Chapter 15: Managing Stigma: Disidentification from the Academic Domain Among Members of Stigmatized Groups

Motivation on a particular domain is high when individuals have some reasonable expectation of meeting their goal, and when they value that goal. When either expectation or value is at zero value, motivation to work towards the goal is absent (Atkinson, 1957; Atkinson & Birch, 1978; Pintrich & Schunk, 1996). Motivation tends to be high then in domains that we value. Self-evaluation is also dependent on achievements in domains that we value. As William James suggested above, one way to protect self-worth in the case of disappointing achievement in a particular domain is to forgo any pretensions that we have in that domain (James, 1890). Disidentifying from a domain occurs when the importance or value of a domain is reduced, and it is no longer a part, or it is a less central part, of one’s selfdefinition. In the case of academic disidentification, it is the school, or more specifically, academic achievement that becomes less incorporated into one’s self-definition (Voelkl, 1996). The student does not value school, and may not feel like he or she belongs in school. This work has been discussed under various terms: school involvement, attachment, membership, engagement and commitment, or school dropout, attrition, disidentification, and alienation. Academic disidentification can be psychological (the student withdraws psychologically from academic achievement or school goals altogether), or physical, the student withdraws from school through truancy or dropping out. Disidentification may be accompanied by feelings of distrust and suspicion, or even anger and hostility towards the school and those associated with it. Moreover, although we will use the term “school,” a substantial part of the research has looked at college withdrawal or dropout.