Reappraising academic and social adversity improves middle school students’ academic achievement, behavior, and well-being

Abstract

The period of early adolescence is characterized by dramatic changes, simultaneously affecting physiological, psychological, social, and cognitive development. The physical transition from elementary to middle school can exacerbate the stress and adversity experienced during this critical life stage. Middle school students often struggle to find social and emotional support, and many students experience a decreased sense of belonging in school, diverting students from promising academic and career trajectories. Drawing on psychological insights for promoting belonging, we fielded a brief intervention designed to help students reappraise concerns about fitting in at the start of middle school as both temporary and normal. We conducted a district-wide double-blind experimental study of this approach with middle school students (n = 1,304). Compared with the control condition activities, the intervention reduced sixth-grade disciplinary incidents across the district by 34%, increased attendance by 12%, and reduced the number of failing grades by 18%. Differences in benefits across demographic groups were not statistically significant, but some impacts were descriptively larger for historically underserved minority students and boys. A mediational analysis suggested 80% of long-term intervention effects on students’ grade point averages were accounted for by changes in students’ attitudes and behaviors. These results demonstrate the long-term benefits of psychologically reappraising stressful experiences during critical transitions and the psychological and behavioral mechanisms that support them. Furthermore, this brief intervention is a highly cost-effective and scalable approach that schools may use to help address the troubling decline in positive attitudes and academic outcomes typically accompanying adolescence and the middle school transition.

Using Persuasion science to improve COVID-19 contact tracing

“… I'm not sure if someone told you that other people will be calling, but I work with infection control and my team's job is to talk to people who have been diagnosed with COVID and find out all of the people who they have been in contact with, so we can get those people to quarantine themselves. This is not mandated by law, so you are free not to be involved in this ( Designed to incorporate the tactic of reducing perceived threats to personal autonomy that, using similar wording, doubled request compliance over 32 studies 6 ) , but this process is very important to help us stop the disease from spreading and has been used to stop many outbreaks in the past ( Designed to incorporate the tactic of demonstrating social proof, in which people follow the lead of multiple successful others 7 ). This process is one of the only things we can do to stop the spread of this virus, so your help is essential.…”

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“…PPIs have been used in groups and online, buffering individuals against negative emotions, anxiety, and forms of psychopathology (Aaker et al, 2011;Baños et al, 2017;Riches et al, 2016;Uliaszek et al, 2016). In school contexts, they are also considered good value with the mere cost of printing offsetting disciplinary issues and failing grades (e.g., Borman et al, 2019).…”

Compassion practices

“…When stress is reappraised as helpful, rather than harmful, people experience a physiological challenge response rather than a threat response, which improves performance and well-being. 60,61 Reappraisal is an effective strategy for making use of the physiological energy of stress.…”