Table 3.
Summary of values affirmation interventions in higher education
| Study | Problem | Context and sample | Intervention | Primary findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values affirmation interventions | ||||
| Course specific | ||||
| Miyake et al. (2010) |
Gender gap in physics |
Two sections of introductory physics for STEM majors at a public university (n = 399) |
Values affirmation: students wrote about their most important values, once as an in-class practice writing exercise and once as an online homework assignment |
Increased performance for women on course exams and a standardized physics test |
| Harackiewicz et al. (2014a)a |
Social class achievement gap in biology |
Three sections of introductory biology for STEM majors at a public university (n = 798) |
Values affirmation: twice during the semester, students wrote about their most important values as an in-class practice writing exercise |
Increased course performance, enrollment in another biology course, and overall semester GPAs for first-generation college students |
| Harackiewicz et al. (2016a)b |
Social class achievement gap in biology |
Eight sections of introductory biology for STEM majors at a public university (n = 1,040) |
Values affirmation: twice during the semester, students wrote about their most important values as an in-class practice writing exercise Utility value: see Table 1 |
No effect |
| College general | ||||
| Layous et al. (2017) |
Promoting performance for students with low belonging |
First- and second-year undergraduates at a public university; activities completed in small groups in a laboratory setting (n = 105) |
Values affirmation: students ranked a list of values and wrote about their most important value |
Increased overall GPAs for all students and particularly for students with low sense of belonging and for men |
| Brady et al. (2016) |
Racial achievement gap for Latino students |
First- and second-year undergraduates; activities completed in a laboratory setting Follow-up two years later (n = 183) |
Values affirmation: students ranked a list of values and wrote about their most important value |
Increased postintervention GPAs for Latino students; decreased postintervention GPAs for White students |
| Tibbetts et al. (2016a) |
Social class achievement gap |
Three-year follow-up of an intervention completed in three sections of introductory biology for STEM majors at a public university (n = 788) |
Values affirmation: twice during the semester, students wrote about their most important values as an in-class practice writing exercise |
Increased postintervention GPAs for first-generation college students |
a
Measured a combination of course-specific, field-specific, and college-general outcomes.
b
Tested interventions from two different categories.
Abbreviation: STEM, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.