Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology

Prof. Dr. Benjamin Nagengast

Benjamin Nagengast is Professor of Educational Psychology and Deputy Director of the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology.

Until June 2022, he was also Co-Director of the LEAD Graduate School & Research Network and Director of the LEADing Research Center.

His research interests include:

  • Quantitative methods (randomized controlled field trials, causality, latent variable models, multi-level modeling)
  • Educational Effectiveness
  • Evaluation of interventions and educational situations
  • Motivation and academic self-concept

Publications

Main Publications

  • Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2015). The prospects and limitations of latent variable models in educational psychology. In E.M. Anderman & L. Corno (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (3rd ed.) (p. 41-58). New York: Routledge.

  • Nagengast, B., Marsh, H.W., Chiorri, C., & Hau, K.-T. (2014). Character building or subversive consequences of employment during high school: Causal effects based on propensity score models for categorical treatments. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106, 584-603. doi: 10.1037/a0035615 

  • Nagengast, B., Trautwein, U., Kelava, A., & Lüdtke, O. (2013). Synergistic effects of expectancy and value. The case for a within-person perspective. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 48, 428-460.
    doi: 10.1080/00273171.2013.775060 

  • Nagengast, B., & Marsh, H.W. (2012). Big fish in little ponds aspire more: Mediation and cross-cultural generalizability of school-average ability effects on self-concept and career aspirations in science. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 1033-1053. doi: 10.1037/a0027697 

  • Nagengast, B., Marsh, H.W., Scalas, L.F., Xu, M. K., Hau, K.-T, & Trautwein, U. (2011). Who took the “x” out of expectancy-value theory? A psychological mystery, a substantive-methodological synergy, and a cross-national generalization. Psychological Science, 22, 1058-1066. doi: 10.1177/0956797611415540

Articles

  • Gaspard, H., Parrisius, C., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (in press). Understanding the interplay between targeted motivation interventions and motivational teaching practices in math classrooms. ZDM-Mathematics Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-022-01446-3

  • Bardach, L., Hübner, N., Nagengast, B., Trautwein, U., & von Stumm, S. (in press). Personality, intelligence, and academic achievement: Charting their developmental interplay. Journal of Personality. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12810

  • Fleischmann, M., Hübner, N., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2023). The dark side of detracking: Mixed-ability classrooms negatively affect the academic self-concept of students with low academic achievement. Learning and Instruction, 86, 101753. (Preprint available under https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/kb7we)

  • Kim, Y., Gaspard, H., Fleischmann, M., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2023). What happens with comparison processes when „the other” is very similar? Academic self-concept in monozygotic twins. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 72, 102138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2022.102138

  • Hübner, N., Wagner, W., Zitzmann, S., & Nagengast, B. (2023). How strong is the evidence for a causal reciprocal effect? Contrasting traditional and new methods to investigate the reciprocal effects model of self-concept and achievement. Educational Psychology Review, 35, 6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09724-6

  • Gaspard, H., Nagengast, B., Trautwein, U., Jaekel, A.-K., & Göllner, R. (2022). Heterogenität in motivationalen Entwicklungsverläufen in Mathematik und Deutsch in Abhängigkeit von Schulform und Geschlecht. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 25, 293-327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-022-01092-1

  • Hübner, N., Spengler, M., Nagengast, B., Borghans, L., Schils, T., & Trautwein, U. (2022). When academic achievement (also) reflects personality: Using the Personality-Achievement Saturation Hypothesis (PASH) to explain differential associations between achievement measures and personality traits. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(2), 326-345. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000571 (Preprint available under https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/khxp4)

  • Rieger, S., Göllner, R., Spengler, M., Trautwein, U., Nagengast, B., & Roberts, B.W. (2022). The persistence of students’ perceived academic effort: The unique and combined effects of conscientiousness and individual interest. Learning and Instruction, 80, 101613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2022.101613

  • Zitzmann, S., Walther, J.-K., Hecht, M., & Nagengast, B. (2022). What is the maximum likelihood estimate when the initial solution to the optimization problem is inadmissible? The case of negatively estimated variances. Psych, 4, 343–356. https://doi.org/10.3390/psych4030029

