Social Identity, Norms and Approaches to Learning: Presentation at Exeter Psychology

Ken visited Exeter Psychology to present our work on Social Identity in Educational contexts, and to meet with colleagues and postgraduate students.  The talk focused on our research on discipline-based social identity (for example, as a psychology student), peer norms, and instructor norms about approach to learning. We now have a substantial line of work … Read more

Presentation at BERA HE event on transitions and challenges

Ken had the opportunity to present our recent work on the experience of identity incompatibility that some students might feel between their home identities and university identity. The analysis showed that    experienced of incompatibility can undermine positive learning behaviours and increase the likelihood of learning-undermining behaviours like procrastination and self-handicapping. The BERA special event was … Read more

Social Identification and Academic Performance: Integrating Two Existing Models of Tertiary Student Learning

We have now had this paper accepted at Educational Psychology. This was a collaboration between Ken and colleagues at the Australian National University. Abstract: Recent research has mapped the ways social identification and normative influence affect students’ self-reported learning approaches and course experience, and also, the ways in which social identification and learning approach impact … Read more

When student and educator learning norms collide:

This paper is a collaboration between Ken and colleagues at the Australian National University. It is the first paper where we try to explicitly account for both peer and educator norms, and explore the latter using norm manipulation. Smyth L, Chandra V, Mavor K.I. Social identification and normative conflict: When student and educator learning norms … Read more

Social identity in education: the modifying role for perceived norms

This is a book chapter by Lillian Smyth, Kenneth I. Mavor, Michael J. Platow and Diana M. Grace in our recently published edited book. In this chapter we explore the recent work by ourselves and also Bliuc and colleagues, examining the relationship between discipline-based social identity and approached to learning (deep or surface). In particular we emphasise the … Read more

Self & Social Identity in Educational Contexts

We are delighted that this edited book is now out and available!  It has been a labour of love for several years but we are very excited to see it come out and to touch upon a number of very important issues in education. See below for the contents and more detail about the book … Read more

Learning behaviour and outcomes: Social influence and field of study

This is an article by Lillian Smyth, Kenneth I. Mavor,  and Michael J. Platow published in the Social Psychology of Education (2017). The research reported in this paper was part of Lillian’s PhD project on discipline identification, peer norms and approaches to learning. In this paper we confirm the association of both identity and norms with deep learning approaches as … Read more

Lillian Smyth awarded PhD

Congratulations to Lillian on completing her corrections and submitting the final thesis for the award of her PhD!  Lillian’s thesis is entitled “Putting the Student in Context: A social and normative model of learning approaches and their outcomes”.  Lillian has one paper already published from her PhD: Smyth L., Mavor, K. I., Platow, M.J., Grace, D. … Read more

Lillian Smyth visits from ANU

Lillian Smyth visited the lab on her way home from the European Association of Social Psychology conference in Amsterdam.  Lillian gave a talk on her PhD work on Discipline-based student identities, peer norms and approaches to learning.  While in St Andrews, Lillian also got to se some of the local sights including a trip to … Read more

Ken gives conference keynote at GRASP 2014, Linköping, Sweden

Ken had the terrific opportunity to present a keynote address entitled “Encapsulating the things that matter: Exploring identities for learning, social action and well-being” at the GRASP conference in Sweden on May 23rd (9th Nordic conference in group- and social psychology).   The GRASP conference attracts an interesting mix of researchers from across Scandinavia who are … Read more