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Feeling Like an Imposter: The Effect of Perceived Classroom Competition on the Daily Psychological Experiences of First-Generation College Students
Abstract
Many college students intend to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers but quickly abandon these goals when confronted with notoriously competitive STEM courses that often pit students against each other. This emphasis on interpersonal competition could be especially detrimental for first-generation (FG) college students, an underrepresented group in STEM fields which more strongly values communality and collaboration relative to their continuing-generation peers. Thus, FG students may experience more imposter feelings in STEM courses perceived as having a competitive culture. A longitudinal study (with 818 students and 2,638 experience-sampling observations) found that perceived classroom competition was associated with greater daily in-class imposter feelings among all students—but especially among FG students. Imposter feelings in turn predicted students’ end-of-term course engagement, attendance, dropout intentions, and course grades. Classroom competition and the imposter feelings it engenders may be an overlooked barrier for promoting the engagement, performance, and retention of FG students in STEM.
... That is, negative intelligence-based stereotypes related to one's social group membership may trigger doubts about one's competence (i.e., imposter feelings; Cokley et al., 2017;McGee et al., 2019) or the extent to which one fits within their academic environment (i.e., belonging uncertainty; Walton & Cohen, 2007). These social identity threat concerns can lead to decreased motivation and engagement, ultimately, undermining academic achievement (e.g., Canning et al., 2020). ...
... 1 The procedure in the current manuscript resembles the procedures outlined by Canning et al. (2020), since data was drawn from the same dataset. However, the present manuscript considers different variables and focuses on different topics. 2 We surveyed students on their perceptions of inequality related to both race and class, given research demonstrating a great deal of overlap between these types of inequalities. ...
... rated on the following scale: 1 = working class, 2 = lower middle class, 3 = middle class, 4 = upper middle class and 5 = upper class). As in previous research(Canning, LaCosse, Kroeper, & Murphy, 2020), family SES was recoded into a dichotomous variable (1 = working class, lower middle class and middle class; 0 = upper middle class and upper class). We used this dichotomous variable as a covariate in all analyses, however, the results are similar when using the continuous measure as a covariate. ...
Underrepresented racially and ethnically minoritized (URM) students contend with individual‐level race‐based stressors in college, like racialized discrimination and microaggressions. In this study, we consider whether URM students' perceptions of racial inequity on campus—a context‐level race‐based stressor—trigger adverse psychological and physical stress responses that, in turn, undermine academic achievement. Using a sample of 781 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students, we found in a longitudinal study that URM students report perceiving more inequality on campus compared with White and Asian students. Greater perceived inequality was, in turn, associated with increased psychological and physical stress responses, which, in some cases, predicted lower grades. Promoting more equitable college environments, therefore, may help attenuate inequalities in stress responses, ultimately, enhancing academic achievement. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement .
... The worry about confirming the negative stereotype and the need to disprove it often induce physiological stress and cognitive interferences in low SES students that disrupt their normal academic performance (Schmader et al., 2008). Importantly, low SES students appear to be more prone to the socioeconomic stereotype threat when competition is emphasized in the classroom (Bruno et al., 2019;Crouzevialle & Darnon, 2019;Darnon et al., 2018;Smeding et al., 2013). Since a performance-oriented classroom evaluates students' academic competence by comparing performances among all students (Ames, 1992), this may heighten the competitive concerns in students, which may be particularly threatening to low SES students who fear to confirm the intellectual inferiority stereotype toward them (Canning et al., 2020;Crouzevialle & Darnon, 2019;Smeding et al., 2013). ...
... In fact, some recent work indicates the possibility that low-achieving students may differ from their average/high achieving peers in how they interact with their everyday learning environment. For example, one study showed that a performance-avoidance goal was detrimental to the performance of low SES students who were high achievers, but not to low SES students who were low achievers (Bruno et al., 2019). Given our limited understanding of how the competitive nature of the classroom environment interacts with SES to shape the academic trajectories of low-achieving students, there is a critical need to expand the current investigation to this understudied group of students. ...
... In contrast, we found that higher perceived performance goal structures were more strongly negatively associated with achievement growths for students from higher SES families. This result aligns with a previous study which showed that the presence of a performance-avoidance goal led to impaired performance among only high achieving low SES students, not low achieving low SES students (Bruno et al., 2019). Together, these findings point to the possibility that academically at-risk students may differ from average or high achieving students in how they perceive and interact with their everyday learning environments. ...
The present study investigated whether the socioeconomic achievement gap in academically at-risk students varied as a function of students’ perceived classroom goal structures. We hypothesized that low socioeconomic status (SES) students would be more susceptible to the various classroom goal structures. Specifically, we hypothesized that high levels of perceived mastery classroom goal structure would mitigate, while high levels of perceived performance goal structures would exacerbate, the negative effects of low family SES on achievement development. To test these hypotheses, we analyzed a secondary dataset from a sample of 784 (53% male) low-achieving students who were assessed annually from grades 4 to 9. The patterns of adaptive learning scale was used to assess perceived classroom goal structures. Woodcock Johnson III tests of achievement or Batería III (for students who primarily spoke Spanish) were used to examine academic achievement. Socioeconomic status was determined by highest education and occupation in household and child qualification for free/reduced lunch. We conducted latent growth models to examine the predictive effects of the interactions between family SES and classroom goal structures on achievement growth trajectories. Overall, our findings did not support our main hypotheses. Specifically, perceived classroom mastery goal structure was positively associated with academic growth among all students regardless of their SES backgrounds. Perceived classroom performance goal structures negatively predicted academic growth more strongly in higher SES students than in lower SES students, stressing the negative effects of performance classroom goal structures on achievement development for low-achieving high SES students.
... The positioning of impostor phenomenon as an individual or internal trait has received criticism, because the onus of overcoming or managing rests on the individual. Recent research has focused on the environmental contributors such as workplace harassment (Chakraverty and Rishi, 2022); racial discrimination (Bernard et al., 2018;Chakraverty, 2020aChakraverty, , 2022a; hypercompetitive learning environments (Canning et al., 2020); and the underrepresentation of women, first-generation learners, and scholars of color in academia (Pulliam and Gonzalez, 2018;Stone et al., 2018;Vaughn et al., 2019;Canning et al., 2020;Chakraverty, 2022a,b,c). ...
... The positioning of impostor phenomenon as an individual or internal trait has received criticism, because the onus of overcoming or managing rests on the individual. Recent research has focused on the environmental contributors such as workplace harassment (Chakraverty and Rishi, 2022); racial discrimination (Bernard et al., 2018;Chakraverty, 2020aChakraverty, , 2022a; hypercompetitive learning environments (Canning et al., 2020); and the underrepresentation of women, first-generation learners, and scholars of color in academia (Pulliam and Gonzalez, 2018;Stone et al., 2018;Vaughn et al., 2019;Canning et al., 2020;Chakraverty, 2022a,b,c). ...
... Impostor phenomenon can impede the development of a sense of belonging in a field or domain, contributing to eventual departure from the academy (Chakraverty, 2022a). The phenomenon has been examined among different demographics in STEM, such as women (Vaughn et al., 2019), racial and/ or ethnic minorities (Stone et al., 2018;Chakraverty, 2020aChakraverty, , 2022a, first-generation learners (Pulliam and Gonzalez, 2018;Canning et al., 2020), undergraduate students (Aycock et al., 2019;Peteet et al., 2015), and graduate students (Posselt, 2018;Chakraverty, 2020c;Cisco, 2020). Yet research examining impostor phenomenon among higher education faculty (especially in STEM) is sparse. ...
Successful people experiencing impostor phenomenon consider themselves less competent and less worthy of their positions or achievements. They attribute their success to luck, deceit, fraudulence, and others being kind to them instead of their own competence. Prior research has focused primarily on students in higher education; faculty experiences of impostor phenomenon in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are not well understood. The research question guiding this inquiry was: "What kind of academic events or activities could contribute to faculty experiences of impostor phenomenon in STEM?" Using a qualitative analysis of 56 interviews, this U.S.-based study examined occurrences and experiences among faculty who self-identified as experiencing impostor phenomenon. A prior survey from the same participants revealed that they were predominantly White and female, experiencing moderate, high, or intense impostor phenomenon. Thematic interview analysis revealed that impostor phenomenon could be related to the following: 1) peer comparison, 2) faculty evaluation, 3) public recognition, 4) the anticipatory fear of not knowing, and 5) a perceived lack of competency. A comparison with findings from the larger study revealed that there are commonalities among faculty, PhD student, and postdoctorate experiences of impostor phenomenon in STEM. This necessitates professional development opportunities that could address self-limiting beliefs across the academic pipeline.
... This perception and social comparison may lead individuals to question their goals and to consider dropping out of their academic program (Canning et al., 2019). Following periods of transition, those with impostor phenomenon may dismiss their own talents, and experience the perception that they are lacking in intelligence if they are not the very best (Lane, 2015;Polach, 2004). ...
... Differences have emerged in academic self-efficacy between the academic culture of different fields of study. For example, scientific areas including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have been identified as being particularly competitive (Canning et al., 2019;Tao & Gloria, 2019). Such areas have often been associated with greater individualistic goals (including power, achievement, and self-promotion), compared to areas such as the arts and humanities, which have been associated with collectivistic goals (including collaboration and philanthropy; Diekman et al., 2010Diekman et al., , 2011. ...
... Such areas have often been associated with greater individualistic goals (including power, achievement, and self-promotion), compared to areas such as the arts and humanities, which have been associated with collectivistic goals (including collaboration and philanthropy; Diekman et al., 2010Diekman et al., , 2011. As such, the competitive academic culture may become one of 'pitting students against each other' and incorporating various techniques to communicate competitive strivings to students (e.g., the bell curve; Canning et al., 2019). Consequently, this culture has been shown to cultivate numerous negative consequences for students' sense of academic self-efficacy, and has demonstrated significantly reduced engagement and attendance, increased rates of dropout, and greater perceptions of being an impostor (Canning et al., 2019). ...