  • Parrisius, C., Gaspard, H., Zitzmann, S., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2022). The "situative nature" of competence and value beliefs and the predictive power of autonomy support: A multilevel investigation of repeated observations. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(4), 791-814. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000680 (Preprint available under https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/p2zfr)

  • Parrisius, C., Gaspard, H., Flunger, B., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2022). Gleiche Wirkung in jedem Klassenzimmer? Moderationseffekte durch Unterrichtsqualitätsmerkmale am Beispiel einer Nützlichkeitsintervention im Mathematikunterricht. [Same effect in every classroom? Moderation of the effects of a relevance Intervention in math classrooms through perceived teaching quality.] Edition ZfE, 10, 355-388. (Preprint available under https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/sdg7b)

  • Hübner, N., Merrell, C., Cramman, H., Little, J., Bolden, D., & Nagengast, B. (2022). Reading to learn? The co-development of mathematics and reading during primary school. Child Development, 93(6), 1760-1766.  https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13817 (Preprint available under https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/v8h29)

  • Fleischmann, M., Hübner, N., Marsh, H.W., Guo, J., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2022). Which class matters? Juxtaposing multiple class environments as frames-of-reference for academic self-concept formation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(1), 127-143. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000491 (Preprint available under https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/7pbac)

  • Stoll, G., Rieger, S., Nagengast, B., Trautwein, U., & Rounds, J. (2021). Stability and change in vocational interests after graduation from high school: A six-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(4), 1091-1116. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000359

  • Flunger, B., Trautwein, U., Nagengast, B., Lüdtke, O., Niggli, A., & Schnyder, I. (2021). Using multilevel mixture models in educational research: An illustration with homework research. Journal of Experimental Education, 89(1), 209-236. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2019.1652137

  • Savage, C., Hübner, N., Biewen, M., Nagengast, B., & Polikoff, M.S. (2021). Social studies textbook effects: Evidence from Texas. AERA Open, 7(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/2332858421992345

  • Bar-Kochva, I., Vágvölgyi, R., Dresler, T., Nagengast, B., Schröter, H., Schrader, J., & Nuerk, H.-C. (2021). Basic reading and reading-related language skills in adults with deficient reading comprehension who read a transparent orthography. Reading and Writing, 34, 2357-2379. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10147-4

  • Gaspard, H., Parrisius, C., Piesch, H., Kleinhansl, M., Wille, E., Nagengast, B., Trautwein, U., & Hulleman, C.S. (2021). The potential of relevance interventions for scaling up: A cluster-randomized trial testing the effectiveness of a relevance intervention in math classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(8), 1507-1528. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000663 (Preprint available under https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ahj3m)

  • Bräuning, D., Hornung, C., Hoffmann, D., Lambert, K., Ugen, S., Fischbach, A., Schiltz, C. Hübner, N., Nagengast, B., & Moeller, K. (2021). Long-term relevance and interrelation of symbolic and non-symbolic abilities in mathematical-numerical development: Evidence from large-scale assessment data. Cognitive Development, 58, 101008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101008

  • Flunger, B., Gaspard, H., Häfner, I., Brisson, B.M., Dicke, A.-L., Guo, J., Parrisius, C., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2021). Relevance interventions in the classroom: A means to promote students’ homework motivation and behavior. AERA Open, 7(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584211052049

  • Fischer, I., Schober, P.S., & Nagengast, B. (2021). Parental relationship quality and children's behavioural problems: Childcare quality as a protective factor? Journal of Family Research, 33(3), 703-733. https://doi.org/10.20377/jfr-379

  • Hübner, N., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2021). Should I stay or should I go? Predictors and effects of studying abroad during high school. Learning and Instruction, 71, 101398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020.101398

  • Menkor, M., Sassenberg, K., van Laar, C., & Nagengast, B. (2021). The fit between dignity self-construal and independent university norms: Effects on social belonging, well-being, and academic success. European Journal of Social Psychology, 51(1), 100-112. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2717

