Tamás Keller
Biographic Data
| ID | 4175044 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tamás Keller |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tamás |
| FAMILY NAME | Keller |
| SIGNATURE | KELLER T |
| AFFILIATIONS | TÁRKI Social Research Institute |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6943-0955 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 21 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Track recommendations moderate socioeconomic differences during the transition from primary to secondary education
The effect of positive feedback on primary school students' academic self-concept: Gender heterogeneity in a light-touch randomized intervention
This study analyzes the causal effect of positive feedback on students' task-specific math self-concept using data from a randomized field experiment conducted among rural Hungarian primary school students. It examines how academic self-concept (ASC) responds to the smallest possible dose of positive feedback-a single instance-and explores treatment heterogeneity by gender. The results show that all students who received randomized positive perfo…
Discrimination in track recommendation but not in grading: Experimental evidence among primary school teachers in Hungary
This study examines discrimination in teacher assessments and track recommendations against Roma minority students in Hungary. We conducted a pre-registered randomized experiment among 413 primary school teachers. Participating teachers evaluated six mathematics or literacy and grammar tests with fictitious, randomized student names and recommended a high school track. Our results show mixed evidence for discrimination against Roma students: teac…
Who Cheats? Adolescents’ Background Characteristics and Dishonest Behavior: A Comprehensive Literature Review and Insights From Two Consecutive Surveys
A growing body of experimental literature investigates how student-level background characteristics are associated with dishonest behavior in early adolescence. However, results from prior studies are mixed. To revisit earlier findings, we conducted a comprehensive literature review and executed two consecutive, large-scale, incentivized surveys in Hungarian primary schools involving the same students in different academic years. We focused on ei…
Feasible Peer Effects: Experimental Evidence for Deskmate Effects on Educational Achievement and Inequality
Schools routinely employ seating charts to influence educational outcomes. Dependable \nevidence for the causal effects of seating charts on students’ achievement levels and inequality, \nhowever, is scarce. We executed a large pre-registered field experiment to estimate causal peer \neffects on students’ test scores and grades by randomizing the seating charts of 195 classrooms \n(N=3,365 students). We found that neither sitting next to a deskma…
Peer effects on academic self-concept: A Large Randomized Field Experiment
Social theories posit that peers affect students' academic self-concept (ASC). Most prominently, Big-Fish-Little-Pond, invidious comparison, and relative deprivation theories predict that exposure to academically stronger peers decreases students' ASC, and exposure to academically weaker peers increases students' ASC. These propositions have not yet been tested experimentally. We executed a large and pre-registered field experiment that randomize…
Rearranging the Desk Chairs: A Large Randomized Field Experiment on the Effects of Close Contact on Interethnic Relations
Contact theory predicts that interethnic exposure reduces antiminority discrimination. By contrast, conflict theory predicts that interethnic exposure worsens discrimination. Received scope conditions, however, are vague and do not properly differentiate between the domains of the theories. Furthermore, prior evidence is mostly correlational, and supportive field experiments for contact theory have largely accrued in rarefied settings. This begs …
Yes, You Can! Effects of Transparent Admission Standards on High School Track Choice: A Randomized Field Experiment
High school track choice determines college access in many countries. We hypothesize that some qualified students avoid the college-bound track in high school simply because they overestimate admission requirements. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a randomized field experiment that communicated the admission standards of local secondary schools on the academic track to students in Hungary before the application deadline. We targeted the sub…
No evidence of direct peer influence in upper-secondary track choice—evidence from Hungary
This paper investigates direct peer influence in upper-secondary track choice in the stratified and selective Hungarian educational system and makes two contributions to the literature. First, it tests both peer-contrasting and peer-conforming influences by considering peers’ GPA and endogenous educational choices. Second, the paper investigates mechanisms behind peer-conforming educational choices (such as peers’ normative pressure and informati…
Differences in Roma and non-Roma students’ ratings of their peers’ popularity: An inquiry into the oppositional culture in Hungarian schools with the use of a survey experiment
Peers that count: The influence of deskmates on test scores