Despite growing attention surrounding impostor phenomenon (also known as “imposter syndrome”), recent reviews have suggested that current measures may be inadequate in capturing the complex and multifaceted nature of this construct (i.e., thoughts, feelings, and behaviours). The objective of my dissertation research program was to clarify the theoretical conceptualization of impostor phenomenon based on experiences in an achievement-oriented setting, and to develop a novel and psychometrically valid method of measuring this construct. I began by conducting an extensive review of the literature and developing an item pool for a novel impostor phenomenon assessment. I then conducted exploratory factor analyses (Study 1) and confirmatory factor analyses (Study 2) to assess the initial item pool and to determine the factor structure and initial psychometric properties (e.g., convergent and divergent validity) of the novel Impostor Phenomenon Assessment (IPA; Study 2 and 3). As an extension to Study 3, I also examined the longitudinal stability of impostor phenomenon and correlates with trait variables and psychological distress across the academic year (baseline and six follow-up timepoints). Results suggested excellent psychometric properties for the novel IPA. Longitudinal findings demonstrated that impostor phenomenon was relatively stable in individuals over time, with intercepts significantly varying as a function of gender and academic year. Model findings for impostor phenomenon showed that self-esteem, self-critical perfectionism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and rigid perfectionism were significant predictors. Additionally, cross-lagged panel analyses suggested partial support for a causal effect of impostor phenomenon on psychological distress across time. These findings offer preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the IPA as a novel measure of impostor phenomenon and are the first to examine the stability of impostor phenomenon in individuals over time.
... "Imposters" suffer from a chronic sense of intellectual fraudulence that overrides feelings of success or external proof of their competence. Marginalized students are likely to confront imposter syndrome, in which they contend with feelings of doubt regarding whether they have earned their success (Clance and Imes, 1978;Canning et al., 2019a). Moreover, imposter feelings are heightened for first-generation students when they perceive their classroom environments to be competitive. ...
... Moreover, imposter feelings are heightened for first-generation students when they perceive their classroom environments to be competitive. This is associated with lower levels of class engagement, attendance, grades, and greater dropout intentions (Canning et al., 2019a). ...
... Research on the impact of faculty growth mindsets provides another empirical example. STEM professors' fixed (compared to growth) mindsets about student intelligence was significantly associated with decreases in student grades, motivation, perception of faculty as emphasizing learning and development, and recommendation of their courses to other students (Canning et al., 2019a). Moreover, courses taught by STEM professors who held fixed rather than growth mindsets exhibited achievement gaps for underrepresented (Black, Latino, and Native American) students in comparison to White and Asian students (Canning et al., 2019b). ...
First-generation college students and those from ethnic groups such as African Americans, Latinx, Native Americans, or Indigenous Peoples in the United States are less likely to pursue STEM-related professions. How might we develop conceptual and methodological approaches to understand instructional differences between various undergraduate STEM programs that contribute to racial and social class disparities in psychological indicators of academic success such as learning orientations and engagement? Within social psychology, research has focused mainly on student-level mechanisms surrounding threat, motivation, and identity. A largely parallel literature in sociology, meanwhile, has taken a more institutional and critical approach to inequalities in STEM education, pointing to the macro level historical, cultural, and structural roots of those inequalities. In this paper, we bridge these two perspectives by focusing on critical faculty and peer instructor development as targets for inclusive STEM education. These practices, especially when deployed together, have the potential to disrupt the unseen but powerful historical forces that perpetuate STEM inequalities, while also positively affecting student-level proximate factors, especially for historically marginalized students.
... Many enrolled in the history classes were first-generation college students from historically underrepresented and under-resourced backgrounds. Self-destructive and selfsabotaging behaviors resulted from the students feeling like imposters who did not deserve to be enrolled at the institution [10]. The institution prohibited offering developmentallevel courses or study strategy courses, which could have better prepared students for the academic rigor of the course. ...
... The final theme of social isolation can be experienced if the student fails to seek out other students in the course to study the course material and prepare for the examination. As described earlier, all of these themes can lead to developing a sense of imposter syndrome, which can lead students to falsely assume that they do not belong in college, even for those who were successful in secondary school [10]. ...
This investigation used cross-sectional survey research methods in a high-enrollment undergraduate history course, setting out to examine test performance and metacognitive strategies that subjects self-selected prior to class, during class, and during the exam. This study examined the differences in exam scores between one group of students who self-reported completing specific metacognitive strategies and one group of students who self-reported not completing them. An online survey instrument was used to collect data from 121 students about the frequency of occurrence of specific behaviors. Frequencies and an Independent Samples T-Test were used to analyze metacognitive strategies and exam performance. The results showed the following strategies were statistically significant at the 0.05 alpha level: (1) read or listened to assigned readings and audio files before they were discussed during class; (2) frequently took part in small group discussion at the table during the class session; (3) created outlines for each of the potential essay questions to prepare for the examination; and (4) made an outline of the essay question before beginning to write while taking the exam. Limitations of the study, implications of the results, and recommendations for future research are provided. With the challenges of supporting students to earn higher grades and persist toward graduation, faculty members need to join the rest of the campus to be active agents in supporting students through simple learning strategies and effective student behaviors embedded into their courses. This may require extra time and effort to engage in professional development to learn how to embed practice with metacognitive strategies during class sessions.
... In a large meta-analysis of North American schools, Johnson et al. (1981) found that cooperation between students led to significantly increased achievement compared to individualistic competition. Canning et al. (2020) show that competitive classroom environments have a tendency to increase the prevalence of imposter feelings in first generation college students and lead to negative education outcomes Ames and Archer (1988) show that when students focus on outperforming their peers, they develop more negative feelings regarding their ability in the face of failure. Urdan (2004) found that classroom environments that emphasized competition led to selfhandicapping behaviors amongst students. ...
... Coding frameworks themselves can be subject to bias in the case where coders disagree on how to categorize interactions. To alleviate these issues researchers often turn to surveys to gauge individual perceptions of competition and cooperation in teams (Canning et al., 2020). However, surveys sent during task time can distract individuals and derail interactions. ...
To succeed, effective teams depend on both cooperative and competitive interactions between individual teammates. Depending on the context, cooperation and competition can amplify or neutralize a team's problem solving ability. Therefore, to assess successful collaborative problem solving, it is first crucial to distinguish competitive from cooperative interactions. We investigate the feasibility of using lightweight brain sensors to distinguish cooperative from competitive interactions in pairs of participants (N=84) playing a decision-making game involving uncertain outcomes. We measured brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) from social, motor, and executive areas during game play alone and in competition or cooperation with another participant. To distinguish competitive, cooperative, and alone conditions, we then trained support vector classifiers using combinations of features extracted from fNIRS data. We find that features from social areas of the brain outperform other features for discriminating competitive, cooperative, and alone conditions in cross-validation. Comparing the competitive and alone conditions, social features yield a 5% improvement over motor and executive features. Social features show promise as means of distinguishing competitive and cooperative environments in problem solving settings. Using fNIRS data provides a real-time measure of subjective experience in an ecologically valid environment. These results have the potential to inform intelligent team monitoring to provide better real-time feedback and improve team outcomes in naturalistic settings.
... This group of students is also more likely to include students with minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds than non-first-generation students (McCarron and Inkelas, 2006). First-generation students lack access to institutional knowledge in higher education and consequently have lower grades and higher dropout rates, an effect that is strongest in STEM fields (Canning et al., 2020). Furthermore, impostor phenomenon is exacerbated for first-generation students in classroom environments that are very competitive, a hallmark of many STEM subjects (Canning et al., 2020). ...
... First-generation students lack access to institutional knowledge in higher education and consequently have lower grades and higher dropout rates, an effect that is strongest in STEM fields (Canning et al., 2020). Furthermore, impostor phenomenon is exacerbated for first-generation students in classroom environments that are very competitive, a hallmark of many STEM subjects (Canning et al., 2020). Ms. Jones said that as a first-generation student, "I had no idea what I was getting myself into, " but mentorship and resources from other women were very important to gaining clarity about the field and about career opportunities. ...
Neural engineering is an emerging and multidisciplinary field in which engineering approaches are applied to neuroscience problems. Women are underrepresented in engineering fields, and indeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields generally. Underrepresentation of women is particularly notable at later academic career stages, suggesting that even though women are interested in the field, barriers exist that ultimately cause them to leave. Here, we investigate many of the obstacles to women’s success in the field of neural engineering and provide recommendations and materials to overcome them. We conducted a review of the literature from the past 15 years regarding the experiences of women in academic careers, as well as reports on the number of women in fields closely related to neural engineering from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Additionally, we interviewed six women in neural engineering who are involved in initiatives and outreach concerning the inclusion and experiences of women in engineering. Throughout the literature and interviews, we identified common themes spanning the role of identity and confidence, professional relationships, career-related hurdles, and personal and professional expectations. We explore each of these themes in detail and provide resources to support the growth of women as they climb within the field of neural engineering.
... In addition, FGCS face more psychological adversities than their continuing generation counterparts. For example, they are more stressed (Amirkhan et al., 2022), carry guilt about their educational success relative to their family (Covarrubias et al., 2015), experience imposter syndrome (Canning et al., 2020), report a lower sense of belonging in their higher education institutions Phillips et al., 2020), and encounter more discrimination and devaluing in college (Allan et al., 2016). ...
... Although they may be more positive about school in general, their outlook may be more nuanced in regard to specific courses. Prior research has demonstrated that FGCS experience more negative emotions (i.e., imposter syndrome) than CGCS when placed in competitive classroom environments (i.e., STEM; Canning et al., 2020). At the class level, they may have difficulty expressing resilience and optimism due to certain classroom characteristics, allowing them instead to report expectancy levels that are lower than or comparable to CGCS (see Gaudier-Diaz et al., 2019;Jiang et al., 2020). ...
Introduction: We investigated differences in domain-general expectancy, value, and engagement in school by generation status and how the relationship among these constructs and academic performance differ by generation status.
Methods: A total of 573 college students enrolled in introductory psychology courses participated in the study. We collected data on generation status, expectancy-value beliefs, school engagement, and official GPA data from participants, tested measurement invariance of expectancy-value beliefs and engagement between first-generation college students (FGCS) and continuing generation college students (CGCS), and conducted multigroup modeling to understand the differential relations of expectancy-value, engagement, and GPA between the two groups.
Results: We discovered that the latent mean of expectancy beliefs differed significantly by generation status, with FGCS reporting higher expectancy than CGCS. There were no differences in the latent mean of task value. Multigroup structural equation modeling revealed that the effect of expectancy-value motivation on behavioral engagement was similar across groups, but its effect on cognitive engagement was greater for the FGCS than for the CGCS. For both groups, expectancy impacted academic performance via behavioral engagement. Finally, neither expectancy-value motivation nor cognitive engagement directly predicted academic performance for either group.
