Mesmin Destin

A growing number of social psychological studies provide new insight into understanding how a student’s socioeconomic status (SES) of origin influences educational experiences and outcomes. These studies also yield implications for subtle, research-based strategies to reframe how students experience their socioeconomic contexts in order to increase academic motivation and engagement. Destin's talk will first describe a series of studies that illustrates how information and messages about opportunity in society and overcoming challenges can be utilized to increase student motivation during adolescence. A second series of studies examines the effectiveness of leveraging other social agents in students’ lives, like parents and near peers, to convey motivating identity-based messages. The research also extends into higher education and reveals potential implications for broader notions of health, well-being, and public policy that will be discussed.