Impact of Names on Life Outcomes

What did the 1948 Harvard study suggest about people with unusual names?

• They did better in school

• They had more academic and psychological problems

• Their names had no effect

• They earned more money later

What is one way names might influence people’s lives?

• They can decide our height

• They can affect job opportunities

• They can change our fingerprints

• They can make people healthier

What is the “implicit-egotism effect”?

• The belief that people with rare names are more creative.

• The tendency to prefer things that resemble aspects of oneself, like names or initials.

• The idea that teachers favor students with familiar names.

• The finding that résumés with “white-sounding” names receive more callbacks.

What did Bertrand and Mullainathan (2004) find about résumés with “white-sounding” vs. “black-sounding” names?

• Both groups received the same number of callbacks.

• “Black-sounding” résumés had higher chances of getting interviews.

• “White-sounding” résumés received 50% more callbacks.

• Employers favored résumés with gender-neutral names.

What happened when immigrants in Sweden changed their names to “Swedish-sounding” ones?

• They earned less money

• Their earnings increased

• Nothing changed

• They lost their jobs

What did David Figlio’s study in Florida schools reveal about children’s names?

• Teachers treated all children equally, regardless of name.

• Children with black-sounding or low-SES names faced lower expectations and performed worse.

• Children with Asian-sounding names scored lower due to teacher bias.

• Name differences had no measurable effect on academic achievement.

What did Levitt and Fryer discover when they controlled for background?

• Names alone caused life outcomes

• The “name effect” disappeared

• Names were the most important factor in success

• Uncommon names always led to failure