Discussion: The findings have important theoretical implications for understanding motivation and achievement of FGCS and CGCS and critical practical implications regarding undergraduate education.
... While definitions vary, we consider first-generation individuals to be college students whose parents did not receive an undergraduate degree or have no experience in postsecondary education (Canning et al., 2019;Choy, 2001;Pascarella et al., 2004). FGS comprise one-third of the United States collegegoing student body; however, they have fewer financial resources than their continuing-generation peers (Bui, 2002;Sy et al., 2011). ...
... Researchers have found that raciallyminoritized FGS report higher feelings of uncertainty and insecurity towards expectations, norms, and coursework, leading to increased stress and self-doubt (Gao et al., 2020;Johnson et al., 2014;Means & Pyne, 2017). Furthermore, racially minoritized FGS may have to manage conflicting expectations of their home and school lives (Canning et al., 2019;Covarrubias et al., 2015;Vasquez-Salgado et al., 2014). These issues are compounded by social and political pressures facing students of color generally, particularly Black students, who report experiencing interpersonal racial discrimination and racial microaggressions, as well as hostile or unwelcoming racial climates on (and off) predominantly white college campuses (e.g., Fries-Britt & Griffin 2007;Solórzano et al., 2000). ...
In the current study, we examined the transition to college for first-generation women of color. Previous studies of first-year college experiences among groups with minoritized statuses have primarily focused on first-generation students or students of color separately, with little consideration of women within these groups generally, and first-generation women of color specifically. Drawing from work in Black feminist scholarship, we explored the transition to college from the perspective of first-generation women of color college students, examining the resources, strengths, and challenges experienced during this transition. Fourteen self-identified first-generation women of color students participated in semi-structured interviews. Respondents were asked a series of open-ended questions about their first-year college experiences, including family dynamics, social support, and mental health. Using thematic analysis, we identified five major themes—Identity, Imposter Phenomenon, Mixed Formal Support, Complicated Family Support, and Friendship, Social, and Emotional Support. Our findings suggest that first-generation women of color college students encounter unique challenges that warrant further investigation. Furthermore, we recommend structural programming (e.g., diversity initiatives), university policies (e.g., need-blind admissions), and increased faculty and staff diversity as strategies that will benefit all students and provide support for first-generation women of color college students.
... Additionally, a first-generation student may also struggle with feeling like an imposter in college (Canning et al., 2019). Many of these feelings stem from negative experiences with faculty, staff, and peers. ...
... This is an important finding, given the finality of lack of retention. It may be that for first-generation and Latinx students, diminished self-efficacy coupled with fewer social resources makes staying in college a more difficult task-as retention is determined by factors beyond achievement, such as increased imposter feelings (Canning et al., 2019) and reduced sense of belonging (Jehangir, 2010). In contrast, continuing-generation students may have access to social resources that can ameliorate the negative influence of a lack of self-efficacy on retention (Cataldi et al., 2018). ...
This study examines whether self-efficacy predicted academic success (via self-regulation) for first-generation and continuing-generation college students (Model 1) and among various racial/ethnic groups (Model 2). The 3,316 ethnically diverse incoming freshmen from a large, urban, public university (53% first-generation) participated in this study (43% Latinx, 24% Asian American, 23% White, and 10% Black). Participants’ ages ranged from 16 to 23 (M = 17.97, SD = 0.41). Prior to matriculation, participants completed the online institutional survey, including items exploring self-efficacy and self-regulation. This study distinguishes between emotional and behavioral aspects of self-regulation. To assess academic success outcomes, first-semester grade point averages and first-to-second year retention rates were collected from institutional data. Significant direct and indirect paths varied by generational status as well as race/ethnicity. Two types of self-regulation—emotional and behavioral regulation—had divergent effects. Increased behavioral regulation but decreased emotional regulation enhanced academic success. Findings highlight that differentiated interventions should be provided to meet diverse needs.
... During college, female and minority students are more likely to perceive research negatively and participate in research [6]. A lack of sense of belonging [7,8] and absence of strong mentors and role models have underscored why females and minorities leave science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors [9]. Summer research programs have emerged as a promising means of increasing enrollment in healthcare and science fields [4,10,11]. ...
This report describes the educational follow-up of the college coaches who participated in our Summer Research Programs from 2012 through 2019. Our program was successful as all the 45 college coaches submitted a total of 54 abstracts to a regional conference, and 100% of them were accepted for publication. On follow-up in 2023, most of the college coaches, including women and those from minority backgrounds, were enrolled or graduated from a health professional school or worked in a healthcare setting. Despite our small study population, our research program can serve as a model to increase diversity in healthcare and science fields.
... Ultimately, the whole school is blindly competing, harming itself and society. Decades of research have shown that classrooms emphasising student competition tend to harm students' confidence, motivation, happiness, and more [7]. In the process of perceived academic competition, some college students will be increasingly stressed. ...
As a new word, happiness has been in peoples eyes for a long time. Many people, especially college students nowadays, are more or less troubled by happiness and attach great importance to happiness. This paper focuses on finding out the antecedent mechanism that affects the happiness of contemporary college students, exploring the reasons and analysing its influence. This is a simple thing. This paper has done a lot of surveys and consulted a lot of data. The purpose is to discover the reasons affecting college students happiness and let them know their expectations of happiness. The results showed that several factors influenced college students happiness. These factors include academic anxiety, employment patterns, social support, and thinking patterns. Based on the research results, this paper puts forward several practical meanings to promote college students happiness. For example, universities can develop and implement programs that promote social support and improve students coping skills. College students should look at these factors that affect their happiness and take corresponding measures to improve their happiness.
... One explanation for these strong self-fulfilling effects is that individuals are aware of negative stereotypes that exist about their social group, feel threatened, and confirm the stereotype by performing below their actual ability level (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Recent studies imply that certain teaching practices, such as linking success to abilities, increase stereotype threat (e.g., Bian et al., 2018;Canning et al., 2020;Muenks et al., 2020). Stereotyped students also tend to be susceptible to adverse consequences of positive feedback: When Black students received positive feedback from a White person, they assumed the feedback was biased by the person's motivation to behave positively towards minorities, and reacted with feelings of threat and uncertainty (Major et al., 2016). ...
... Tamara Cortés Seitz y Víctor Birkner Duarte. tiene el ambiente universitario en el sentido de pertenencia(Museus & Chang, 2021), el papel de los agentes institucionales en la promoción del logro académico(McCallen & Johnson, 2020), el efecto psicológico de la percepción de la competitividad en la sala de clase(Canning et al., 2020), la relación entre mentoría y matrícula universitaria(Glass, 2023). En general, los resultados de estos y otros estudios indican que las instituciones universitarias adquieren una responsabilidad al recibir estos estudiantes y deben brindarle apoyo para asegurar el logro de sus metas académicas.El perfil de ingreso de los estudiantes universitarios en el contexto nacionalEn 2018, el Ministerio de Desarrollo Social (2019) publicó que en Chile los jóvenes que asisten a la universidad tienen edades entre los 18 y 24 años, son solteros, viven con sus familias y dependen económicamente de ellas. ...
... As encouraged, for example, by the work of the ACM Retention Committee[26].3 Competition has a role as a tool for increasing motivation, but as noted in the education literature, it can have drawbacks [see, e.g.,15], and recent work on IP has shown competition to have an impact on students in vulnerable groups[5].4 23 responses mentioned the word COVID, and only 13 (<2%) focused on its impact. ...
... In addition, the lack of institutional diversity and shortage of role models in higher education and professional school increases the notion of "not belonging" (Stone et al., 2018). The negative feelings and doubt that come from impostor phenomenon especially in the competitive science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses can lead to higher stress levels, anxiety, depression, poor attendance, lower course grades, and less persistence in STEM and beyond (Canning et al., 2019a). ...
Despite many initiatives over more than 4 decades, the diversity of United States physicians still does not reflect the diversity of the United States population. The present study undertakes a literature review of the last 30 years to investigate barriers and protective factors underrepresented college students encounter as applicants for medical school. Known barriers that influence matriculation into medical school were analyzed such as academic metrics and test scores. Additionally, elements that are less well studied were investigated such as factors perceived as barriers by underrepresented applicants in addition to protective factors that allow them to persist in their journey in the face of difficulties and adversity.
... Math performance was evaluated using two 10-question GRE style multiple choice math tests, each adapted from Canning et al. (2020). An example of a typical math problem is: "If $4500 was invested in a bond fund when the price per share was $9 and $3000 was invested in the fund when the price per share was $10, what was the average price per share purchased?". ...
Unlabelled:
First-generation (FG) college students (students for whom neither parent earned a bachelor's degree) are typically less likely to interact with their instructors and communicate with them by email or in person, compared to continuing-generation (CG) students. Qualitative research suggests FG students are less likely to seek help when they need it, and when they do seek help they are more likely to engage in passive help-seeking (e.g., waiting quietly for assistance) as opposed to active help-seeking (e.g., promptly requesting assistance through multiple methods), compared to CG students. The current laboratory study provided students with an opportunity to seek academic and non-academic help and measured whether students engaged in active help-seeking behavior. We also tested whether having a shared identity with a help-provider could increase active help-seeking behavior among FG students. Results showed that FG students were less likely to seek academic help. Among FG and CG students who sought academic help, the intervention had no significant impact on active help-seeking. However, among students seeking non-academic help, active help-seeking behaviors were significantly higher for FG college students assigned a help-provider who signaled a FG identity. In other words, having a shared identity with a help-provider led to more active help-seeking among FG college students seeking non-academic assistance. FG faculty, staff, and student workers who provide non-academic assistance may want to consider self-identifying as FG to increase help-seeking behaviors among FG students struggling to navigate the college environment.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11218-023-09794-y.
... Giving underconfident individuals more independent work tasks (Grant et al., 2011) and supporting them to contribute to group tasks (Barry and Stewart, 1997;Grant et al., 2011), might be helpful for these individuals. Further, there is some evidence to suggest that underconfident individuals respond negatively to socially competitive environments (Canning et al., 2019). Addressing competition between employees might also assist under-confident individuals to succeed. ...
