Research on the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) indicates that students evaluate themselves more favorably when they have high rank in low rank schools than low rank in high rank schools. Nonetheless, it remains unclear how the detrimental effects of being a little fish in a big pond might be reduced. To address this gap, we conducted two…

Teachers' judgements and interactions may be influenced by the backgrounds of their students, yet research shows that they may be reluctant to accept evidence relating to such biases. We investigated teachers' perceptions of their own and others' biases and explored whether a brief self-affirmation manipulation--which tends to reduce defensive…

Math anxiety has significant implications for math achievement and math-related career paths. Previous research on antecedents of math anxiety primarily focused on individual factors, while the role of the contextual effect of school has received limited attention. This study sought to address this gap by examining the effect of school-average…

Despite some research showing the relation of academic contingent self-worth to academic self-handicapping, evidence for how to improve the situation is limited. To address this research gap, this experimental study (N = 560) examined whether failure mindsets moderated the association between these two variables. Participants were randomly…

Peers become especially influential in adolescence, a developmental period marked by a nadir in school motivation. In the classroom, adolescents often engage in social comparison with their peers to ascertain their own academic competence, which can have substantial effects on their motivation and learning. The present experimental study examined…

In an on-line format, the current research measured students' (N = 453) social identifications as "university students" and as "university customers" to predict their self-reported engagement in deep and surface learning, attitudes toward cheating, intent to continue their studies, and their psychological well-being (e.g.,…

This study was interested in the level of correspondence between high school students' self-perceptions of academic competence and achievement. The objectives were to (a) identify different profiles of students in terms of correspondence between perceptions of general academic competence and achievement in language arts and mathematics, (b)…

Bystanders' helping behaviors are essential to mitigate bullying and its consequences, although bystanders do not always intervene on behalf of those who are victimized. One study (N = 170) tested, experimentally, the impact of different forms of common identities (one-group and dual-identity vs. control) on youth (aged between 12 and 19 years)…

Past laboratory work has shown that exposure to similar peers who represent success in STEM (i.e., math-talented female peer role models) can bolster female college students' math performance and STEM experiences. What is less clear is how students at intersecting identities of gender, ethnicity, and math identification differ in their similarity…

Nerd-genius stereotypes about people in the physical sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (pSTEM) are barriers to getting many adolescent girls interested in pSTEM. Endorsing these stereotypes may undermine youths' pSTEM identity especially when they are incongruent with their self-concepts--possibly more likely for girls than boys.…

Polygenic scores for educational attainment and related variables, such as IQ and "mathematical ability" are now readily available via direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies. Some researchers are even proposing the use of genetic tests in educational settings via "precision education," in which individualized student…

Teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders face unique challenges in the classroom that are often not addressed in teacher preparation, which may result in diminished outcomes for teachers and students. The Integrated Literacy Study Groups professional development was designed to support the needs of teachers of students with or…

Stimulating outperformance has been increasingly emphasized in educational policies. Although personally satisfying, outperformance can also lead to interpersonal strain, which is often overlooked in the educational excellence discourse. Exline and Lobel (1999, "Psychological Bulletin, 125"(3), 307-337) coined Sensitivity about being the…

The current study investigated the relationship between regulatory focus, perfectionism, and school burnout. Regulatory focus theory posits two self-regulatory styles: promotion focus and prevention focus. Similarly, perfectionism also consists of two components: perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. Taken together, promotion…

Impostorism is characterized by feelings of self-doubt regarding one's competence, ability, and deservingness of past achievements, despite evidence of competence. Impostorism has been shown to be associated with numerous adverse academic and psychosocial outcomes. However, there is limited research investigating these relationships within the…