Possible selves and academic outcomes: How and when possible selves impel action.
Abstract
Puzzled by the gap between academic attainment and academic possible selves (APSs) among low-income and minority teens, the authors hypothesized that APSs alone are not enough unless linked with plausible strategies, made to feel like "true" selves and connected with social identity. A brief intervention to link APSs with strategies, create a context in which social and personal identities felt congruent, and change the meaning associated with difficulty in pursuing APSs (n = 141 experimental, n = 123 control low-income 8th graders) increased success in moving toward APS goals: academic initiative, standardized test scores, and grades improved; and depression, absences, and in-school misbehavior declined. Effects were sustained over a 2-year follow-up and were mediated by change in possible selves.
Cite this
Daphna Oyserman, Deborah I. Bybee, Kathy Terry (2006). Possible selves and academic outcomes: How and when possible selves impel action.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.188
@article{daphna2006possible,
title = {Possible selves and academic outcomes: How and when possible selves impel action.},
author = {Oyserman, Daphna and Bybee, Deborah I. and Terry, Kathy},
year = {2006},
journal = {Journal of Personality and Social Psychology},
doi = {10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.188}
}Citations in this library
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