Introduction
Confidence is defined as the feelings and thoughts people have during a task that result in judgments about their performance. Evidence suggests that confidence is trait-like, but thus far research on the relative match between confidence and accuracy has been primarily restricted to over-confidence effects, and subject to the methodological flaws involved with using difference scores. We sought to answer an exploratory question in this research, whether discrepancies in ability and confidence in either direction reliably predicted individual differences on a broad-spectrum and commercially available personality test, the California Psychological Inventory (CPI260).
Methods
Participants were 220 employed adults who had previously taken the CPI260 for career development purposes. They were invited to complete a measure of cognitive ability and confidence in return for feedback on the same. Data were modeled using polynomial regression and response surface analysis, to determine whether and how CPI260 personality traits were associated with matches or mismatches between accuracy and confidence in the same test.
Results
We identified negative curvilinear effects along the line of disagreement for four CPI260 scales, suggesting that both under- and over-confidence were associated with personality.
Discussion
In contrast to our expectations, individuals who were under-confident and those who were over-confident had lower achievement potential, less social confidence, and more inner conflict than other individuals in this sample. Although preliminary, these findings suggest that both over-confident and under-confident individuals are aware of potential weaknesses that impede their functioning.
... We were particularly pleased to find, for each motivation theory, at least metric measurement invariance across semesters, suggesting substantial consistency across context, even when the semesters observed varied in course modality (i.e., in-person lectures in Fall 2019 and 2021, whereas Fall 2020 was delivered online). The clear superiority of the ESEM-based measurement models for EVT and AGT, and their consistency across semesters, argues for future investigations of optimal motivation measurement models not just to inform their conceptualization (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020;Wigfield & Koenka, 2020) but also to inform how scores from those measurement models are used to deploy interventions (Rosenzweig et al., 2022) and refine education practice (e.g., creating adaptive classroom goal structures, Canning et al., 2020; making value more salient, Priniski et al., 2018; reducing perceptions of cost, Rosenzweig et al., 2020). In essence, our findings suggest the motivation instruments show sufficient consistency to be used to inform practice, in contexts similar to the one we studied, but their scores are best derived using more advanced techniques (e.g., ESEM) than is typical in practice and prior research. ...
Undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students’ motivations have a strong influence on whether and how they will persist through challenging coursework and into STEM careers. Proper conceptualization and measurement of motivation constructs, such as students’ expectancies and perceptions of value and cost (i.e., expectancy value theory [EVT]) and their goals (i.e., achievement goal theory [AGT]), are necessary to understand and enhance STEM persistence and success. Research findings suggest the importance of exploring multiple measurement models for motivation constructs, including traditional confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory structural equation models (ESEM), and bifactor models, but more research is needed to determine whether the same model fits best across time and context. As such, we measured undergraduate biology students’ EVT and AGT motivations and investigated which measurement model best fit the data, and whether measurement invariance held, across three semesters. Having determined the best-fitting measurement model and type of invariance, we used scores from the best performing model to predict biology achievement. Measurement results indicated a bifactor-ESEM model had the best data-model fit for EVT and an ESEM model had the best data-model fit for AGT, with evidence of measurement invariance across semesters. Motivation factors, in particular attainment value and subjective task value, predicted small yet statistically significant amounts of variance in biology course outcomes each semester. Our findings provide support for using modern measurement models to capture students’ STEM motivations and potentially refine conceptualizations of them. Such future research will enhance educators’ ability to benevolently monitor and support students’ motivation, and enhance STEM performance and career success.
... Finally, the physics course we examine employs grade-curving (i.e., norm-based grading), which promotes an explicit aspect of competition among students and potentially further adds to SCC. Such competitive academic environments encourage students to compare themselves to others, which can lead to anxiety and doubt in their own competence [11,12], and Canning et al. [13] demonstrate that increased perception of a competitive environment leads to increased levels of imposter feelings ("In class, I felt like people might find out that I am not as capable as they think I am"), which in turn leads to lower grades. ...
This study investigates the evolution and associations between exam grades and social comparison concern (SCC) among students in an introductory calculus-based physics course. We begin with a descriptive characterization of midterm and final exam scores as well as pre-post SCC scores, including the concurrent evolution of these scores during the course. We hypothesize a feedback loop in which changes in SCC scores are mediated by exam grades, and changes in exam scores are mediated by SCC scores. We employ a structural equation model to determine whether the data are consistent with these hypotheses. Results indicate that there were significant within-student changes in the relative grade standing from exam to exam and that changes in SCC scores depended on both the pre-SCC scores and scores on the first midterm exam. Further, we find evidence that exam scores partially mediate the association between pre- and post-SCC scores, and in turn, post-SCC scores partially mediate associations between midterm and final exam scores, though the mediation effects are somewhat small, comprising 5%–10% of the total effects between exam scores and SCC. We also find that while SCC scores are somewhat correlated with exam scores, they are only very weakly correlated with nonexam grade components, consistent with the idea that exam scores (rather than nonexam scores) are driving changes in SCC and vice versa. Overall, the results provide empirical, correlational evidence to motivate further experimental investigation into a hypothesized dynamic and iterative feedback loop in which student concern about ability or performance compared to others (SCC) can either negatively or positively interfere with student performance on exams.
... The academic engagement was worse, and graduation rates were lower among FG students at large public research institutions in the united states (Kokou-Kpolou et al., 2021). Furthermore, a survey of 948 first-year students in science, technology, engineering, and math (stem) disciplines shows that FG students are more prone to suffer impostor feelings, defined as the fear of being revealed as incompetent or unfit (Canning et al., 2020). consistent with prior research, the results of the current study imply that female college students report higher cognitiveemotional symptoms of depression. ...
... Fear of negative evaluation Competitive academic environments are often associated with higher levels of anxiety and stress. Canning et al., 2020;Posselt & Lipson, 2016 Creating cooperation instead of competition amongst students diminishes their fear of negative evaluation. Dörnyei, 2001;Liu et al., 2018 (Continued) Strategy Target source of anxiety Key theoretical justifications Supporting references 5. Prepare students in advance for speaking English in class. ...
This study attempts to empirically examine the predictive power of learner anxiety and motivation and their causality in explaining English as a foreign language (EFL) proficiency and other interrelated affective variables, including attitudes, self-confidence, and grit via a treatment-based causal model. To achieve this, the study executed a 12 weeks-experimental intervention employed by 8 EFL teachers with 282 EFL learners divided into four groups: in group 1, learners were exposed to anxiety-regulating strategies, those in group 2 were exposed to motivational strategies, those in group 3 were exposed to both anxiety-controlling and motivational strategies; and those in group 4 were not exposed to specific anxiety or motivation strategies. Data was gathered using questionnaires, classroom observations, and proficiency tests. ANOVA and ANCOVA tests were employed to assess the treatment effects and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM), and a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analyses were deployed to test a causal model for the relationship between affective variables and L2 proficiency in the group in which experiment was most effective. Significant direct paths were captured form all affective variables to L2 proficiency. Motivation and anxiety exerted significant direct, indirect, and high total effects on L2 proficiency confirming them as the best predictors and the causal variables of learners’ proficiency and the other affective variables.
... However, this excitement could be interspersed with mixed feelings of imposter syndrome for FGS students. Canning et al. (2020) discusses imposter syndrome as a feeling of self-doubt and the underlying feeling that at any moment, the student will be discovered that they are incompetent. Stress was another frequent worry for FGS (Holden, 2021). ...
This chapter will serve as a literature review of first-generation college students. The authors will discuss the definition of being first-generation. Additionally, there will be concentration on the barriers faced at both the pre-college and college levels, along with recommendations for individual and institutional support. To further highlight the self-efficacy of first-generation students, personal narratives will be used to tell their stories about their own experiences. Lastly, using a strengths-based model approach, the authors will uncover what institutions can do to recruit but retain this student population.
... For instructors, a critical approach might involve reducing the weight of high-stakes assessments, which are known to produce biased results (Walton and Spencer, 2009;Walton et al., 2013), during the calculation of course grades. When students from all backgrounds are expected to navigate a university culture that may be incongruent with their own (e.g., Stephens, Fryberg et al., 2012;Stephens, Townsend et al., 2012;Jury et al., 2015;Boucher et al., 2017;Canning et al., 2020;Chang et al., 2020) in order to perform well on traditional measures of achievement (e.g., high-stakes testing), the definition and construction of belonging may look vastly different for marginalized vs. privileged groups. ...
This exploratory, mixed-methods study examines first-year general chemistry students' written responses on a belonging survey. Responses were thematically analyzed to identify students’ sources of belonging, which may help instructors choose effective strategies for enhancing belonging during the transition into college. Qualitative analysis generated a codebook containing 21 codes from 6 categories: Course Attributes, Interest, Perceptions, Social, Student Attributes, and Value. The qualitative coding data were transformed into quantitative frequency data, allowing identification of the most frequent themes across all participants on each of four surveys: early- and late-semester General Chemistry 1 and 2. Additional analyses explored how belonging explanations varied based on student characteristics that might influence their experience of this large introductory STEM course at a selective, high-income, predominantly White institution. Unique sources of belonging were expected to emerge for groups marginalized in STEM ( i.e. , Black and Hispanic students, women) and groups who might feel discouraged by a selective institutional and course culture ( i.e. , students with no credit-bearing AP scores, low course grades, or high belonging uncertainty). Results indicate the importance of interest for all participants' course-level belonging. Students' career goals, perceptions of the course content, and social dynamics with peers also proved universally influential. Some patterns were especially pronounced for marginalized or discouraged groups, who were disproportionately likely to discuss social comparisons and interactions, self-evaluate, and describe the utility-value of the course. These groups were also less likely to express positive cognitive and affective engagement in the course. Implications for supporting student belonging throughout the course sequence are discussed.
... This could be related to lower self-esteem related to racial/ethnic identity López, 2008). Further, the competitive culture of STEM may make first-generation students experience IP (Canning et al., 2020). The intersection of minority identities was particularly interesting. ...