Peer effects have been shown to be important for educational development during adolescence. Peer effect from classmates and friends, nevertheless, could be the target of interventions only to a limited extent. We hypothesize that deskmates may affect educational achievement. In contrast to friendship, deskmate relations could realistically be a target of policy intervention by teachers, who can decide on the seating arrangements in class. This s…
Mighty oaks from little acorns? The role of self-assessment in educational transitions: Mediation and moderation effects
This paper investigates the transitions to secondary and to tertiary education. As a new contribution to prior scholarship, it focuses on the role of self-perceived ability (self-assessment), which might impel pupils to make costly efforts in education now, in order to have an uncertain payoff later on. The paper builds on the assumption that while making educational decisions, especially low-educated families overemphasise ability relative to ef…
The Mid-week Effect and Why Thursdays Are Blue: The Weekly Rhythm of Satisfaction in Hungary
Research on the weekly fluctuation in people's satisfaction has produced mixed results about the nadir of levels of satisfaction in different countries. This paper uses a Hungarian household survey with approximately 3400 individual observations. The fluctuation in satisfaction over the course of the week is assessed according to the day on which the personal interview was conducted during a six-week period of fieldwork. The analysis investigates…
Dare to Dream: A Vignette Survey on Self-Selection in Secondary Education Track Choice
This article investigates applications to schools on the highest secondary track in Hungary (grammar schools). In Hungary, primary school pupils can apply to any secondary school. Pupils' primary school grades play a crucial role only in the admissions procedure, and the exact cut-off point for admission is not known at the time of application. Pupils, however, might adjust their preferences according to their school grades and thus may not apply…
The Power of Family? Change in Academic Achievement After Breakdown of the Biological Family
There is fairly broad consensus among scholars that divorce damages pupils’ academic achievement. However, further clarification is necessary concerning the role of pupil characteristics immediately prior to this unpleasant event, and the extent to which the changing circumstances are reflected in the decline in school achievement. In this regard, more insight is provided into the social status gradient of the test-score gap. The empirical analys…
Self-confidence and Earning Inequalities: A Test on Hungarian Data
It is easy to see that highly fatalistic, inefficient persons believe that their actions have little outcome. Because greater fatalism lowers an employee's effort level, it may result in lower wages, while the anti-fatalistic attitude translates into more effective work that in turn may be rewarded with a higher salary. In this article the author tests a self-confidence scale that is similar to the most widely used Rotter locus of control scale. …
Rearranging the Desk Chairs: A Large Randomized Field Experiment on the Effects of Close Contact on Interethnic Relations
Contact theory predicts that interethnic exposure reduces antiminority discrimination. By contrast, conflict theory predicts that interethnic exposure worsens discrimination. Received scope conditions, however, are vague and do not properly differentiate between the domains of the theories. Furthermore, prior evidence is mostly correlational, and supportive field experiments for contact theory have largely accrued in rarefied settings. This begs …
Peers that count: The influence of deskmates on test scores
Peer effects have been shown to be important for educational development during adolescence. Peer effect from classmates and friends, nevertheless, could be the target of interventions only to a limited extent. We hypothesize that deskmates may affect educational achievement. In contrast to friendship, deskmate relations could realistically be a target of policy intervention by teachers, who can decide on the seating arrangements in class. This s…
No evidence of direct peer influence in upper-secondary track choice—evidence from Hungary
This paper investigates direct peer influence in upper-secondary track choice in the stratified and selective Hungarian educational system and makes two contributions to the literature. First, it tests both peer-contrasting and peer-conforming influences by considering peers’ GPA and endogenous educational choices. Second, the paper investigates mechanisms behind peer-conforming educational choices (such as peers’ normative pressure and informati…
Mighty oaks from little acorns? The role of self-assessment in educational transitions: Mediation and moderation effects
This paper investigates the transitions to secondary and to tertiary education. As a new contribution to prior scholarship, it focuses on the role of self-perceived ability (self-assessment), which might impel pupils to make costly efforts in education now, in order to have an uncertain payoff later on. The paper builds on the assumption that while making educational decisions, especially low-educated families overemphasise ability relative to ef…
Discrimination in track recommendation but not in grading: Experimental evidence among primary school teachers in Hungary
This study examines discrimination in teacher assessments and track recommendations against Roma minority students in Hungary. We conducted a pre-registered randomized experiment among 413 primary school teachers. Participating teachers evaluated six mathematics or literacy and grammar tests with fictitious, randomized student names and recommended a high school track. Our results show mixed evidence for discrimination against Roma students: teac…
Feasible Peer Effects: Experimental Evidence for Deskmate Effects on Educational Achievement and Inequality
Schools routinely employ seating charts to influence educational outcomes. Dependable \nevidence for the causal effects of seating charts on students’ achievement levels and inequality, \nhowever, is scarce. We executed a large pre-registered field experiment to estimate causal peer \neffects on students’ test scores and grades by randomizing the seating charts of 195 classrooms \n(N=3,365 students). We found that neither sitting next to a deskma…
Peer effects on academic self-concept: A Large Randomized Field Experiment
Social theories posit that peers affect students' academic self-concept (ASC). Most prominently, Big-Fish-Little-Pond, invidious comparison, and relative deprivation theories predict that exposure to academically stronger peers decreases students' ASC, and exposure to academically weaker peers increases students' ASC. These propositions have not yet been tested experimentally. We executed a large and pre-registered field experiment that randomize…
Dare to Dream: A Vignette Survey on Self-Selection in Secondary Education Track Choice
This article investigates applications to schools on the highest secondary track in Hungary (grammar schools). In Hungary, primary school pupils can apply to any secondary school. Pupils' primary school grades play a crucial role only in the admissions procedure, and the exact cut-off point for admission is not known at the time of application. Pupils, however, might adjust their preferences according to their school grades and thus may not apply…
Self-confidence and Earning Inequalities: A Test on Hungarian Data
It is easy to see that highly fatalistic, inefficient persons believe that their actions have little outcome. Because greater fatalism lowers an employee's effort level, it may result in lower wages, while the anti-fatalistic attitude translates into more effective work that in turn may be rewarded with a higher salary. In this article the author tests a self-confidence scale that is similar to the most widely used Rotter locus of control scale. …
The Power of Family? Change in Academic Achievement After Breakdown of the Biological Family
There is fairly broad consensus among scholars that divorce damages pupils’ academic achievement. However, further clarification is necessary concerning the role of pupil characteristics immediately prior to this unpleasant event, and the extent to which the changing circumstances are reflected in the decline in school achievement. In this regard, more insight is provided into the social status gradient of the test-score gap. The empirical analys…
Mighty oaks from little acorns? The role of self-assessment in educational transitions: Mediation and moderation effects
This paper investigates the transitions to secondary and to tertiary education. As a new contribution to prior scholarship, it focuses on the role of self-perceived ability (self-assessment), which might impel pupils to make costly efforts in education now, in order to have an uncertain payoff later on. The paper builds on the assumption that while making educational decisions, especially low-educated families overemphasise ability relative to ef…
The Mid-week Effect and Why Thursdays Are Blue: The Weekly Rhythm of Satisfaction in Hungary
Research on the weekly fluctuation in people's satisfaction has produced mixed results about the nadir of levels of satisfaction in different countries. This paper uses a Hungarian household survey with approximately 3400 individual observations. The fluctuation in satisfaction over the course of the week is assessed according to the day on which the personal interview was conducted during a six-week period of fieldwork. The analysis investigates…
Dare to Dream: A Vignette Survey on Self-Selection in Secondary Education Track Choice
This article investigates applications to schools on the highest secondary track in Hungary (grammar schools). In Hungary, primary school pupils can apply to any secondary school. Pupils' primary school grades play a crucial role only in the admissions procedure, and the exact cut-off point for admission is not known at the time of application. Pupils, however, might adjust their preferences according to their school grades and thus may not apply…
Peers that count: The influence of deskmates on test scores
Peer effects have been shown to be important for educational development during adolescence. Peer effect from classmates and friends, nevertheless, could be the target of interventions only to a limited extent. We hypothesize that deskmates may affect educational achievement. In contrast to friendship, deskmate relations could realistically be a target of policy intervention by teachers, who can decide on the seating arrangements in class. This s…
