Apparently, for minority children, self-affirmation has a significant effect on their GPA. A two-year follow-up study was published last week in Science. This study had children, starting in 7th grade, write about relationships, interests, and personal values. Students in the test group showed as much as a 0.41 increase in their GPA compared to the control group. This relationship was not found in white students. Researcher Geoffrey Cohen explains why:

“It takes the sting out of potential failure. ‘I feel like, Even if I do poorly here on this test or in school, I am still fundamentally a good person. It anchors my sense of self-integrity.’”

Another study released last week suggests that Facebook users have lower grades than non-users. Although the researcher admitted to Time that it could be bad students are attracted to Facebook:

“Maybe [Facebook users] are just prone to distraction. Maybe they are just procrastinators.”