Impostor phenomenon (IP) is an experience of psychological discomfort where some high-achieving people disbelieve their success. Those experiencing IP feel undeserving and fear being discovered as a fraud in one’s area of expertise. This study examined how early career researchers or ECRs of Hispanic/Latino origin in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields described ethnicity-based experiences of IP. The research question examined how Hispanic/Latino ECRs (current PhD students and postdoctoral trainees) in STEM describe ethnicity-based experiences of IP during doctoral or postdoctoral training. Twenty-nine US-based ECRs were sequentially surveyed and interviewed. Participants were recruited purposefully and by snowball sampling through professional networks and social media. Descriptive statistics from surveys indicated that participants experienced moderate to intense IP at the time of the study with a mean score of 73.65/100 indicating high IP. Interviews with the same participants were coded and thematically displayed using constant comparison. The following themes were constructed: 1) family background and first-generation status, 2) disparity in observable traits and ethnic identity, 3) communicating in English, 4) enhance diversity, and, 5) underrepresentation and isolation. IP in connection with racial, ethnic, and other identities is poorly understood; culturally-informed understanding requires more research.
... Students face negative consequences during competition with fellow classmates causing imposter syndrome. (1) These various academic pressures and conditions affect their emotions internally. Every student has their own social and personal life, which is way different from the competitive school world. ...
... One explanation for these strong self-fulfilling effects is that individuals are aware of negative stereotypes that exist about their social group, feel threatened, and confirm the stereotype by performing below their actual ability level (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Recent studies imply that certain teaching practices, such as linking success to abilities, increase stereotype threat (e.g., Bian et al., 2018;Canning et al., 2020;Muenks et al., 2020). Stereotyped students also tend to be susceptible to adverse consequences of positive feedback: When Black students received positive feedback from a White person, they assumed the feedback was biased by the person's motivation to behave positively towards minorities, and reacted with feelings of threat and uncertainty (Major et al., 2016). ...
Teachers often provide more positive feedback to ethnic minority students than to ethnic majority students in order to compensate for potential discrimination. However, even feedback that sounds positive can have unwanted effects on the students, such as reinforcing negative beliefs and reducing motivation. In this experimental pilot study, we investigated whether teachers were more likely to convey such dysfunctional feedback to students from immigrant backgrounds than to students from non-immigrant backgrounds. Teachers ( N = 186) read descriptions of classroom situations and indicated the feedback they would provide to the fictive students. The students’ names implied either an immigrant background associated with low competence stereotypes or no immigrant background. For the most part, feedback did not differ according to immigrant status. Yet, there were some situation-specific differences: When immigrant students failed despite effort, teachers used a simpler language in their feedback. In one of two scenarios describing students who succeeded easily without effort, teachers were more likely to provide dysfunctional ability feedback, dysfunctional effort feedback, and inflated praise to a student from an immigrant background than to a student from a non-immigrant background. A subsequent expert survey ( N = 12) was conducted to evaluate the scenario-based feedback test. In sum, the study contributes to the field by providing first signs that students from immigrant backgrounds might be at risk of receiving not only more positive but actually more dysfunctional feedback. Furthermore, the study presents a practice-oriented, standardized, and economic instrument to assess teachers’ dysfunctional feedback, which may be used in future research.
... For example, students who enter college with less familiarity with the hidden expectations of college or without cultural guides might make negative inferences about different challenges that hinder chances for success. Indeed, minoritized students might experience impostor syndrome as a result of feeling less prepared for or familiar with academic life (e.g., Canning et al., 2020;Peteet et al., 2015). Naming differential advantages masked by the hidden curriculum can help to reverse these effects. ...
... First-generation students appear to have a higher rate of winter class attendance than non-first-generation students, but a lower rate during spring classes. Prior studies suggest that such differences could be because of perceived classroom competitiveness, which contributes to differences in engagement, attendance and retention in courses [14]. While first-generation students seem to spend less time in the food area than non-first-generations in the fall, the difference diminishes and becomes insignificant during the winter and spring terms. ...
The transition from high school to college is a taxing time for young adults. New students arriving on campus navigate a myriad of challenges centered around adapting to new living situations, financial needs, academic pressures and social demands. First-year students need to gain new skills and strategies to cope with these new demands in order to make good decisions, ease their transition to independent living and ultimately succeed. In general, first-generation students are less prepared when they enter college in comparison to non-first-generation students. This presents additional challenges for first-generation students to overcome and be successful during their college years. We study first-year students through the lens of mobile phone sensing across their first year at college, including all academic terms and breaks. We collect longitudinal mobile sensing data for N=180 first-year college students, where 27 of the students are first-generation, representing 15% of the study cohort and representative of the number of first-generation students admitted each year at the study institution, Dartmouth College. We discuss risk factors, behavioral patterns and mental health of first-generation and non-first-generation students. We propose a deep learning model that accurately predicts the mental health of first-generation students by taking into account important distinguishing behavioral factors of first-generation students. Our study, which uses the StudentLife app, offers data-informed insights that could be used to identify struggling students and provide new forms of phone-based interventions with the goal of keeping students on track.
... Feelings of fraudulence were common across gender, race, age, and a range of occupations though they may be more prevalent and disproportionally impact the experiences of underrepresented or disadvantaged groups [6]. First-generation college students, academics, marketing managers, chief executive officers, celebrities, and many others report experiencing IP at some time in their life [3,[6][7][8][9]. Psychological characteristics that are associated with increased susceptibility to IP include introversion, trait anxiety, perfectionism, dependence on others for feelings of validation or success, high propensity for shame, high family conflict, generalized anxiety, depressive symptoms, excessive worry, and low self-confidence [5]. ...
The impostor phenomenon (IP) (also known as impostor syndrome) describes high-achieving individuals who, despite their objective successes, fail to internalize their accomplishments and have persistent self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud or impostor. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of IP within a sample of nutrition and dietetics students and practitioners. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted and utilized a non-random, convenience sampling approach. A total of 1015 students, dietetic interns, and currently practicing and retired registered dietitian nutritionists and nutrition and dietetic technicians registered provided complete responses. IP was assessed with the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS). Self-reported job satisfaction and well-being were assessed using validated scales. Average CIPS score was 66.0 ± 16.3 (range 22–99), and higher scores indicate more frequent or severe IP experiences. Frequent or intense IP was reported by 64% of survey respondents (n = 655). Older age, greater educational attainment and professional level, and membership in Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics groups were associated with lower IP scores. Greater social media use was associated with higher IP scores. Job satisfaction and overall well-being were inversely correlated with IP (p < 0.001). Findings suggest that IP experiences were common among a majority of nutrition and dietetics students and practitioners surveyed. Additional research and development of preventative strategies and interventions is needed.
Research has shown that undergraduate research experiences can have substantive effects on retaining students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, it is impossible to provide individual research experiences for every undergraduate student, especially at large universities. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have become a common approach to introduce large numbers of students to research. We investigated whether a one-semester CURE that replaced a traditional introductory biology laboratory course could increase retention in STEM as well as intention to remain in STEM, if the results differed according to demography, and investigated the possible motivational factors that might mediate such an effect. Under the umbrella of the Authentic Research Connection (ARC) program, we used institutional and survey data from nine semesters and compared ARC participants to non-participants, who applied to ARC but either were not randomly selected or were selected but chose not to enroll in an ARC section. We found that ARC had significant effects on demographic groups historically less likely to be retained in STEM: ARC participation resulted in narrowing the gaps in graduation rates in STEM (first vs continuing-generation college students) and in intention to major in STEM [females vs males, Persons Excluded because of Ethnicity or Race (PEERs) vs non-PEERs]. These disproportionate boosts in intending STEM majors among ARC students coincide with their reporting a greater sense of student cohesiveness, retaining more interest in biology, and commenting more frequently that the course provided a useful/valuable learning experience. Our results indicate that CUREs can be a valuable tool for eliminating inequities in STEM participation, and we make several recommendations for further research.
Children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds often have more negative self-views than their peers. How are these self-views shaped by teacher-student interactions in the classroom, and what are the consequences of these self-views for achievement inequality? We present a developmental framework addressing these questions by bridging insights from the psychological, educational, and sociological literatures. We show that children from low-SES backgrounds perceive themselves as less intelligent, less able to grow their intelligence, less deserving, and less worthy, independent of their actual abilities and achievements. We demonstrate how negative intellectual stereotypes-expressed through daily interactions with teachers in classrooms, such as teachers' expectations, feedback, and attention-undercut the self-views of children from low-SES backgrounds. We also show how this process can be exacerbated by institutional and cultural values reflecting a belief in meritocracy (e.g., schools that encourage competition, emphasize raw ability, and attribute achievement inequality to intrinsic factors), which are common in countries with high income inequality and rigid between-school tracking. The ensuing more negative self-views introduce psychological barriers that undermine the academic achievement of children from low-SES backgrounds, thereby reinforcing achievement inequality. This represents an enormous loss of potential and perpetuates harm into adulthood. Socioeconomic disparities in self-views can emerge early in life and widen with age, underlining the need for developmental research and timely intervention. We discuss implications for studying the nature, origins, and consequences of socioeconomic disparities in self-views, and for designing interventions to reduce achievement inequality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Background
Nontraditional students bring to medicine inherent characteristics and perspectives that enrich the learning environment and contribute to expanding diversity in medicine. However, research has shown that these students, by virtue of their sociodemographic backgrounds, face unique challenges in medical education, which ultimately place them at a disadvantage compared to traditional medical students. The purpose of this study is to explore relationships between sociodemographic factors, stress, and academic performance, in the context of student outcomes that may influence diversity in medicine.
Methods
Perceived Stress Scale-4 surveys collected at four educational milestones and exam performance data on 358 of 360 students were utilized for the purposes of this retrospective observational cohort study. Using independent samples t-test, mean stress and academic performance were compared between groups based on generational status, underrepresented in medicine (URM) status, socioeconomic status, and age at matriculation. Results were considered significant where (P < .05).
Results
First-generation college students had significantly higher stress at the end of third year clerkships (mean 7.8 vs. 6.8, P= .03). URM students had significantly lower pre-clinical exam scores (mean 81.37 vs. 83.07, P = .02). Students who were 30 years of age or older at matriculation had significantly lower exam scores on all academic performance measures.
Conclusion
Expanding the sociodemographic diversity among physicians, and by extension, medical students, has long been recognized as an important avenue to address healthcare inequities for marginalized populations in the US. Results from our study suggest that aspects of medical education undermine the success of URM and older medical students, and thwart well-being in first-generation medical students. Residency program directors continue to use USMLE test scores as a primary metric to screen applicants. Therefore, poor performance on these exams has profound consequences on career trajectory which, in turn, may be impeding progress towards increasing diversity in medicine. Stress, depression, burnout, the learning environment, and academic performance are intimately related. A deeper understanding of the interplay between sociodemographic characteristics and success in medical school, both psychosocially and academically, is prudent to achieve diversity in medicine and, ultimately, health equity.