  • Gfrörer, T., Stoll, G., Rieger, S., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2021). The development of vocational interests in early adolescence. Stability, change and state-trait components. European Journal of Personality, 35(5), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/08902070211035630

  • Fleischmann, M., Hübner, N., Marsh, H.W., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2021). Investigating the association between the Big Fish Little Pond Effect and grading on a curve: A large-scale quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Educational Research, 110, 101853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2021.101853 (Preprint available under https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w3rz6)

  • Gaspard, H., Jiang, Y., Piesch, H., Nagengast, B., Jia, N., Lee, J., & Bong, M. (2020). Assessing students' values and costs in three countries: Gender and age differences within countries and structural differences across countries. Learning and Individual Differences, 79, 101836. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101836

  • Song, J., Gaspard, H., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2020). The conscientiousness × interest compensation (CONIC) model: Generalizability across domains, outcomes, and predictors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112, 271-287. doi: 10.1037/edu0000379

  • Herbein, E., Golle, J.K., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2020). Förderung von Präsentationskompetenz: Schrittweise Implementation und Effektivitätsüberprüfung eines Präsentationstrainings für Grundschulkinder [Fostering public speaking skills: Gradual implementation and effectiveness check of a public speaking training program for elementary school children]. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 23, 83-120.
    doi: 10.1007/s11618-019-00923-y

  • Wille, E., Stoll, G., Gfrörer, T., Cambria, J.M., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (in press). It takes two: Expectancy-value constructs and vocational interests jointly predict STEM major choices. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101858. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101858

  • Parrisius, C., Gaspard, H., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2020). The transmission of motivation from math teachers to their ninth-grade students: Different mechanisms for different value dimensions? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 62, 101891. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101891 (Preprint available under https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/c7yrb)

  • Hübner, N., Wagner, W., Hochweber, J., Neumann, M., & Nagengast, B. (2020). Comparing apples and oranges: Curricular intensification reforms can change the meaning of students’ grades! Journal of Educational Psychology, 112, 204-220. doi: 10.1037/edu0000351

  • Piesch, H., Gaspard, H., Parrisius, C., Wille, E., & Nagengast, B. (2020). How can a relevance intervention in math support students' career choices? Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 71, 101185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101185

  • Usslepp, N., Hübner, H., Stoll, G., Spengler, M., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2020). RIASEC interests and the Big Five personality traits matter for life success—But do they already matter for educational track choices? Journal of Personality, 88, 1007-1024. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12547

  • Brisson, B.M., Hulleman, C.S., Häfner, I., Gaspard, H., Flunger, B., Dicke, A.-L., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2020). Who sticks to the instructions – and does it matter? Antecedents and consequences of intervention fidelity within a classroom-based relevance intervention [Wer hält sich an die Anweisungen – und macht es einen Unterschied? Determinanten und Wirkungen der Reaktion von Schüler*innen auf eine Motivationsintervention im Klassenzimmer]. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 112, 121-144.
    doi: 10.1007/s11618-019-00922-z

  • Nagy, G., Nagengast, B., Frey, A., Becker, M., & Rose, N. (2019). A multilevel study of position effects in PISA achievement tests: Student- and school-level predictors in the German tracked school system. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 26, 422-443. doi: 10.1080/0969594X.2018.1449100

  • Hübner, N., Wagner, W., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2019). Putting all students in one basket does not produce equality: Gender-specific effects of curricular intensification in upper secondary school. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 30, 261-285. doi: 10.1080/09243453.2018.1504801

  • Rose, N., Nagy, G., Nagengast, B., Frey, A., & Becker, M. (2019). Modeling multiple item context effects in multidimensional IRT models: Disentangling item position effects, block position effects, and domain order effects. Frontiers in Psychology, 10: 248. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00248

  • Usslepp, N., Baeriswyl, F., Hübner, N., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2019). Übergänge nach der Sekundarstufe I: "Korrekturen von zugewiesenen Bildungswegen", aber Resultat langgehegter Bildungsaspirationen?  [Transitions after Lower Secondary Education: “Corrections of allocated educational paths,” but the Result of Long-Standing Aspirations?] Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 22, 695-720.
    doi: 10.1007/s11618-019-00879-z

