Module K Interdisciplinary Insights

Education

Click on the markers below to reveal the interdisciplinary insights for education.

Affirmative action policies may harm the intended beneficiaries by placing them in academic environments where they are less likely to succeed (Sander, 2004)

States that have banned affirmative action see lower enrollment by under-represented minorities in elite schools, but the difference may be lower in four-year colleges overall (Hinrichs, 2012)

Psychology

Click on the markers below to reveal the interdisciplinary insights for psychology.

Stereotype threat can affect minority student academic performance in higher education (Aronson et al, 2009)

• Not addressing affirmative action specifically, but used by opponents to argue the policy may encourage negative stereotypes and perceptions of inferiority

Groups composed of individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives perform better at problem solving compared to groups composed of similar backgrounds (Woolley et al, 2010)

Economics

Click on the markers below to reveal the interdisciplinary insights for economics.

Students who attend more elite colleges receive higher per student expenditures (Bound et al, 2010) and benefit from interacting with higher-achieving peers (Stinebrickner & Stinebrickner, 2011)

The percentage of minorities and women in high‐paying skilled occupations grew more at federal contractors under affirmative action obligation than at noncontracting firms without that obligation (Kurtulus, 2012)

Companies with executive teams in the top quartile for gender diversity and ethnic diversity were more likely to have above-average financial returns than those without (Hunt et al, 2015)

Colleges who are seeking more minority students do not have the incentive to fully inform potential students on expected challenges, which may lead to a mismatch (Arcidiacono et al, 2011)

Removing affirmative action does reduce the earnings of Black students but the effect is fairly small (Arcidiacono, 2005)