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Schoolhouse risk: Can we mitigate the polygenic Pygmalion effect?

Lucas J Matthews1, Zhijun Zhang2, Daphne O Martschenko3

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Disappointing polygenic scores for educational attainment (EA-PGS) negatively impact student self-esteem and academic efficacy. Mitigating information did not significantly alter these effects in two studies.

Keywords:
Educational attainmentPolygenic Pygmalion effectPolygenic scoresPsychosocial impactsResearch communicationSelf-fulfilling prophecy

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Genetics
  • Educational Psychology
  • Sociogenomics

Background:

  • Polygenic scores (PGS) for educational outcomes are publicly available, with proposed applications in 'precision education'.
  • Prior research suggests potential negative impacts, termed the 'polygenic Pygmalion effect', from disappointing PGS results.
  • This study investigates factors that may mitigate or exacerbate these negative impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify factors that may mitigate or exacerbate the negative impacts of low-percentile polygenic scores for educational attainment (EA-PGS).
  • To examine the 'polygenic Pygmalion effect' in response to EA-PGS results.

Main Methods:

  • Two studies were conducted with 1188 students each, randomized into four conditions: Low EA-PGS, Low EA-PGS + Mitigating information, Low EA-PGS + Exacerbating information, and Control.
  • Regression analyses were employed to compare outcomes between conditions.

Main Results:

  • Participants in the Control group consistently reported higher self-esteem, competence, academic efficacy, and educational potential.
  • While mitigating information showed some positive effects on competence, low EA-PGS results were significantly associated with lower self-esteem, competence, academic efficacy, and educational potential, irrespective of contextual information.

Conclusions:

  • The studies replicated the polygenic Pygmalion effect, demonstrating negative impacts of disappointing EA-PGS results on student psychological and academic assessments.
  • The study was underpowered to detect significant effects of mitigating contextual information.
  • Disappointing EA-PGS results were robustly linked to diminished self-perceptions, highlighting concerns for educational applications.