Objective:
To determine the factors associated with impostor syndrome in medical students from six regions of Peru.
Material and methods:
A multicentre, cross-sectional study was conduced on students from first to the sixth year in six Peruvian regions. Sociodemographic, academic, and psychological characteristics were included through the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale. Generalised linear models were performed using crude and adjusted estimated prevalence ratios.
Results:
Of 2,231 medical students, 54.3% were female and 30.6% had the impostor phenomenon. An association was found between the PI and those who suffered from depression (aPR=1.51; 95%CI, 1.27-1.79), anxiety (aPR=2.25; 95%CI, 1.75-2.90), stress (aPR=1.37; 95%CI, 1.19-1.57), and being female (aPR=1.12; 95%CI, 1.01-1.26).
Conclusions:
Three out of 10 medical students suffer from PI; having some level of depression, anxiety, stress, being a woman, and/or attending the fourth academic year were predisposing factors for their development.
The present study analyzes Imposter Phenomenon (IP) through the lens of three different motivational frameworks. Expectancy Value Theory, Attribution Theory, and Self-Determination Theory were used to study IP among academics. With 72% of participants experiencing frequent or intense IP levels, IP was prevalent among those sampled. Females experienced higher IP than males, although race and first-generation status did not significantly impact IP levels. Post docs had higher IP scores than tenured faculty and full-time non-tenured faculty had higher IP scores than tenured faculty. Younger academics had higher IP scores. Analyses of the motivational frameworks showed significant differences by IP level.
Growth mindset interventions directed at students aim to change students' beliefs about the malleability of ability. These interventions have had mixed results, with some showing impressive findings (e.g., improving grades and persistence in science and closing performance gaps), while other implementations have shown null findings. This heterogeneity suggests that growth mindset interventions should not be viewed as a sole solution for improving educational outcomes for students and that further research is needed to identify the contextual factors that influence their effectiveness. We propose new theoretical directions in mindset research that adopts an anti‐deficit model and moves away from focusing exclusively on students and their belief systems. Instead, we encourage a new wave of mindset research that considers the institutional, cultural, and contextual environment that either corroborates or negates students' mindset beliefs. We propose a new approach to mindset research that emphasizes innovative approaches to better understand the conditions under which mindset interventions are effective.
Social psychologists have long been interested in studying the effects of threat on physiology, affect, cognition, and behavior. However, researchers have traditionally examined threat at the level of individuals, relationships, or groups, rather than studying commonalities that exist across these levels. In this chapter, we propose that social evaluative threat – the real, imagined, or potential experience of being negatively evaluated – can occur at the level of the individual self, as a relational partner, or as a group member. Individual, relational, and collective selves are not always distinct entities, but are flexible and can overlap with one another. Across these levels, individuals differ in the degree to which they perceive and respond to social evaluative threat, depending on their psychological distance from the threat and expectations and motivation to detect threat. When people perceive a threat to any of these levels, they respond by engaging in behaviors reflecting approach or avoidance motivation. Overall, our model encourages researchers to assess key moderators of threat, examine threats at different levels of the self, and consider how experiences of threat at one level may impact other levels. By highlighting the flexibility of the self, researchers can test interventions that change threat cues in the environment, attenuate perceptions of threat, or help people cope with threat.
An unresolved and controversial issue in the perfectionism literature is whether perfectionism is beneficial, harmful, or unneeded. The Model of Excellencism and Perfectionism (MEP) was recently developed to address this question by distinguishing the pursuit of perfection from the pursuit of excellence (Gaudreau, 2019). In this article, we report the results of the first empirical test of the core assumptions of the MEP. Across 5 studies (total N = 2,157), we tested the conceptual, functional, and developmental distinctiveness of excellencism and perfectionism. In Study 1, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with two samples supported the hypothesized two-factor structure of the newly developed Scale of Perfectionism and Excellencism (SCOPE). Study 2 provided evidence of convergent and discriminant validity from scores obtained from the SCOPE, and showed that, over and above excellencism, perfectionism was not associated with additional benefits (e.g., life satisfaction) or harms (e.g., depression). Studies 3-4 focused on the academic achievement of undergraduates and showed that, compared to excellence strivers, perfection strivers more often aimed for perfect A+ grades (Study 3), but in fact achieved worse grades (Study 4). Study 5 adopted a four-wave longitudinal design with undergraduates and showed that excellencism and perfectionism were associated with an upward and a downward spiral of academic development. Overall, the results support the core assumptions of the MEP and show that perfectionism is either unneeded or harmful.
Engineering self‐efficacy, or the belief in one's own capabilities to complete engineering tasks, has been shown to predict greater motivation, academic performance, and retention of engineering students. Investigating the types of experiences that influence engineering students' self‐efficacy can reveal ways to support students in their undergraduate engineering programs. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine how undergraduate engineering students describe the sources of their engineering self‐efficacy and whether patterns in students' responses differed by gender. Participants (N = 654) were undergraduate engineering students attending two public, land‐grant universities in the U.S. Open‐ended survey questions were used to identify the events, social experiences, and emotions that students described as relevant to their engineering self‐efficacy. Chi‐square analyses were used to investigate whether response patterns varied by gender. Students described enactive performances as their most salient source of self‐efficacy, but interesting insights also emerged about how engineering students draw from social and emotional experiences when developing their self‐efficacy. Women more often referred to social sources of self‐efficacy and reported fewer positive emotions than did men. Findings suggest ways that educators can provide more targeted opportunities for students to develop their self‐efficacy in engineering.
First‐generation college students (FGCS) face unique challenges compared to non‐first‐generation peers. Lack of personal, emotional, financial, or psychological support may create difficulties adapting to college. The focus on affordability in higher education and lowering the cost of a bachelor's degree has also made the transfer process an essential part of degree completion for many, with only 41% of transfer students pursuing a bachelor's degree will achieve that goal. Research has made the connection that diminished personal support from parental figures may impact the mental health of FGCS transfer students, leading to higher dropout, lower retention, and lower degree completion rates. Students who experienced increased personal support might experience fewer mental health issues, resulting in a higher chance of degree completion. Future research implications include prioritizing support systems and mental health services to aid FGCS and transfer students lacking personal support in degree completion.
Presentation of data is a major component to academic research. However, programming languages, computational tools, and methods for exploring and analyzing data can be time consuming and frustrating to learn and finding help with these stages of the broader research process can be daunting. In this work, we highlight the impacts that computational research support programs housed in library contexts can have for fulfilling gaps in student, staff, and faculty research needs. The archival history of one such organization, Software and Services for Data Science (SSDS) in the Stanford University Cecil H. Green Library, is used to outline challenges faced by social sciences and humanities researchers from the 1980s to the present day. To compliment this history, participation metrics from consulting services (1999–2021) and workshops (2000–2021) are presented along with updated workshop participant feedback forms ( n = 99) and further illustrate the profound impacts that these services can have for helping researchers succeed. Consulting and workshop metrics indicate that SSDS has supported at least 27,031 researchers between 1999 and 2021 (average of more than 1175 per year). A t-test on the feedback form data indicates that participant knowledge in workshops statistically significantly increased more than one scale point from workshop start to completion. Results also indicate that despite our successes, many past challenges continue to present barriers regardless of exponential advances in computing, teaching, and learning—specifically around learning to access data and learning the software and tools to use it. We hope that our story helps other institutions understand how indispensable computational research support is within the library.
The demand for higher education has been increasing in Jamaica as in many other Caribbean countries. Those who respond to such demands, pursuing further studies in higher education, will need to navigate many obligations and challenges. Additionally, some individuals may be First Generation (FG) adult learners and may lack the tacit knowledge and emotional sustenance to help them succeed. Consequently, adult learners pursuing postgraduate studies will need support in understanding themselves as learners and how to succeed. This study reports findings on challenges that non-traditional adult learners in a Jamaican higher education context face in pursuing postgraduate studies. Using the photovoice research method, qualitative data were collected from 10 adult learners through photographed representations of prompts, photovoice focus group discussions, and participants’ reflections. The main findings revealed that the adult learners experienced multiple conflicting emotions as they engaged in their postgraduate programmes of study; experienced challenges balancing their multiple roles and responsibilities, some of which were linked to their status as FG adult learners; and characterised the COVID-19 pandemic as having a dualistic nature, one that exacerbated challenges whilst also offering them opportunities to focus on their studies as well as themselves. The article makes recommendations for supporting these adult learners at the institutional and personal levels as they pursue their studies.
Psychology is a popular subject to study, with thousands entering graduate school each year, but unlike med or pre-law, there is limited information available to help students learn about the field, how to successfully apply, and how to thrive while completing doctoral work. The Portable Mentor is a useful, must-have resource for all students interested in psychology. This third edition is updated and expanded, designed to address students' and trainees' need for open dialogue and mentorship. Throughout, it covers some of the common challenges graduates face and features discussions about how to celebrate your identity and find a rewarding, worthwhile career path. It comprises thirty chapters written by more than seventy of the field's top experts, successfully filling a void in professional development advice.
Psychology is a popular subject to study, with thousands entering graduate school each year, but unlike med or pre-law, there is limited information available to help students learn about the field, how to successfully apply, and how to thrive while completing doctoral work. The Portable Mentor is a useful, must-have resource for all students interested in psychology. This third edition is updated and expanded, designed to address students' and trainees' need for open dialogue and mentorship. Throughout, it covers some of the common challenges graduates face and features discussions about how to celebrate your identity and find a rewarding, worthwhile career path. It comprises thirty chapters written by more than seventy of the field's top experts, successfully filling a void in professional development advice.
Minoritized students — low-income, first-generation students of color — leverage skills when navigating higher education. Yet, institutions often misrecognize this navigational capital, rendering it invaluable and missing an opportunity to learn from students. We explored how 16 first-year minoritized students — who participated in a counterspace aimed to affirm their experiences — translated their navigational capital into feedback for institutional change. Through surveys, students reported that institutional practices perpetuated misrecognition by privileging Whiteness; endorsing deficit assumptions about students’ abilities; and making campus resources inaccessible. Activating their navigational capital, students offered concrete advice for how institutions can better recognize and support their lived experiences.
