IMPLICIT THEORIES OF PERSONALITY AND ADOLESCENT AGGRESSION

165 Pages·2011·2.51 MB·English

IMPLICIT THEORIES OF PERSONALITY AND ADOLESCENT AGGRESSION:
A PROCESS MODEL AND AN INTERVENTION STRATEGY

A DISSERTATION

SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

AND THE COMMITTEE ON GRADUATE STUDIES

OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

David Scott Yeager
August, 2011
© 2011 by David Scott Yeager. All Rights Reserved.

Re-distributed by Stanford University under license with the author.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/

This dissertation is online at: http://purl.stanford.edu/hv373wm7082

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I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate
in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Carol Dweck, Primary Adviser
I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate
in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
William Damon, Co-Adviser
I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate
in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Deborah Jane Stipek
Approved for the Stanford University Committee on Graduate Studies.
Patricia J. Gumport, Vice Provost Graduate Education
This signature page was generated electronically upon submission of this dissertation in
electronic format. An original signed hard copy of the signature page is on file in
University Archives.
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ABSTRACT
Why do some adolescents respond to peer conflict, exclusion or victimization
vengefully, while others seek more positive solutions? Five studies in the dissertation
investigated the role of implicit theories of personality in predicting 9th and 10th grade
adolescents’ violent or vengeful responses to peer conflicts, and extended this theoretical
framework to understand stress and academic engagement at the transition to high school.
A greater belief that traits are fixed (an entity theory) predicted a stronger desire for
revenge after a variety of recalled peer conflicts (Study 1) and after a hypothetical
conflict that specifically involved bullying (Study 2). Study 3 experimentally induced a
belief in the potential for change (an incremental theory), which resulted in a reduced
desire to seek revenge. This effect was mediated by changes in “bad person” attributions
about the perpetrators, feelings of shame and hatred, and the belief that vengeful ideation
is an effective emotion-regulation strategy.
Next, Study 4 examined whether an implicit theories intervention could change
aggression. Adolescents are often resistant to interventions that reduce aggression in
children. At the same time, they are developing stronger beliefs in the fixed nature of
personal characteristics. Study 4’s intervention addressed these beliefs. A randomized
field experiment with a diverse sample of high school students (N = 230) tested the
impact of a 6-session intervention teaching an incremental theory (a belief in the potential
for personal change). Compared to No-Treatment and Coping Skills control groups, the
Incremental Theory group behaved significantly less aggressively and more prosocially
one month post-intervention and exhibited fewer conduct problems three months post-
intervention. Interestingly, the Incremental Theory and the Coping Skills interventions
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also eliminated the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms.
Study 5 extended the theoretical model to include the effects of implicit theories
on stress and academic achievement. The transition to high school is often accompanied
by stress and declining grades. One explanation is that many students think that the
social adversities they face—such as rejection, exclusion or victimization—are
permanent. To test this hypothesis, Study 5 included a double-blind, randomized field
experiment that taught students the idea that people have the capacity for change. This
incremental theory intervention, which lasted two class periods at the beginning of the
school year, reduced stress and improved Math and English grades over eight months,
until the end of the school year. These findings highlight the importance of social
processes in shaping academic performance during times of stress. Together, the findings
from Studies 1-5 illuminate the social-cognitive processes underlying reactions to conflict
and suggest potential avenues for reducing violent retaliation in adolescents.
The dissertation concludes with an essay discussing how seemingly “small”
psychological interventions with adolescents—that is, brief exercises that target students’
thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in and about school—can lead to large gains in student
achievement and reduce aggression even months later. It emphasizes that such
interventions have lasting effects because they target students’ subjective experiences in
school, because they use persuasive yet stealthy methods for conveying psychological
ideas, and because they tap into recursive processes present in educational environments.
By understanding psychological interventions as powerful but context-dependent tools,
researchers will be better equipped to take them to scale.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was supported in part by a Dissertation Support Grant from the
Stanford University School of Education, a Research Training Grant from the Spencer
Foundation, a Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, a grant from the Thrive
Foundation for Youth, and grants from the American Psychological Association and the
Society for Research on Child Development. Portions of the dissertation have appeared
in Developmental Psychology and the Review of Educational Research. I am grateful to
the following people for their assistance: Christel Anderson, Kate Belden, Yi-Wen Chua,
Geoffrey Cohen, Yana Galperin, Hunter Gehlbach, Rebecca Johnson, Matthew Kloser,
Joseph Lester, Allison Master, Jennifer McDonald, Adriana Miu, Kerry Morrissey,
Alexandria Ordway, Patrinia Sandles, April Scott, Jason Singer, James Stigler, Brian
Spitzer, Sander Thomaes, Uri Treisman, Hector Villalpando, Alan Weyland, Whitney
Worthen, Matthew Williams, and Terry Yu. I would also like to thank Chris Bryan,
William Damon, S. Shirley Feldman, Melanie Killen, Kristin Pauker, Ann Porteus,
Deborah Stipek, and members of the Dweck-Walton lab for their helpful suggestions. I
am grateful to Carol Dweck, Gregory Walton and Kali Trzesniewski, who provided
comments on and made changes to previous drafts. Last, I would like to thank Maggie
Morrissey Yeager, R.N. for her inspiration and support.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Copyright Notice Page ii
Signature Page iii
Abstract v
Acknowledgements vi
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
Text
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 2: A Process Model 13
Study 1 14
Study 2 24
Study 3 27
Discussion of Studies 1-3 41
Chapter 3: An Intervention to Reduce Aggression 49
Study 4 52
Discussion of Study 4 75
Chapter 4: Extension to Stress and Academic Achievement 83
Study 5 84
Discussion of Study 5 87
Chapter 5: General Discussion of Studies 1-5 90
Chapter 6: Concluding Essay 97
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References 115
Tables 137
Figures 147
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LIST OF TABLES
1. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Study 1 Measures.
2. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Study 3 Measures.
3. Overview of Incremental Theory and Coping Skills Interventions in Study 4.
4. Aggressive and Prosocial Behavior in Study 4: Coefficients from Regressions
Testing the Effects of the Incremental Theory Intervention on Behavioral
Responses to a Peer Provocation One Month Post-Intervention.
5. Mean Levels of Behavioral Responses to a Peer Provocation in Study 4.
6. Reduction in Conduct Problems in Study 4: Coefficients from OLS Regressions
Testing Effects of the Intervention and Victim Status on Number of Teacher
Nominations Per Student Three Months Post-Intervention.
7. Mean Number of Teacher Nominations (from 0-2) Per Student for Reduced
Conduct Problems by Victim Status and Experimental Condition in Study 4.
8. Depressive Symptoms in Study 4: Coefficients from OLS Regressions Testing
Effects of Incremental and Coping Skills Interventions, and Victim Status, on
Depressive Symptoms Two Weeks Post-Intervention.
9. Mean Number of Depressive Symptoms Reported (By Victimization Status and
Experimental Condition) in Study 4.
10. Effectiveness of Random Assignment in Study 5: Non-Significant Preintervention
Differences Between Conditions.
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LIST OF FIGURES
1. Multiple partial mediation model in Study 1.
2. Preliminary multiple mediation model in Study 3.
3. Path model leading from an incremental theory to a reduced desire for vengeance
in Study 3.
4. Design of Study 4.
5. Aggressive and prosocial behavior in Study 4.
6. Examples of (a) prosocial note and (b) non-prosocial note written by participants
to accompany the hot sauce they allocated to a peer after their Cyberball
exclusion in Study 4.
7. Reduction in conduct problems in Study 4.
8. Depressive symptoms in Study 4.
9. Effects of the Study 5 intervention on achievement and stress.