Meta-lay theories of scientific potential drive underrepresented students’ sense of belonging to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Abstract

The current research investigates people's perceptions of others' lay theories (or mindsets), an understudied construct that we call meta-lay theories. Six studies examine whether underrepresented students' meta-lay theories influence their sense of belonging to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The studies tested whether underrepresented students who perceive their faculty as believing most students have high scientific aptitude (a universal metatheory) would report a stronger sense of belonging to STEM than those who think their faculty believe that not everyone has high scientific aptitude (a nonuniversal metatheory). Women PhD candidates in STEM fields who held universal rather than nonuniversal metatheories felt greater sense of belonging to their field, both when metatheories were measured (Study 1) and manipulated (Study 2). Undergraduates who held more universal metatheories reported a higher sense of belonging to STEM (Studies 3 and 4) and earned higher final course grades (Study 3). Experimental manipulations depicting a professor communicating the universal lay theory eliminated the difference between African American and European American students' attraction to a STEM course (Study 5) and between women and men's sense of belonging to STEM (Study 6). Mini meta-analyses indicated that the universal metatheory increases underrepresented students' sense of belonging to STEM, reduces the extent of social identity threat they experience, and reduces their perception of faculty as endorsing stereotypes. Across different underrepresented groups, types of institutions, areas of STEM, and points in the STEM pipeline, students' metaperceptions of faculty's lay theories about scientific aptitude influence their sense of belonging to STEM. (PsycINFO Database Record

Why are there so few ethnic minorities in ecology and evolutionary biology? Challenges to inclusion and the role of sense of belonging

“…STEM fields with cultures that view success as a result of brilliance tend to have fewer minorities than STEM fields with cultures that view success as a result of hard work. In other words, STEM cultures that promote fixed theories of intelligence appear to be less welcoming to URMs than STEM cultures that promote malleable theories of intelligence (e.g., see also Murphy and Dweck 2010;Rattan et al 2018). Mismatches between the cultural background of students and institutional culture can have far reaching negative consequences for students (Edman and Brazil 2009;Smith et al 2014;Stephens et al 2012a, b).…”

“…We theorized that group differences in access to resources and mismatches between students and the institutional culture present in EEB leave African American students, and potentially other URM students, vulnerable to feeling a lower sense of belonging in EEB contexts compared to White students. A person's sense of belonging in a particular academic domain refers to that person's feelings of membership and acceptance in the domain (Gilbert et al 2015;O'Brien et al 2017;Good et al 2012;Rattan et al 2018;Walton and Cohen 2007). African Americans can be vulnerable to feeling uncertain about their belonging in predominantly White college-level academic environments because of their underrepresentation and experiences of exclusion at these institutions Cohen 2007, 2011).…”

“…African Americans can be vulnerable to feeling uncertain about their belonging in predominantly White college-level academic environments because of their underrepresentation and experiences of exclusion at these institutions Cohen 2007, 2011). Moreover, STEM contexts may be especially likely to undermine feelings of belonging among historically underrepresented groups (Rattan et al 2018).…”

“…A reduced sense of belonging can have a host of negative outcomes including reduced interest, motivation, achievement, and even negative health outcomes (e.g., Cheryan et al 2009;Good et al 2012;Rattan et al 2018;Walton and Carr 2012;Walton and Cohen 2007;Walton and Cohen 2011). For example, when environmental cues present in STEM contexts undermine the belonging of underrepresented groups, they can experience lower STEM course grades, less interest in STEM courses, and less interest in pursuing STEM majors.…”

“…Why are there so few ethnic minorities in ecology and evolutionary… including ethnic minorities, White women, and White men. However, features of the STEM environment are much more likely to have a negative impact on sense of belonging among members of underrepresented groups (Rattan et al 2018;Cheryan et al 2009). Thus, sense of belonging is an important social psychological mechanism through which features of institutional environments may lead to inequitable STEM outcomes including underrepresentation.…”