Social psychological interventions are known to alter beliefs of incoming freshman, focusing on students’ view of intelligence and feelings of belongingness. Considering the consistent positive impact of social psychological interventions I examine the written responses of the students who complete these interventions learning more about the meaning making process that students take from the intervention mechanisms. I am also using linguistic inquiry word count software in my analysis, proposing a methodology that could be used to help future studies analyze a large group of data in a short time.

This project is part of a larger study, the Social Psychological “Spartan Mindset” Intervention study.  We are conducting a university wide intervention on incoming freshmen with intentions of having a better understanding of how a sense of belongingness and a view of one's own ability may help close the student achievement gap. I have special interest in the underrepresented students at the college level, which these interventions strongly impact.