Study authored by Turnaround Senior Research Scientist Catherine Good included in Institute of Education Sciences What Works Clearinghouse

Turnaround is excited to share that “Reducing the Effects of Stereotype Threat on African American College Students by Shaping Theories of Intelligence,” written by Senior Research Scientist, Catherine Good, Joshua Aronson and Carrie B. Fried, was reviewed in the What Works Clearinghouse. The paper met the What Works Clearninghouse standards “without reservations,” which is a tremendous honor. The piece first had to be nominated for inclusion, then vetted by the Institute of Education Sciences to demonstrate that the practice deployed in the study could be a useful intervention in schools.

This study aimed to reduce stereotype threat among African Americans. Students were asked to write letters to fictitious middle school pen pals from disadvantaged backgrounds in which they informed them about the malleability of intelligence and the value of effort. After writing these letters, the college students themselves, a number of whom were black, performed better in their academic courses the following semester than the control group. By extolling the virtues of a growth mindset, the students themselves viewed their own intelligence to be a product of effort, not a fixed trait.

Here is a link to the What Works Clearinghouse Review.
Click here to read the full study, Reducing the Effects of Stereotype Threat on African American College Students by Shaping Theories of Intelligence.