Small Cues Contribute to Student Persistence

Macroaffirmations are obvious forms of communicating kindness (conveying respect for the dignity of another person) and inclusion, which may include sharing, helping, obvious facial expressions, politeness, and other readily recognized prosocial actions. Microaffirmations, on the other hand, are subtle or ambiguous kindness cues that can include tone of voice, space left between people when interacting, subtle mimicry, and actions that convey vulnerability...

These interventions of affirming a student or his or her values (i.e., cuing acceptance and affirmation of a person’s identity, values, skill set) strongly suggest that perceiving affirmations may be important to persistence for science students. Further research is needed, however, to better understand the nuances of how HU and majority students are alike and differ with regard to these relationships.