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Turkish-origin migrants on average show lower academic performance than Germans. This achievement gap cannot be fully explained by socio-economic differences between the groups. Negative competence stereotypes about Turkish-origin students predict the causal attributions that German preservice teachers make for migrants' academic underperformance. Specifically, the more strongly preservice teachers endorse negative competence stereotypes, the more likely they are to attribute academic underperformance of Turkish-origin migrants to the migrants themselves and less to the educational system. Stereotype threat theory posits that the activation of stereotypes in test situations can reduce the performance of members of the negatively stereotyped group. Based on this theory, we propose that negative stereotypes provide a social-psychological explanation for the academic underperformance of Turkish-origin migrants compared to Germans. A series of six experiments conducted within a research project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research investigated stereotype threat effects for Turkish-origin migrants. Two new moderator variables were identified: implicit theory of intelligence and vertical collectivism. A meta-analysis of the six studies showed a small, non-significant mean effect for stereotype threat main effects, but a significant medium-sized mean effect for moderated stereotype threat effects. Limitations and practical implications of stereotype threat effects in educational settings are discussed.

The integration of ethnic minority youth can only be successful if they are motivated to establish and maintain social relationships in important institutions such as school. At the same time, worries about negative stereotypes about one's ethnic group can undermine ethnic minority students' motivation to approach others. In the present study, we tested whether social identity threat predicts ethnic minority adolescents' social approach motivation via reduced sense of belonging. We also examined whether multiple social identities (i.e., high endorsement of ethnic and national idenitiy) buffer against the negative effects of social identity threat. In a sample of 426 ethnic minority students from 36 9th -grade classes in Germany, social identity threat was indirectly related to social approach motivation via reduced sense of belonging to the school and class. The interplay of students' ethnic and national identity moderated the relationship of social identity threat and sense of belonging. The relationship was particularly negative for students who endorsed either ethnic or national identity. However, it was less negative for students with integrated multiple social identities and non-significant for students who identified neither with the ethnic nor the national group. Results generalized for social approach motivation towards ethnic majority and minority classmates. These patterns were only found for social approach motivation in face-to-face contact situations, but not in online situations. We discuss these findings in light of the literature on social identity threat and multiple social identities. Practical implications include measures to foster students' sense of belonging and to reduce social identity threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study (N = 553; 8th and 11th grade students; 52% female) we investigated students' enjoyment, pride, anxiety, anger, and boredom while completing homework (homework emotions), and contrasted these emotions with those experienced during class (classroom emotions). Both homework emotions and classroom emotions were assessed separately for the domains of mathematics, physics, German, and English. Our hypotheses were based on propositions of the control-value theory of achievement emotions (Pekrun, 2006), Marsh and Ayotte's (2003) differential distinctiveness hypothesis, and previous empirical findings. In line with our assumptions, observed correlations between homework emotions and classroom emotions suggested that the emotions experienced in the two settings should be assessed separately. Within domains, both homework emotions and classroom emotions showed clear linkages with students' academic self-concept and achievement outcomes, with self-concept being slightly more strongly related to classroom emotions. Between-domain relations of emotions were significantly stronger for homework emotions as compared to classroom emotions, likely due to the relative situational homogeneity of homework settings across domains. Further, between-domain relations for emotions in both settings were weaker in 11th grade students, whereas within-domain relations did not differ as a function of age. Implications for research and educational practice are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

