Reading a brief online female role model letter raised course grades for women in an introductory psychology course (d = .24)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i1 Female students randomly assigned to read the role model letter earned higher introductory psychology course grades than control students, a small effect (d = .24). → Herrmann et al. 2016

Evidence¶

Herrmann et al. 2016¶

Sarah D. Herrmann, Robert Mark Adelman, Jessica E. Bodford, Oliver Graudejus, Morris A. Okun, and Virginia S. Y. Kwan (2016). The Effects of a Female Role Model on Academic Performance and Persistence of Women in STEM Courses. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 38(5), 258-268. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2016.1209757

q3 · i1 · causal · r2

Randomized experiment in an introductory psychology course: 258 female students were assigned to the role model letter or control after Exam 1; with consent (n à 240), semester grades were collected from the University Office of Institutional Analysis. "A d of .24" was reported as a small effect.

"participants in the intervention condition had higher course grades (n à 120, M à 2.93, SD à 1.07) compared to participants in the control condition ( n à 120, M à 2.64, SD à 1.31). A d of .24 indicates that participants in the intervention group on average earned approximately one fourth of a standard deviation higher grade"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Gender — moderator: an instructional effect differs by group

Related Claims¶

• The role model letter raised course grades for women in introductory chemistry with a medium-to-large effect (d = .66) — related
• The role model letter lowered the DEW (fail/withdraw) rate for women in introductory psychology (OR = .38) — related
• The role model letter lowered the DEW rate for women in introductory chemistry (OR = .23) — related