The Relationship Between First Names and Teacher Expectations for Achievement Motivation

Abstract

This study examines perceptions of achievement motivation as influenced by first name and student ethnicity. One hundred thirty elementary school teachers were given a vignette of a fifth-grade student and instructed to judge the behavior and characteristics of the student. Results showed that there was a significant main effect for an ethnic first name. Overall, significantly lower achievement scores were given by raters whose descriptions used an African American-sounding name rather than a Caucasian-sounding name.