How immigrants define their ethnicity and nationality is relevant for integration: They can identify with their ethnic group, the receiving society, and a combination of both. A longitudinal study with elementary-school children with migration background (N = 200; age 9- 10) in Germany investigated the predictors and stability of ethnic and national identities. Ethnic identity was more highly endorsed than national identity. National and dual identities were compatible (i.e., positively related), whereas ethnic identity was compartmentalized (i.e., unrelated to national and dual identities). Contact with Germans predicted national identity over time, but not vice versa. Thus, the study contributes to a better understanding of multiple social identities of young ethnic minority children in light of social psychological theories of social identity development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of immigrants and children born to immigrant parents in Europe has risen steadily. Related to debates as to how best integrate immigrants, research points to the importance of investigating the structure as well as antecedents and consequences of immigrants' multiple identities. Here, we explore the relationship between three different identities endorsed by adolescent Turkish-origin immigrants in Germany: ethnic identity (i.e., Turkish identity), national identity (i.e., German identity), and dual identity (i.e., German-Turkish identity). In two studies, Turkish-origin adolescents in Germany (Study 1: N = 91, age: M = 15.18, SD = 0.97; Study 2: N = 95, age: M = 15.26, SD = 0.90) completed measures of multiple identities, contact with native Germans, and feelings of being integrated in Germany. Results show that adolescents' dual identity was positively related to their national identity but negatively related to their ethnic identity. Ethnic and national identities were also negatively related. Further, when Turkish-origin students had more contact with native Germans, they felt more at home in Germany, mediated by their national and dual identity. Results are discussed in terms of the role that identity construction plays in the integration of immigrants into host societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores implicit theory of intelligence ( TOI) as a moderator of stereotype activation effects on test performance for members of negatively stereotyped and of favourably stereotyped groups. In Germany, Turkish-origin migrants are stereotyped as low in verbal ability. We predicted that on a test diagnostic of verbal intelligence, endorsement of an entity TOI predicts stereotype threat effects for Turkish-origin students and stereotype lift effects for German students. This effect could account for some of the performance gap between immigrants and host society members after stereotype activation. Study 1 ( N = 107) established structural equivalence of implicit theories across the ethnic groups. In two experimental studies (Study 2: N = 182, Study 3: N = 190), we tested the moderating effect of TOI in a 2 (stereotype activation: diagnostic vs. non-diagnostic test) × 2 (ethnicity: German vs. Turkish migration background) experimental design. The results showed that when the test was described as diagnostic of verbal intelligence, higher entity theory endorsement predicted stereotype threat effects for Turkish-origin students (Study 2 and Study 3) and stereotype lift effects for German students (Study 3). The results are discussed in terms of practical implications for educational settings and theoretical implications for processes underlying stereotype activation effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detrimental consequences of negative stereotypes on performance have been demonstrated in a variety of social groups with various stereotypes. The present studies investigate the minimal conditions for stereotype threat using newly created groups. Results of three experiments (total N = 184) demonstrate that in the negative stereotype condition, the more participants identified with their novel group, the stronger was their decrease in performance. In the control condition, identification was either not related to performance, or it had by trend a positive effect. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed with regard to stereotype threat and social identity theory. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social networking site Instagram provides users with an abundance of photos and information in many domains including sports. The posts are often intended to inspire and motivate users. We argue that the display of success and failure of professional athletes may influence elite athletes' own sports ambitions. Research has shown that exposure to positive ingroup stereotypes and exposure to negative outgroup stereotypes can increase performance (i.e., the stereotype boost effect and the stereotype lift effect, respectively). Based on this research, we conducted three experiments in two different cultural contexts. In all three experiments, we examined whether Instagram posts that showed either ingroup members' success or outgroup members' failure influenced athletic motivation, self-efficacy, and sports-related behavioral intentions of female elite athletes. Experiment 1 (n = 117) was conducted in Germany, whereas Experiments 2 (n = 137) and 3 (n = 143) were conducted in Norway. Results showed that in Germany, participants' athletic motivation and self-efficacy was highest when they were exposed to failing outgroup members (Exp. 1); however, this was not the case in Norway (Exp. 2). In contrast, only Norwegian participants who were exposed to successful ingroup members reported a significant increase in their athletic motivation, but there were no effects regarding self-efficacy and sports-related behavioral intentions (Exp. 3). Boundary conditions for Instagram's role in motivating users and reasons for the differences between the two cultural contexts are discussed. • Instagram is brimming with sports-related, yet often gender-stereotypic content. • We examine stereotype lift and boost effects among female elite athletes. • Posts of ingroup success and outgroup failure affect motivation and self-efficacy. • The cultural context (Germany vs. Norway) plays a vital role. • Effects were more pronounced among athletes who compete at a higher level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]