In times of the rise of the "A4 waist" trend on social networks (SNs), concerns have been raised over appearance-related content's adverse effects on body image and well-being in parasocial relationships. We conducted a survey on Chinese college students (N = 333) to examine the effects of comparison targets (same-gender acquaintances,…

Similar-identity role models, including instructors, can benefit science undergraduates by enhancing their self-efficacy and sense of belonging. However, for students to have similar-identity role models based on identities that can be hidden, instructors need to disclose their identities. For concealable stigmatized identities (CSIs) - identities…

The gender gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) professions results from several factors that deter females from pursuing careers in STEM. Girls' low interest in science and lack of feeling both belonging and efficacy in science, which emerge as early as middle school, are believed to be part of the problem. This study reports…

Mathematics is a discipline that exists within a social context, a context that influences how the subject is taught and learned. Women's performance in mathematics has been shown to be vulnerable to stereotype threat, and psychologists have developed interventions aimed at reducing the effect of stereotype threat on women's mathematics…

To encourage the formation of science identity among girls, many scholars and practitioners have suggested to assign same-gender science teachers to students so that the teachers can serve as gender role models. However, direct evidence of any long-term effect of gender-matching is scarce. In a nationally representative survey of college students…

Increasing the number of Black men teachers and single-sex schooling options have been heralded as necessary to reverse trends in the failure of US education institutions to adequately educate Black boys. Too little research interrogates Black men teachers' interactions with Black boys for how they might reinforce anti-oppressive conceptions of…

Folktales serve a descriptive, as well as prescriptive role, by consistently depicting societal and cultural norms. Sexist portrayals sanction the marginality of Bukusu women, particularly when these reflect prevailing gender roles and expectations. However, contests over identity and representation are as ancient as (unwritten) history. The…

This is one of the first studies of its kind to systematically examine processes influencing youth entry, retention, and dropout from sports. To accomplish this objective, the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF), in partnership with The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation, commissioned a national survey about the participation and experiences of youth in…

Research suggests that, to narrow the gender gap in engineering, we should focus on helping young girls identify with engineering both because gendered attitudes emerge around kindergarten and because identity is more predictive than performance on persistence in the field. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of collaborative…

U.S. national data show that American Indians earn lower math and science scores than other ethnic/racial groups. In the current study, a brief, self-affirmation intervention was aimed at increasing science motivational beliefs in American Indian middle school students (n = 212, M[subscript age] = 12.7 years). Students, each read a biography of a…

Despite the growing research that outlines the experiences of Blacks and women undergraduates in engineering, little is known about Black women in this field. The purpose of this qualitative study was to uncover how eight Black undergraduate women in engineering understood their race and gender identities in a culture that can be oppressive to…

This work focused on the "Psycho-social Determinants of Gender Prejudice in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)". The females were found to be underrepresented in STEM fields. The under-representation results from gender stereotype, differences in spatial skills, hierarchical and territorial segregations and…

This article looks broadly at the critical aspects involved in the "struggle" on different phases of one's academic life in order to observe how underrepresented girls take a variety of experiences with scientists and internalize them into their personal science identities. Some of the central struggles discussed are perceptions of…

This article synthesizes sociopsychological theories and empirical research to establish a framework for exploring causal pathways and targeted interventions for the low representation of women in post-secondary physics. The rationale for this article is based upon disproportionate representation among undergraduate physics majors in the United…

The National Science Foundation recently recognized that career-life balance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) may present some unique challenges for women of color compared with their White and/or male counterparts, thus negatively impacting retention and advancement for a minority demographic that has long been…