This article analyses the relationship between impostor phenomenon and motivation in academic women. These highly successful academics often express feelings of self-doubt, lack of belongingness, and incompetence, ideas echoed within motivation literature. This project establishes IP prevalence within 1,326 self-identified academic women and examines the relationship between IP and motivation (operationalized by measures from Expectancy-Value Theory, Attribution Theory, and Self-Determination Theory). Findings indicate elevated levels of IP amongst our female academic sample. Statistically significant relationships were observed between IP and measures of motivation, including negative relationships between IP and sense of relatedness, as well as IP and attributions of success and failure. Results also indicate a combination of feelings of competence and relatedness, attributions to luck, ability, ease, and effort, and both cost and utility values predict 57.6% of the variance in IP sum score. Implications for graduate and early career supports, as well as systemic and cultural changes are discussed.
Abundant research has shown that the endorsement of performance-avoidance goals in
academic contexts is associated with negative outcomes, including poor academic
achievement. The present study tests students’ social class as a moderator of the relationship between performance-avoidance goals and achievement. Two hundred thirty students (106 lower-class students and 124 upper-class students, Mage = 18.57, SD = 1.28) were asked to report the highest academic degree obtained by their mother and father and complete a performance-avoidance goal scale. Participants’ initial academic level was measured. In addition, depending on the condition, they were led to believe they had great (vs. poor) chances to succeed at the university. They then solved Advanced Progressive Matrices measuring their achievement. As expected, performance-avoidance goals negatively predicted achievement only for lower-class students, and this moderation mainly appeared for high academic achievers. The manipulation of the success vs. failure expectancies did not moderate the effect. These results confirm that the adoption of performance-avoidance goals would be especially deleterious for lower-class students who succeed, supporting an interpretation in terms of the upward mobility process lower-class students achieve when succeeding in higher education.
This study examined stress, coping, and perceived academic goal progress among first- (n = 363) and continuing-generation (n = 325) college students. Stress was significantly related to institutional supports for first- but not continuing-generation students. In addition, institutional supports explained the relation between stress and perceived academic goal progress for first- but not continuing-generation college students. Reflective coping explained the relation between stress and perceived academic goal progress for first- and continuing-generation college students. Contrary to hypotheses, friend and family supports did not explain the relation between stress and perceived academic goal progress for first- or continuing-generation college students. Findings point to the relative importance of institutional supports in understanding links between stress and perceived academic goal progress for first-generation college students. (PsycINFO Database Record
The United States lags behind many Asian countries in engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). An unexplored factor in these country-level differences may be U.S.–Asia gaps in perceptions of the goal opportunities provided by STEM. Across four studies, U.S. students perceived fewer communal opportunities (working with/helping/relationships with others) in STEM than Asian students; this differential perception contributed to U.S.–Asia gaps in STEM interest. Perceptions of communal opportunities in STEM did not follow from a general orientation to perceive that all careers provided communal opportunities but from communal engagement in STEM. Perceptions about communal opportunities in STEM predicted STEM interest, and communal experience in STEM predicted STEM interest beyond quantity of STEM exposure. Experimentally highlighting the perceived communal opportunities in science closed the cultural gap in positivity toward a scientist career (Study 5). Perceptions of communal opportunities in STEM provide a new vantage point to improve U.S. engagement in STEM.
Recent research suggests that underrepresented minority (URM) college students, and especially first-generation URMs, may lose motivation to persist if they see science careers as unable to fulfill culturally relevant career goals. In the present study, we used a mixed-methods approach to explore patterns of motivation to pursue physical and life sciences across ethnic groups of freshman college students, as moderated by generational status. Results from a longitudinal survey (N = 249) demonstrated that freshman URM students who enter with a greater belief that science can be used to help their communities identified as scientists more strongly over time, but only among first-generation college students. Analysis of the survey data were consistent with content analysis of 11 transcripts from simultaneously conducted focus groups (N = 67); together, these studies reveal important differences in motivational characteristics both across and within ethnicity across educational generation status. First-generation URM students held the strongest prosocial values for pursuing a science major (e.g., giving back to the community). URM students broadly reported additional motivation to increase the status of their family (e.g., fulfilling aspirations for a better life). These findings demonstrate the importance of culturally connected career motives and for examining intersectional identities to understand science education choices and inform efforts to broaden participation.
Clance (1978) first identified the Impostor Phenomenon in therapeutic sessions with highly successful women who attributed achievements to external factors even in the presence of evidence to the contrary. These individuals, believing themselves unworthy of promotions, recognition and rewards, saw themselves as frauds. Those dealing with impostor tendencies put a considerable amount of pressure on themselves to maintain the façade and as such are known to exhibit high levels of perfectionism and workaholic behaviors. This article reviews the definition and traits associated with the Impostor Phenomenon with a focus on incidence and impact in higher education.
As compared to continuing-generation students, first-generation students are struggling more at university. In the present article, we question the unconditional nature of such a phenomenon and argue that it depends on structural competition. Indeed, most academic departments use harsh selection procedure all throughout the curriculum, fostering between-student competition. In these departments, first-generation students tend to suffer from a lack of student-institution fit, that is, inconsistencies with the competitive institution's culture, practices, and identity. However, one might contend that in less competitive academic departments continuing-generation students might be the ones experiencing a lack of fit. Using a cross-sectional design, we investigated the consequences of such a context- and category-dependent lack of fit on the endorsement of scholastically adaptive goals. We surveyed N = 378 first- and continuing-generation students from either a more competitive or a less competitive department in their first or final year of bachelor's study. In the more competitive department, first-to-third year decrease of mastery goals (i.e., the desire to learn) was found to be steeper for first- than for continuing-generation students. In the less competitive department, the reversed pattern was found. Moreover, first-to-third year decrease of performance goals (i.e., the desire to outperform others) was found to be steeper within the less competitive department but did not depend on social class. This single-site preliminary research highlights the need to take the academic context into account when studying the social class graduation gap.
According to recent research, university not only has the role to educate and train students, it also has the role to select the best students. We argue that this function of selection disadvantages first-generation students, in comparison with continuing-generation students. Thus, the mere activation of the function of selection should be sufficient to produce achievement differences between first-generation and continuing-generation students in a novel academic task. Furthermore, we propose that when the function of selection is salient, first-generation students would be more vigilant to a cue that may confirm their inferiority, which should explain their underperformance. In the present experiment, participants were asked to complete an arithmetic modular task under two conditions, which either made the function of selection salient or reduced its importance. Participants’ vigilance to a threatening cue (i.e., their performance relative to others) was measured through an eye-tracking technique. The results confirmed that first-generation students performed more poorly compared to continuing-generation students only when the function of selection was salient while no differences appeared in the no-selection condition. Regarding vigilance, the results did not confirm our hypothesis; thus, mediation path could not be tested. However, results indicated that at a high level of initial performance, first-generation students looked more often at the threatening cue. In others words, these students seemed more concerned about whether they were performing more poorly than others compared to their continuing-generation counterparts. Some methodological issues are discussed, notably regarding the measure of vigilance.
Attention to faculty development, especially factors influencing faculty satisfaction and performance, has increased in the last decade. While a significant focus has been on contextual factors (i.e., tenure policies, mentoring, work-life integration), fewer studies have examined individual psychological factors especially in the field of human resource development. This descriptive study addresses a particular focus in faculty development by examining the prevalence of faculty experiences of imposter phenomenon, IP, (the experience of fraudulent thoughts and feelings and the inability to attribute and internalize personal achievement), how it affects their perceived emotional exhaustion (a dimension of job burnout) and their reported coping skills. Results of the study suggest that faculty (n=61) do experience moderate levels of IP with the highest reported by untenured faculty. Results also indicate that faculty emotional exhaustion is positively related to IP, and faculty reporting moderate-high levels of IP also reported greater use of adaptive coping skills to address imposter thoughts. Faculty also identified the important role of mentoring at tempering imposter tendencies.
The use of experience sampling methods (ESM) and related techniques has exploded in organizational research. The goals of this review are to provide a focused perspective on the state of the art in using ESM and set the stage for what ESM will look like in the years to come. First, I provide a conceptually based discussion of exactly what is and what is not ESM. Next, I discuss the more advantageous elements of ESM that have surfaced from the range of disciplines that enjoy its use (e.g., reduced memory and methods biases), followed by the inevitable challenges that have sometimes limited its utility (e.g., issues with repeated assessment, missing data, and internal validity). Finally, I discuss three innovations of ESM (e.g., trait assessment, expansion to higher levels of analysis, and connection to big data) that seem likely to ensure its continued and expanded influence as a common tool for examining not only within-person psychological processes at work, but higher levels of analysis as well.
The impostor phenomenon (IP) is a feeling of incompetence and inadequacy despite evidence to the contrary. Feelings of impostorism are associated with poor psychological functioning, including psychological distress and low self-esteem. Though particularly salient in college students, samples of African American college students have rarely been studied. The present study seeks to address this gap by investigating impostorism’s associations with psychological distress and self-esteem in an African American college student sample. We hypothesized that higher impostorism predicts higher psychological distress, and that higher impostorism predicts lower self-esteem. One hundred and twelve participants completed online measures of impostorism, psychological distress, and self-esteem. Using simple linear regression analyses, the results supported both hypotheses – higher impostorism predicted higher psychological distress and higher impostorism predicted lower self-esteem. The findings may be useful for mental health professionals working with African American college students to decrease the impact of imposter feelings on self-esteem, psychological distress, and academic performance.
Many students start college intending to pursue a career in the biosciences, but too many abandon this goal because they struggle in introductory biology. Interventions have been developed to close achievement gaps for underrepresented minority students and women, but no prior research has attempted to close the gap for first-generation students, a population that accounts for nearly a 5th of college students. We report a values affirmation intervention conducted with 798 U.S. students (154 first-generation) in an introductory biology course for majors. For first-generation students, values affirmation significantly improved final course grades and retention in the 2nd course in the biology sequence, as well as overall grade point average for the semester. This brief intervention narrowed the achievement gap between first-generation and continuing-generation students for course grades by 50% and increased retention in a critical gateway course by 20%. Our results suggest that educators can expand the pipeline for first-generation students to continue studying in the biosciences with psychological interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
Exams with numerus clausus are very common in Medicine, Business Administration and Law. They are intended to select a predefined number of academic candidates on the basis of their rank rather than their absolute performance. Various scholars and politicians believe that numerus clausus policies are a vector of academic excellence. We argue, however, that they could have ironic epistemic effects. In comparison with selective policies based on criterion-based evaluations, selection via numerus clausus creates negative interdependence of competence (i.e., the success of some students comes at the expense of the others). Thus, we expect it to impair students' sense of self-efficacy and-by extension-the level of mastery goals they adopt, as well as their actual learning. Two field studies respectively reported that presence (versus absence) and awareness (versus ignorance) of numerus clausus policies at University was associated with a decreased endorsement of mastery goals; this effect was mediated by a reduction in self-efficacy beliefs. Moreover, an experimental study revealed that numerus clausus negatively predicted learning; this effect was, again, mediated by a reduction in self-efficacy beliefs. Practical implications for the selection procedures in higher education are discussed.
