Research is proposed to test a theory of protective identification processes among members of stigmatized groups and to test the role of these processes in mediating their educational outcomes. The assumption underlying this research, derived from Steele's theory of self- affirmation processes (1988) is that vulnerability to stigmatization causes people to """"""""dis-identify"""""""" with those domains of life associated with this vulnerability. Thus, we hypothesize that vulnerability to stigmatization (in the form of prejudicial attitudes, lowered expectations, culturally-based misinterpretation, climates of racial conflict, and so on) and from perceived preparational disadvantages (arising from socio-economic hardship and cultural differences) may lead many black students to dis-identify with the mainstream orientation of the educational system (usually in preference for an alternative affirmation identity)--a phenomenon that can occur at any level of the educational system. The extent to which this happens varies with the extent to which on--as a function of the setting, one's behavior, and one's features--feels vulnerable to stigmatization. As this vulnerability increases in an educational setting, protective dis- identification from that setting increases; as it decreases, identification with the setting becomes possible. Both surveys and experiments are proposed to examine this reasoning. A longitudinal survey of 300 black students entering the University of Michigan will be conducted over a period of two years to assess the important of these protective processes in mediating academic outcomes among these students and to further develop a scale of protective dis-identification. Several experiments will be conducted intellectual performance and protective dis-identification. Finally, a field experiment is proposed to evaluate the impact on achievement of interventions aimed at reducing dis- identification.
