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Where and With Whom Does a Brief Social-Belonging Intervention Promote Progress in College?
Psychology Faculty Publications
  • Gregory M. Walton, Stanford University
  • Mary C. Murphy, Indiana University
  • Christine Logel, Renison University College
  • David S. Yeager, The University of Texas at Austin
  • J. Parker Goyer, Stanford University
  • Shannon T. Brady, Wake Forest University
  • Katherine T.U. Emerson, Indiana University
  • David Paunesku
  • Omid Fotuhi, University of Pittsburgh
  • Allison Blodorn, Stanford University
  • Kathryn L. Bocher, University of Indianapolis
  • Evelyn R. Carter
  • Maithreyi Gopalan†, The Pennsylvania State University
  • Amy Henderson, Stanford University
  • Kathryn M. Kroeper, Sacred Heart University
  • Lisel Alice Murdock-Perriera, Sonoma State University
  • Stephanie L. Reeves
  • Tsotso T. Ablorh, University of Massachusetts Boston
  • Shahana Ansari, University of Hawaii
  • Susie Chen
  • Peter Fisher, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Manuel Galvan, University of North Carolina
  • Madison Kawakami Gilbertson, Fuller Theological Seminary
  • Chris S. Hulleman, University of Virgina
  • Joel M. Le Forestier, University of Toronto
  • Christopher Lok, University of Waterloo
  • Katie Mathias, Indiana University
  • Gregg A. Muragishi, University of Washington
  • Melanie Netter, University of Texas
  • Elise Ozier
  • Eric N. Smith, University of Texas at Austin
  • Dustin B. Thoman, San Diego State University
  • Heidi E. Williams, Indiana University
  • Matthew O. Wilmot, The Ohio State University
  • Cassie Hartzog, Stanford University
  • X. Alice Li
  • Natasha Krol, Stanford University
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
1-1-2023
Abstract

A promising way to mitigate inequality is by addressing students’ worries about belonging. But where and with whom is this social-belonging intervention effective? Here we report a team-science randomized controlled experiment with 26,911 students at 22 diverse institutions. Results showed that the social-belonging intervention, administered online before college (in under 30 minutes), increased the rate at which students completed the first year as full-time students, especially among students in groups that had historically progressed at lower rates. The college context also mattered: The intervention was effective only when students’ groups were afforded opportunities to belong. This study develops methods for understanding how student identities and contexts interact with interventions. It also shows that a low-cost, scalable intervention generalizes its effects to 749 4-year institutions in the United States.

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Epublication May 4, 2023

DOI
10.1126/science.ade4420
Citation Information

Walton, G. M., Murphy, M. C., Logel, C., Yeager, D. S., Goyer, J. P., Brady, S. T., Emerson, K. T. U., Paunesku, D., Fotuhi, O., Blodorn, A., Boucher, K. L., Carter, E. R., Gopalan, M., Henderson, A., Kroeper, K. M., Murdock-Perriera, L. A., Reeves, S. L., Ablorh, T. T., Ansari, S., Chen, S., … Krol, N. (2023). Where and with whom does a brief social-belonging intervention promote progress in college?. Science , 380(6644), 499–505. Doi: 10.1126/science.ade4420