  • Piesch, H., Häfner, I., Gaspard, H., Flunger, B., Nagengast, B., & Harackiewicz, J.M. (2019). Helping parents support adolescents’ career orientation: Effects of a parent-based utility-value intervention. [Realschule und dann? Effekte einer Nützlichkeitsintervention zur Unterstützung von Eltern und Jugendlichen bei der Berufsorientierung.] Unterrichtswissenschaft, 47, 271-293. doi: 10.1007/s42010-018-0024-x

  • Rieger, S., Göllner, R., Spengler, M., Trautwein, U., Nagengast, B., Harring, J.R., & Roberts, B.W. (2019). The effects of getting a new teacher on the consistency of personality. Journal of Personality, 87, 487-500.
    doi: 10.1111/jopy.12410

  • Rose, N., Wagner, W., Mayer, A. & Nagengast, B. (2019). Model-based manifest and latent composite scores in structural equation models. Collabra: Psychology, 5(1): 9. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.143

  • Golle, J.K., Rose, N., Göllner, R., Spengler, M., Stoll, G., Hübner, N., Rieger, S., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Roberts, B.W., & Nagengast, B. (2019). School or work? The choice may change your personality. Psychological Science, 30, 32-42. doi: 10.1177/0956797618806298

  • Nagengast, B., Brisson, B.M., Hulleman, C.S., Gaspard, H., Häfner, I., & Trautwein, U. (2018). Learning more from educational interventions studies: Estimating complier average causal effects in a relevance intervention. Journal of Experimental Education, 86, 105-123. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2017.1289359

  • Nagy, G., Nagengast, B., Becker, M., Rose, N., & Frey, A. (2018). Item position effects on a reading comprehension test: An IRT study of individual differences and individual correlates. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling, 60, 165-187.

  • Suhlmann, M., Sassenberg, K., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2018). Belonging mediates effects of student-university fit on well-being, motivation, and dropout intention. Social Psychology, 49, 16-28.
    doi: 10.1027/1864-9335/a000325

  • Göllner, R., Damian, R., Nagengast, B., Roberts, B.W., & Trautwein, U. (2018). It’s not only who you are but who you are with: High school composition and individuals’ attainment over the life course. Psychological Science, 29, 1785-1796. doi:10.1177/0956797618794454

  • Marsh, H.W., Guo, J., Parker, P., Nagengast, B., Asparouhov, T., Muthén, B.O., & Dicke, T. (2018). What to do when scalar invariance fails: The extended alignment method for multi-group factor analysis comparison of latent means across many groups. Psychological Methods, 23, 524-545. doi: 10.1037/met0000113

  • Gaspard, H., Wigfield, A., Jiang, Y., Nagengast, B., Trautwein, U., & Marsh, H.W. (2018). Dimensional comparisons: How academic track students’ achievements are related to their expectancy and value beliefs across domains. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 52, 1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2017.10.003

  • Berendes, K., Becker, M., Jacoby, J., Flunger, B., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2018). Individuelle Entwicklungsverläufe beim Lesen: Macht das Geschlecht den Unterschied? [Developmental trajectories in reading: Does gender make the difference?] Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 50, 192-208. doi: 10.1026/0049-8637/a000202

  • Häfner, I., Flunger, B., Dicke, A.-L., Gaspard., H., Brisson, B.M., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2018). The role of family characteristics for students’ academic outcomes: A person-centered approach. Child Development, 89, 1405-1422. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12809

  • Golle, J.K., Zettler, I., Rose, N., Trautwein, U., Hasselhorn, M., & Nagengast, B. (2018). Effectiveness of a “Grass Roots” statewide enrichment program for gifted elementary school children. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 11, 375-408. doi: 10.1080/19345747.2017.1402396

  • Wille, E., Gaspard, H., Trautwein, U., Oschatz, K., Scheiter, K., & Nagengast, B. (2018). Gender stereotypes in a children’s television program: Effects on girls’ and boys’ stereotype endorsement, math performance, motivational dispositions, and attitudes. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2435. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02435

Chapters in Monographs

  • Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2023). Theoretical and methodological disintegration is the most fundamental limitation in contemporary motivation research. In M. Bong, S.-I. Kim & J. Reeve (Eds.), Motivation Science: Controversies and Insights (p. 419-424). New York: Oxford University Press.

  • Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (in press). Digitization will bring profound changes in educational practice and research on motivation. In M. Bong, S.-I. Kim & J. Reeve (Eds.), Motivation Science: Controversies and Insights (p. 441-447) New York: Oxford University Press.

  • Gaspard, H. Parrisius, C., & Nagengast, B. (2023). Promoting motivation in mathematics: Can a relevance intervention contribute to reducing educational disparities? In N. McElvany, A. Grecu, R. Lorenz, M. Becker, C. Dignath, H. Gaspard & F. Lauermann (Eds.) Jahrbuch der Schulentwicklung, Band 23. 50 Jahre Schulentwicklung – Leitthemen der empirischen Bildungsforschung (p. 266-294). Münster: Waxmann.

  • Trautwein, U., Gaspard, H., Parrisius, C., Bertram, C., Wagner, W., Zachrich, L., Golle, J., Ruth-Herbein, E., Schiefer, J., Jaggy, A.-K., Kleinhansl, M., & Nagengast, B. (2022). Optimierung schulischer Bildungsprozesse:Welchen Beitrag können randomisierte Feldstudien leisten?. In N. McElvany, M. Becker, F. Lauermann, H. Gaspard & A. Ohle-Peters (Eds.), Optimierung schulischer Bildungsprozesse – What works? Dortmunder Symposium der Empirischen Bildungsforschung, Band 6 (p. 9-32). Münster: Waxmann.

  • Gaspard, H., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2019). Erfassung von Wertüberzeugungen [Assessment of Value Beliefs]. In H. Gaspard, U. Trautwein & M. Hasselhorn (Eds.), Diagnostik und Förderung von Motivation und Volition [Assessment and Enhancement of Motivation and Volition] (p. 87-100). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

  • Gaspard, H., Hasselhorn, M., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2019). Motivation und Volition im Schulalter: Einführung und Überblick. [Motivation and volition in school: Introduction and overview] In H. Gaspard, U. Trautwein & M. Hasselhorn (Eds.), Diagnostik und Förderung von Motivation und Volition [Assessment and Enhancement of Motivation and Volition] (p. 1-18). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

  • Gaspard, H., Parrisius, C., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2019). Förderung von Wertüberzeugungen durch Nützlichkeitsinterventionen [Fostering value beliefs with relevance interventions]. In H. Gaspard, U. Trautwein & M. Hasselhorn (Eds.), Diagnostik und Förderung von Motivation und Volition [Assessment and Enhancement of Motivation and Volition] (p. 161-176). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

  • Trautwein, U., Nagengast, B., Roberts, B.W., & Lüdtke, O. (2019). Predicting academic effort: The conscientiousness x interest compensation (CONIC) model. In K.A. Renninger (Ed.), Cambridge Handbook on Motivation and Learning (p. 353-372). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Nagengast, B., & Rose, N. (2018). Quantitative Bildungsforschung und Assessments. In R. Tippelt & B. Schmidt-Hertha (Eds.), Handbuch Bildungsforschung (4th ed.). Wiesbaden: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-531-20002-6_28-1

Curriculum Vitae

Since November 2012
Full Professor of Educational Psychology University of Tübingen

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Juli 2012
Habilitation University of Tübingen
2011-2012
Assistant professor, Center for Educational Science and Psychology University of Tübingen
2009-2011
Postdoctoral Research Fellow am SELF Research Centre, Department of Education

University of Oxford, United Kingdom

June 2009
Promotion (Dr. phil.; summa cum laude)

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

2006-2009
Research Scientist, Department of methodology and evaluation research, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena