Deficits theory posits that women scientists have not yet achieved parity with men scientists because of structural aspects of the scientific environment that provide them with fewer opportunities and more obstacles than men. The current study of 208 faculty women scientists tested this theory by examining the effect of personal negative experiences and perceptions of the workplace climate on job satisfaction, felt influence, and productivity. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated that women scientists experiencing more sexual harassment and gender discrimination reported poorer job outcomes. Additionally, perceptions of a generally positive, nonsexist climate, as well as effective leadership, were related to positive job outcomes after controlling for harassment and discrimination. We discuss implications for the retention and career success of women in academic science.

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The current study examined whether women scientists' perceptions of voice moderate the impact of poor workplace climates on job satisfaction and whether effective leadership and mentoring promote women's voice. Survey data were collected from 135 faculty women in the natural sciences. The results from multiple regression analyses indicated that negative (e.g., sexist, hostile) departmental climates were related to lower job satisfaction. However, voice interacted with climate, such that women who perceived that they had more voice in departmental matters showed higher levels of job satisfaction than those who perceived having less voice. An additional regression indicated that mentoring by other women (but not men) in academia and effective departmental leadership were positively related to women's sense of voice. Theoretical and practical implications for the retention and success of women in male-dominated fields are discussed.

Counterfactual thinking entails the process of imagining alternatives to reality--what might have been. The present study examines the frequency, content, and emotional and cognitive concomitants of counterfactual thinking about past missed opportunities in midlife women. At age 43, nearly two-thirds of the sample of educated adult women reported having missed certain opportunities at some time in their lives. Most of the counterfactual thoughts concerned missed opportunities for greater challenge in work. Emotional distress at age 33 did not predict later counterfactual thought. Instead, counterfactual thinking at age 43 was associated with concurrent emotional distress. However, acknowledging counterfactual thinking about the past was also associated with envisioning ways to change things for the better in the future. This suggests the possibility that the negative appraisal often entailed in counterfactual thinking may be associated with emotional distress in the short run but with motivational benefits in the long run, at least for middle-aged women.KEY WORDS: Counterfactual thought; emotion; midlife women; motivation; work.I think I don't regret a single "excess" of my responsive youth--I only regret, in my chilled age, certain occasions and possibilities I didn't embrace.Henry James INTRODUCTIONPossible but unactualized states, or alternatives to reality, are called counterfactuals, thinking about counterfactuals is called counterfactual thought (Goodman, 1973;Kahneman & Tversky, 1982a;Kripke, 1980;Lewis, 1973 (Hampshire, 1983). In the present study, we examined the frequency and content of counterfactual thoughts about missed opportunities in midlife women. We also examined the relationship between counterfactual thought and past and present emotional distress as well as the relationship between counterfactual thoughts about the past and the future. Although a relatively new area for systematic empirical inquiry, counterfactual thought has already been implicated in a variety of psychological processes, including causal attribution , self-esteem (Roese & Olson, 1993), emotional reactions to life events (Davis, Lehman, Wortman, Silver, & Thompson, 1995;Gleicher et al., 1990;Kahneman & Tversky, 1982a, Landman, 1987Landman, 1995; Lehman, 87 (Macrae, 1992;Miller, Turnbull, & McFarland, 1990;Roese & Olson, 1995), and motivation (Johnson & Sherman, 1990;Markman, Gavanski, Sherman, & McMullen, 1993;Ruvolo & Markus, 1992).With the exception of the work on possible selves by Markus and Nurius (1986) as well as that on personally relevant counterfactual thought by Landman and Manis (1992) and very recently by Davis et al. (1995), virtually all the research targeting counteffactual thought to date has been carried out in the laboratory, typically employing written vignettes describing hypothetical decision makers, events, and outcomes. Therefore, many questions remain about the nature and implications of personal counterfactual thought.Markus and Nurius' (1986) notion of "possible selves," or cognitive/affecti...