Motivation is what helps students achieve their goals in school; it energizes them and drives their behavior. But motivation is not a fixed quality that students bring with them into the classroom — it can be shaped by many cues in the social environment. Our research in the Identity & Academic Motivation Lab (I AM Lab) examines identity and its impact on academic motivation in childhood and adolescence. This work involves:

• how cultural stereotypes about gender and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) contribute to gender gaps in motivation to pursue STEM, and how to counteract the negative effects of stereotypes;
• “wise” educational interventions that provide “identity-safe” cues, which show students that they will not be judged negatively based on their group memberships, including belonging and growth mindset interventions; and
• childhood motivation for STEM learning, including how social connections promote young children’s motivation for STEM tasks.

Our research is at the intersection of learning sciences, developmental psychology and social psychology, applying insights from social psychology to improve equity and STEM learning outcomes for students from preschool through college.

Key Findings

Check out our publications, news coverage and presentations, and resources.

Videos

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