If ‘we’ can succeed, ‘I’ can too: Identity-based motivation and gender in the classroom

• Published in: Contemporary educational psychology Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 176 - 185
• Main Authors: Elmore, Kristen C., Oyserman, Daphna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.07.2012; Elsevier; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Academic; Academic Achievement; Adolescence; Biological and medical sciences; Boys; Classrooms; Context Effect; Control Groups; Educational psychology; Females; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender; Gender Differences; Gender identity; Identification (Psychology); Identity; Learner Engagement; Males; Meaning; Motivation; Occupational achievement; Possible selves; Prediction; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Pupil and student. Academic achievement and failure; Research Design; School; Self Concept; Social identity; Student behavior; Student Motivation; Success; Task Analysis; Theories; Adolescence; School; Possible selves; Gender; Academic; Social identity; Human; Academic achievement; Social group; Secondary education; Sex; Social belonging; School environment; Motivation; Adolescent; Performance
• ISSN: 0361-476X; 1090-2384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.05.003

► Gender is psychologically salient and part of children’s identity from an early age. ► Though it feels stable, what it means to be a boy or girl in school is malleable. ► Success feels possible and effort improves if context implies one’s gender succeeds. Gender matters in the classroom, but not in the way people may assume; girls are outperforming boys. Identity-based motivation (IBM) theory explains why: People prefer to act in ways that feel in-line with important social identities such as gender. If a behavior feels identity-congruent, difficulty is interpreted as meaning that the behavior is important, not impossible, but what feels identity-congruent is context-dependent. IBM implies that boys (and girls) scan the classroom for clues about how to be male (or female); school effort will feel worthwhile if successful engagement with school feels gender-congruent, not otherwise. A between-subjects experimental design tested this prediction, manipulating whether gender and success felt congruent, incongruent, or not linked (control). Students in the success is gender-congruent condition described more school-focused possible identities, rated their likely future academic and occupational success higher, and tried harder on an academic task (this latter effect was significant only for boys).