Peer's Voice No More Persuasive Than Cognitive Researchers' in Promoting Effective Study Habits at Hispanic-Serving Institution

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Supporting Student Success: Strategies for Anxiety Reduction, Executive Function Coaching, and Effective Study Habits in Higher Education (Table 30)

Abstract

Identity-alignment of a difficult behavior like studying effectively could motivate students to adopt it. In a between-subjects experiment presenting a brief training video, study skills were endorsed either by a peer student who had personally benefited from them, or by an anonymous actor speaking on the authority of researchers. Underrepresented undergraduates at a public technical 4-year Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) reported their study behavior before and after viewing the video, and their change in college grade was collected. As a replication-plus-extension, self-reported evidence-based study strategies did predict better grade performance. But altering the vocal identity in the video message to include a peer endorsement made no significant difference in persuading students whether to study as trained.

Authors

• Taffeta M Elliott, New Mexico Tech

• Susmi Sharma, University of Minnesota