Differences in Roma and non-Roma students’ ratings of their peers’ popularity: An inquiry into the oppositional culture in Hungarian schools with the use of a survey experiment
Yes, You Can! Effects of Transparent Admission Standards on High School Track Choice: A Randomized Field Experiment
High school track choice determines college access in many countries. We hypothesize that some qualified students avoid the college-bound track in high school simply because they overestimate admission requirements. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a randomized field experiment that communicated the admission standards of local secondary schools on the academic track to students in Hungary before the application deadline. We targeted the sub…
No evidence of direct peer influence in upper-secondary track choice—evidence from Hungary
This paper investigates direct peer influence in upper-secondary track choice in the stratified and selective Hungarian educational system and makes two contributions to the literature. First, it tests both peer-contrasting and peer-conforming influences by considering peers’ GPA and endogenous educational choices. Second, the paper investigates mechanisms behind peer-conforming educational choices (such as peers’ normative pressure and informati…
Feasible Peer Effects: Experimental Evidence for Deskmate Effects on Educational Achievement and Inequality
Schools routinely employ seating charts to influence educational outcomes. Dependable \nevidence for the causal effects of seating charts on students’ achievement levels and inequality, \nhowever, is scarce. We executed a large pre-registered field experiment to estimate causal peer \neffects on students’ test scores and grades by randomizing the seating charts of 195 classrooms \n(N=3,365 students). We found that neither sitting next to a deskma…
Peer effects on academic self-concept: A Large Randomized Field Experiment
Social theories posit that peers affect students' academic self-concept (ASC). Most prominently, Big-Fish-Little-Pond, invidious comparison, and relative deprivation theories predict that exposure to academically stronger peers decreases students' ASC, and exposure to academically weaker peers increases students' ASC. These propositions have not yet been tested experimentally. We executed a large and pre-registered field experiment that randomize…
Rearranging the Desk Chairs: A Large Randomized Field Experiment on the Effects of Close Contact on Interethnic Relations
Contact theory predicts that interethnic exposure reduces antiminority discrimination. By contrast, conflict theory predicts that interethnic exposure worsens discrimination. Received scope conditions, however, are vague and do not properly differentiate between the domains of the theories. Furthermore, prior evidence is mostly correlational, and supportive field experiments for contact theory have largely accrued in rarefied settings. This begs …
Who Cheats? Adolescents’ Background Characteristics and Dishonest Behavior: A Comprehensive Literature Review and Insights From Two Consecutive Surveys
A growing body of experimental literature investigates how student-level background characteristics are associated with dishonest behavior in early adolescence. However, results from prior studies are mixed. To revisit earlier findings, we conducted a comprehensive literature review and executed two consecutive, large-scale, incentivized surveys in Hungarian primary schools involving the same students in different academic years. We focused on ei…
The effect of positive feedback on primary school students' academic self-concept: Gender heterogeneity in a light-touch randomized intervention
This study analyzes the causal effect of positive feedback on students' task-specific math self-concept using data from a randomized field experiment conducted among rural Hungarian primary school students. It examines how academic self-concept (ASC) responds to the smallest possible dose of positive feedback-a single instance-and explores treatment heterogeneity by gender. The results show that all students who received randomized positive perfo…
Discrimination in track recommendation but not in grading: Experimental evidence among primary school teachers in Hungary
This study examines discrimination in teacher assessments and track recommendations against Roma minority students in Hungary. We conducted a pre-registered randomized experiment among 413 primary school teachers. Participating teachers evaluated six mathematics or literacy and grammar tests with fictitious, randomized student names and recommended a high school track. Our results show mixed evidence for discrimination against Roma students: teac…
Track recommendations moderate socioeconomic differences during the transition from primary to secondary education
Psychology (14 works) · Social Psychology (12 works) · Mathematics education (8 works) · School Choice and Performance (8 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Economics (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Developmental psychology (5 works) · Mathematics (5 works) · Academic achievement (4 works)