The Roles of Perceived Identity Compatibility and Social Support for Women in a Single-Sex STEM Program at a Co-educational University

Single-sex programs have been implemented in a variety of educational settings to help promote greater engagement of women in STEM fields. However, the mechanisms through which single-sex programs increase women??s engagement in STEM fields are unclear. Drawing from research in social and health psychology, we examined two theoretically-guided predictors of women??s sense of belonging in their STEM majors and belonging at the university: perceived identity compatibility between being a woman and being in a STEM field, and perceived social support. Participants were 65 racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse women enrolled in a single-sex STEM program at a co-educational university in Northeastern United States. Participants completed online surveys before the start of their first year of college, and again at the beginning of their second year of college. Findings from multiple regression analyses support hypotheses that across STEM women??s first or transitional year of college, perceived identity compatibility, perceived support from close others, and perceived support from the single-sex program for STEM women were each independently associated with greater sense of belonging in their major. Additionally, perceived identity compatibility and perceived support from the single-sex program were associated with greater sense of belonging at the university. These findings suggest that perceived support from sources such as single-sex programs and perceived compatibility between one??s field and being female may sustain women pursuing training in nontraditional fields such as STEM. Continued investigation of these factors may elucidate the impact of single-sex programs and inform interventions to increase the retention of women in STEM.     

STABILITY OF BIOLOGICAL FATHER PRESENCE AS A PROXY FOR FAMILY STABILITY: CROSS‐RACIAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH THE LONGITUDINAL DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION REGULATION IN TODDLERHOOD

The current study, utilizing data from the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (Love et al., 2005) explored the relationship between biological father presence and emotion regulation over toddlerhood among children from low‐income families. Conceptualizing biological father presence as a proxy for family role development, results are interpreted from a role development theoretical perspective. The latent growth curve model was compared based on child ethnoracial status (African American, Caucasian, Hispanic) and child gender. Consistent biological father presence was associated with toddlers’ regulatory development across toddlerhood, and this relationship was most robust among Caucasian toddlers as compared to African American toddlers. Findings for Hispanic toddlers were not significantly different from those of Caucasian or African American families. Results bolster the literature on father presence and child outcomes. Analyses address consistency in father presence as a proxy for coherent role development and define a link between consistent father presence and children's regulatory development, demonstrating ethnoracial differences which are likely attributed to the social construction of family roles.     

Changing the criterion for memory conformity in free recall and recognition

People's responses during memory studies are affected by what other people say. This memory conformity effect has been shown in both free recall and recognition. Here we examine whether accurate, inaccurate, and suggested answers are affected similarly when the response criterion is varied. In the first study, participants saw four pictures of detailed scenes and then discussed the content of these scenes with another participant who saw the same scenes, but with a couple of details changed. Participants were either told to recall everything they could and not to worry about making mistakes (lenient), or only to recall items if they were sure that they were accurate (strict). The strict instructions reduced the amount of inaccurate information reported that the other person suggested, but also reduced the number of accurate details recalled. In the second study, participants were shown a large set of faces and then their memory recognition was tested with a confederate on these and fillers. Here also, the criterion manipulation shifted both accurate and inaccurate responses, and those suggested by the confederate. The results are largely consistent with a shift in response criterion affecting accurate, inaccurate, and suggested information. In addition we varied the level of secrecy in the participants’ responses. The effects of secrecy were complex and depended on the level of response criterion. Implications for interviewing eyewitnesses and line-ups are discussed.     

Quantum Biology and Psychology

Female college students (N = 112) completed a test battery of personality scales and performance tasks at home over four consecutive evenings, under one of eight combinations of the following experimental conditions: Schedule Source (experimenter versus self) × Scheduled Starting Time (strict versus lenient) × Plausibility of the Experiment. Delay in starting, summed over four evenings, constituted the measure of behavioral procrastination. This measure was moderately correlated with high test anxiety scores and low self-regulation. Procrastination was exacerbated when subjects were permitted to schedule the time of their expected completion of the test battery. Significant interactions of specific experimental conditions and specific personal traits demonstrated the situational requirements for trait-behavior relationships to emerge. Findings supported the internal consistency and construct validity of the behavioral procrastination measure. The practical and heuristic applications of a stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) design and the theory-coordinated choice of experimental manipulation and corresponding organismic variable are recommended for future investigations of procrastination.     

In Pursuit of the MD: The Impact of Role Models, Identity Compatibility, and Belonging Among Undergraduate Women

Women continue to face gender-related challenges in the medical field in places around the world where it has traditionally been male-dominated, including in the U.S. In an online experimental study with women attending a mid-sized public university in the Northeastern U.S. (N?=?55) who were interested in pursuing a pre-medical track (being pre-med) as undergraduates, we explored the mechanisms involved in undergraduate women’s pursuit of a career as a physician, focusing on three factors: exposure to successful female physician role models, perceived identity compatibility between being a woman and being pre-med, and sense of belonging in pre-med. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental condition in which they were exposed to information about successful female physicians, or to a control condition in which no information about female physicians was provided. First, as hypothesized, participants exposed to successful female physicians reported higher perceived identity compatibility, sense of belonging, and interest in a medical career compared to those in the control condition. Second, also as hypothesized, perceived identity compatibility mediated the effect of role models on sense of belonging, and sense of belonging mediated the relationship between perceived identity compatibility and interest in a medical career. This study highlights three key factors in women’s pursuit of a career as a physician and the process through which these factors may operate. Findings support the use of role models to set a positive psychosocial process in motion that can support women’s persistence in medicine.     

Communication in relationships and adolescent substance use: the influence of parents and friends

This study focused on the openness of communication in teenagers' relationships with mother, father (or parental figure), and closest friend, and its correlation with teenagers' use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. The predictive value for substance use of perceived pressure from friends, friends' substance use, and parents' substance use was also analyzed. The findings from questionnaires and interviews conducted with 37 students at an urban and a suburban/rural high school in New England are reported. The results suggest that the degree to which adolescents talk openly with their parents may influence the extent of their substance use. The presence of at least one "open" parental figure was associated with lower levels of all substance use. However, there was no evidence that openness with a close friend or perceived pressure from friends is related to substance use.