Better than Me?! Performance Evaluations of Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Adolescents in Intra- and Intergroup Comparisons

Author(s):

Lysann Zander-Music Gregory D Webster Bettina Hannover

Conference:

ECER 2010

Network:

7. Social Justice and Intercultural Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

07 SES 02 B, Schools, Stereotypes and Tolerance.

Paper Session

Time:

2010-08-25

11:15-12:45

Room:

AUDITORIUM III, Päärakennus / Main Building

Chair:

Ghazala Bhatti

Contribution

Are classmates’ evaluations of each others’ academic performances biased by a negative performance-related stereotype towards students with migration background (MB)? Will students’ evaluations vary depending on whether students compare themselves to fellow students who share or do not share a background of migration? As demonstrated by numerous studies in educational settings, classrooms produce a strong need in students to evaluate their performance (e.g., Levine, 1983). To our knowledge, however, no prior research on the evaluative consequences of social comparison in academic settings (e.g. Altermatt & Pomerantz, 2005; Lubbers, Kuyper, & van der Werf, 2009) has examined the impact of migration background as a social category on comparative performance evaluations among classmates. This seems somewhat surprising considering that at present Europe matches North America in its significance as a region of immigration.

Our considerations are based on previous findings of multiple lines of research. First, prior research in laboratory settings has found that evaluative outcomes of social comparison differ depending on whether participants engage in (artificially) created intergroup or intragroup comparisons (Brewer & Weber, 1994). Second, we know that potentially applicable and contextually salient stereotypic preconceptions can guide information processing by serving as heuristic cues that provide a quick basis for making a judgment or an evaluation (e.g., Macrae & Bodenhausen, 1998). Based on this, we hypothesized that students’ perception of de facto existing performance difference between self and chosen comparison partner will be shaped by a negative performance-related stereotype pertaining to immigrant students activated by intergroup comparison situations.

Method

To test our prediction, we obtained the performance evaluations from 831 ninth-graders (272 with MB) in 39 classrooms using a quasi-experimental design. Students were asked to choose a comparison partner before completing a standardized performance test in mathematics, i.e., 20 items of the ‘Third International Mathematics and Science Study’ (TIMSS) item pool (Baumert et al., 1999). After that, students were asked to evaluate their own performance and the performance of the chosen comparison partner in the previously completed mathematics test. Hereby, students were asked to place a cross on a continuous line ranging from 0 mm (indicating very poor performance) to 60 mm (indicating very good performance). Both, actual test scores and evaluations were transformed into percentages.

Expected Outcomes

A series of multilevel models confirmed the predicted three-way interaction effect of participant migration background, partner migration background, and actual performance difference on perceived performance difference between student and comparison partner. Students in both intragroup comparison situations (MB > MB; No MB > No MB) perceived performance differences in favor of their comparison partners. They evaluated de facto lower performing partners as performing as well as themselves. In the intergroup comparison situations (MB > No MB; No MB > MB) students’ evaluations followed a pattern suggesting the existence of negative performance-related stereotypes towards immigrant students: Immigrant students anticipated de facto lower performing non-immigrant partners to perform at least as well as themselves and de facto similar performing non-immigrant partners to outperform themselves. In contrast, non-immigrant students did not overestimate the performance of their immigrant comparison partners. In fact, this comparison situation was the only situation in which performance differences were evaluated without bias. Because perception of status similarity is regarded as key characteristic of adolescents’ peer relations and help exchange, biased perceptions of performance differentials may have far-reaching consequences for the academic development of immigrant students. Implications for the educational practice and transferability to other European countries will be discussed.

References

Altermatt, E. R., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2005). The implications of having high-achieving versus low-achieving friends: A longitudinal analysis. Social Development, 14, 61-81. Baumert, J., Bos, W., Klieme, E., Lehmann, R., Lehrke, M., Hosenfeld, I., Neubrand, J., & Waterman, R. (Eds.) (1999). Testaufgaben zu TIMSS/III: mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Grundbildung und voruniversitäre Mathematik und Physik der Abschlussklassen der Sekundarstufe II (Population 3) [TIMSS/III Items for assessment of basic mathematical and scientific knowledge and competencies of graduating classes in secondary education (population 3). Berlin: Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung. Bodenhausen, G. V., & Macrae, C. N. (1998). Stereotype activation and inhibition. In R. S. Wyer, Jr. (Ed.), Stereotype activation and inhibition: Advances in social cognition (Vol. 11, pp. 1-52). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Brewer, M. B., & Weber, J. G. (1994). Self-evaluation effects of interpersonal versus intergroup social comparison. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 268-275. Levine, J. M. (1983). Social comparison and education. In J. M. Levine & M. C. Wang (Eds.), Teacher and student perceptions: Implications for learning (pp. 29–55). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Lubbers, M. J., Kuyper, H., van der Werf, M.P.C. (2009). Social comparison with friends versus non-friends. European Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 52-68.

Author Information

Lysann Zander-Music

Freie Universitaet Berlin

Educational Science and Psychology

Berlin

Gregory D Webster

University of Florida

Bettina Hannover

Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany

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