Type
Text
Type
Dissertation
Advisor
Levy, Sheri | London, Bonita | Rajaram, Suparna | Scarlatos, Lori.
Date
2015-08-01
Keywords
Social psychology
Department
Department of Social/Health Psychology.
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76800
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
STEM women who perceive their gender and STEM identities as compatible have better academic performance and STEM sense of belonging than women lower in perceived identity compatibility (PIC). In a series of three studies, I addressed the limitations of the current literature on PIC and systematically tested the effects of PIC at advancing stages of education. First, I examined how individuals come to vary in their levels of identity compatibility prior to college. Study 1 examined whether theoretically-relevant experiences prior to college predict PIC among first year college undergraduates. Utilizing a new, less overt measure of identity compatibility, results suggested that high-school experiences with threat and bias negatively relate to girls' identity compatibility, while having adult STEM support and peers who model STEM interests positively relate to identity compatibility. In Study 2, building on the exclusively non-experimental work on PIC, I experimentally manipulated identity compatibility in order to examine its effect on STEM engagement outcomes. Although the manipulation failed to affect PIC, other findings indicated that describing a STEM job as more communal may cause men to perceive female job candidates as more hirable. Finally, although PIC has been established as an important factor for undergraduate STEM women, it is unknown whether identity compatibility would be necessary for women beginning graduate school in a STEM field, women who are presumably both successful and interested in STEM. Results suggested that PIC is indeed important for STEM women at the graduate level and may even buffer them from negative, stereotype-relevant experiences. Together, the present studies strengthen the promising but still fledgling work on PIC and may serve to promote the engagement, success, and retention of women in STEM fields at multiple stages in career development. | 214 pages
Recommended Citation
Ahlqvist, Sheana, "Reducing the Gender Gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Fields: Developmental and Experimental Extensions of the Perceived Identity Compatibility Model" (2015). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 2677.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/2677