lasting academic impacts from self-affirmation interventions if implemented broadly; however, these effects will depend on both contextual and individual factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey D. Borman
- Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis, University of Wisconsin–Madison
| | | | | | - Paul Hanselman
- Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine
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Hanselman P, Rozek CS, Grigg J, Borman GD. New Evidence on Self-Affirmation Effects and Theorized Sources of Heterogeneity from Large-Scale Replications. J Educ Psychol 2017; 109:405-424. [PMID: 28450753 PMCID: PMC5403146 DOI: 10.1037/edu0000141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Brief, targeted self-affirmation writing exercises have recently been offered as a way to reduce racial achievement gaps, but evidence about their effects in educational settings is mixed, leaving ambiguity about the likely benefits of these strategies if implemented broadly. A key limitation in interpreting these mixed results is that they come from studies conducted by different research teams with different procedures in different settings; it is therefore impossible to isolate whether different effects are the result of theorized heterogeneity, unidentified moderators, or idiosyncratic features of the different studies. We addressed this limitation by conducting a well-powered replication of self-affirmation in a setting where a previous large-scale field experiment demonstrated significant positive impacts, using the same procedures. We found no evidence of effects in this replication study and estimates were precise enough to reject benefits larger than an effect size of 0.10. These null effects were significantly different from persistent benefits in the prior study in the same setting, and extensive testing revealed that currently theorized moderators of self-affirmation effects could not explain the difference. These results highlight the potential fragility of self-affirmation in educational settings when implemented widely and the need for new theory, measures, and evidence about the necessary conditions for self-affirmation success.
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Hyde JS, Canning EA, Rozek CS, Clarke E, Hulleman CS, Harackiewicz JM. The Role of Mothers' Communication in Promoting Motivation for Math and Science Course-Taking in High School. J Res Adolesc 2017; 27:49-64. [PMID: 28498526 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In the context of concerns about American youths' failure to take advanced math and science (MS) courses in high school, we examined mothers' communication with their adolescent about taking MS courses. At ninth grade, U.S. mothers (n = 130) were interviewed about their responses to hypothetical questions from their adolescent about the usefulness of algebra, geometry, calculus, biology, chemistry, and physics. Responses were coded for elaboration and making personal connections to the adolescent. The number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses taken in 12th grade was obtained from school records. Mothers' use of personal connections predicted adolescents' MS interest and utility value, as well as actual MS course-taking. Parents can play an important role in motivating their adolescent to take MS courses.
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Berkowitz T, Schaeffer MW, Rozek CS, Maloney EA, Levine SC, Beilock SL. Response to Comment on “Math at home adds up to achievement in school”. Science 2016; 351:1161. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aad8555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2015] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Frank presents an alternative interpretation of our data, yet reports largely similar results to those in our original Report. A critical difference centers on how to interpret and test interaction effects. Frank finds no mistakes in our analyses. We stand by our original conclusions of meaningful effects of the Bedtime Learning Together (BLT) math app on children’s math achievement.
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Rozek CS, Hyde JS, Svoboda RC, Hulleman CS, Harackiewicz JM. Gender differences in the effects of a utility-value intervention to help parents motivate adolescents in mathematics and science. Journal of Educational Psychology 2015. [DOI: 10.1037/a0036981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Abstract
The pipeline toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) begins to leak in high school, when some students choose not to take advanced mathematics and science courses. We conducted a field experiment testing whether a theory-based intervention that was designed to help parents convey the importance of mathematics and science courses to their high school–aged children would lead them to take more mathematics and science courses in high school. The three-part intervention consisted of two brochures mailed to parents and a Web site, all highlighting the usefulness of STEM courses. This relatively simple intervention led students whose parents were in the experimental group to take, on average, nearly one semester more of science and mathematics in the last 2 years of high school, compared with the control group. Parents are an untapped resource for increasing STEM motivation in adolescents, and the results demonstrate that motivational theory can be applied to this important pipeline problem.
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