The role of generational status (first-generation vs. continuing-generation college students) as a moderator of the relationship between psychological factors and college outcomes was tested to determine whether generational status acts as a risk factor or as a sensitizing factor. The sample consisted of 322 undergraduate students who completed online measures of self-esteem, locus of control, and academic adjustment and provided self-reports of GPA. Generational status significantly moderated the relationship between psychological factors and academic outcomes. Generally, it was found that the relationship between psychological factors and academic outcomes were strongest among first-generation students. Further, it was found that for the majority of the interactions with locus of control, first-generation status acted as a sensitizing factor that amplified both the positive and negative effects of locus of control. In contrast, for self-esteem, first generation status acted as a risk factor that only exacerbated the negative effects of low self-esteem. These results are interpreted as reflecting motivational differences between first- and continuing-generation students and are discussed with respect to the social/cultural capital hypothesis that is most frequently presented in the existing literature.
This longitudinal study assesses the impact of the University of Arizona’s New Start Summer Program (NSSP) on participants’ first year GPA and retention, controlling for incoming student characteristics. While programmatic participation significantly predicted first-year GPA and retention, this relationship became insignificant when controlling for first-year college experiences and student development. Programmatic efficacy is largely determined not only by how practitioners develop participants’ cognitive abilities, but also how effectively they connect them to social and academic support networks during their first year of college. Within this context, programmatic impact is likely indirect which poses a number of methodological and resource allocation issues for student affairs administrators and professionals. In addition, it highlights the need to assess the impact of summer bridge programs longitudinally while also having a demographically similar group of students who did not participate for comparison: Two areas generally absent from research on summer bridge program literature. Finally, the study was made possible because of a strong collaboration between the NSSP administrators and the research team, where the goals and needs of each group were supported by the other.
Students from poorer families perform worse on intellectual tasks than do other students. The authors tested the stereotype threat hypothesis as a possible explanation for this difference. Students from relatively poor backgrounds, such as members of other stereotyped groups, risk confirming a negative reputation of low intellectual ability. The authors predicted that, on a stereotype-relevant test, members of this group would experience apprehension about confirming their negative reputation and that this susceptibility to the stereotype would impair their performance. The study varied stereotype threat by manipulating the instructions accompanying the test that each participant completed. When described as a measure of intellectual ability, low socioeconomic status (SES) participants performed worse than high SES participants. However, when the test was presented as nondiagnostic of intellectual ability, low SES participants' performances did not suffer, contesting claims of SES differences in intellectual ability.
In this study, we examined patterns of persisting in and switching from an intended college major (chosen in high school) in the third year of college. We focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) major persistence because of the national effort to increase those entering STEM careers. Results showed differences in persistence by academic field as well as by gender, parental income, and first-generation college student status with the largest variation by ethnicity. Further examination of STEM major persistence showed that high school performance in math and science, taking advanced placement exams in STEM, articulating positive science self-efficacy beliefs, and professing a goal of obtaining a doctorate were also related to persistence in varied ways across STEM majors. (Contains 3 footnotes, 9 tables, and 1 figure.)
Are the negative thought patterns and self-doubt associated with the Imposter Phenomenon similar to the negative thought patterns and self-doubt that many individuals who have mild depression experience? If so, it is reasonable to believe that a relation between depression and the Imposter Phenomenon (IP) exists. The relation between the IP and depression among college students was examined. Results of a Pearson product-moment correlation yielded a positive correlation between the IP and BDI-II scores. Additionally, a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) using the IP scores and BDI scores as the dependent variables, with sex serving as the independent variable, revealed that men and women differ significantly on the combined dependent variables of IP and BDI scores. More specifically, the main effect between sex and IP score indicates that women have higher IP scores than men. However, the effect between sex and BDI was not statistically significant. Lastly, the implications of these findings are discussed.
We studied how specific motivational processes are related to the salience of mastery and performance goals in actual classroom settings. One hundred seventy-six students attending a junior high/high school for academically advanced students were randomly selected from one of their classes and responded to a questionnaire on their perceptions of the classroom goal orientation, use of effective learning strategies, task choices, attitudes, and causal attributions. Students who perceived an emphasis on mastery goals in the classroom reported using more effective strategies, preferred challenging tasks, had a more positive attitude toward the class, and had a stronger belief that success follows from one's effort. Students who perceived performance goals as salient tended to focus on their ability, evaluating their ability negatively and attributing failure to lack of ability. The pattern and strength of the findings suggest that the classroom goal orientation may facilitate the maintenance of adaptive motivation patterns when mastery goals are salient and are adopted by students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The purposes of this study were to examine the predictors and achievement consequences of academic self-handicapping and to explore cultural variations in the pursuit and effects of performance goals and perceived classroom performance goal structures. Data were collected in 2 consecutive academic years from a diverse sample of high school students (N=675). Performance-avoidance and classroom performance goal structure were positively associated with self-handicapping, whereas performance-approach goals negatively predicted handicapping. Self-handicapping was negatively associated with achievement in English. Cultural differences in the effects of performance goals on achievement and in the effects of classroom performance goal structure on the subsequent adoption of personal performance goals were found. Implications for efforts to alter classroom goal structures are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The term "impostor phenomenon" is used to designate an internal experience of intellectual phoniness that appears to be particularly prevalent and intense among a select sample of high achieving women. Certain early family dynamics and later introjection of societal sex-role stereotyping appear to contribute significantly to the development of the impostor phenomenon. Despite outstanding academic and professional accomplishments, women who experience the impostor phenomenon persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise. Numerous achievements, which one might expect to provide ample objective evidence of superior intellectual functioning, do not appear to affect the impostor belief. Four factors that contribute to the maintenance of impostor feelings over time are explored. Therapeutic approaches found to be effective in helping women change the impostor self-concept are described. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Reviewed 122 studies (listed in an appendix) and compared the relative effectiveness of cooperation, cooperation with intergroup competition, interpersonal competition, and individualistic goal structures in promoting achievement and productivity in North American samples. These studies yielded 286 findings. Three meta-analysis procedures were used: voting method, effect-size method, and z-score method. Results indicate that (a) cooperation is considerably more effective than interpersonal competition and individualistic efforts, (b) cooperation with intergroup competition is also superior to interpersonal competition and individualistic efforts, and (c) there is no significant difference between interpersonal competitive and individualistic efforts. Through multiple regression, a number of potentially mediating variables for these results are identified. (18 ref)
American universities increasingly admit first-generation college students whose parents do not have 4-year degrees. Once admitted, these students tend to struggle academically, compared with continuing-generation students--students who have at least 1 parent with a 4-year degree. We propose a cultural mismatch theory that identifies 1 important source of this social class achievement gap. Four studies test the hypothesis that first-generation students underperform because interdependent norms from their mostly working-class backgrounds constitute a mismatch with middle-class independent norms prevalent in universities. First, assessing university cultural norms, surveys of university administrators revealed that American universities focus primarily on norms of independence. Second, identifying the hypothesized cultural mismatch, a longitudinal survey revealed that universities' focus on independence does not match first-generation students' relatively interdependent motives for attending college and that this cultural mismatch is associated with lower grades. Finally, 2 experiments at both private and public universities created a match or mismatch for first-generation students and examined the performance consequences. Together these studies revealed that representing the university culture in terms of independence (i.e., paving one's own paths) rendered academic tasks difficult and, thereby, undermined first-generation students' performance. Conversely, representing the university culture in terms of interdependence (i.e., being part of a community) reduced this sense of difficulty and eliminated the performance gap without adverse consequences for continuing-generation students. These studies address the urgent need to recognize cultural obstacles that contribute to the social class achievement gap and to develop interventions to address them.
The goal congruity perspective posits that 2 distinct social cognitions predict attraction to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields. First, individuals may particularly value communal goals (e.g., working with or helping others), due to either chronic individual differences or the salience of these goals in particular contexts. Second, individuals hold beliefs about the activities that facilitate or impede these goals, or goal affordance stereotypes. Women's tendency to endorse communal goals more highly than do men, along with consensual stereotypes that STEM careers impede communal goals, intersect to produce disinterest in STEM careers. We provide evidence for the foundational predictions that gender differences emerge primarily on communal rather than agentic goals (Studies 1a and 3) and that goal affordance stereotypes reflect beliefs that STEM careers are relatively dissociated from communal goals (Studies 1b and 1c). Most critically, we provide causal evidence that activated communal goals decrease interest in STEM fields (Study 2) and that the potential for a STEM career to afford communal goals elicits greater positivity (Study 3). These studies thus provide a novel demonstration that understanding communal goals and goal affordance stereotypes can lend insight into attitudes toward STEM pursuits.
The professional development, mentoring, and induction of faculty of color are critical, given that they prepare education leaders and workers across educational contexts. In this article, we juxtapose the unique experiences of faculty of color with a critical review of impostor syndrome and other psychosocial stress disorders, as these phenomena potentially contribute to disparate trends among oppressed groups. Research suggests that faculty and scholars of color potentially reproduce impostor syndrome among school administrators, educational leaders, and the faculty they train. We cluster implications in five general areas of practice.
Impostor phenomenon or “impostorism” refers to the experience of high-achieving individuals (particularly women) who, despite being successful, attribute their accomplishments to luck, and fear being exposed as frauds. In the current study, we examined the association between impostorism and graduate student self-efficacy, perceptions of the research-training environment, and attitudes toward academic persistence of 224 women completing a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related doctoral degree. As hypothesized, participants who identified more strongly with impostor characteristics reported a lower sense of self-efficacy, more negative views of their academic context, and more pessimistic outlooks toward attaining their doctorate. However, results from a multiple mediation analysis revealed that women’s levels of self-efficacy and perceptions of their doctoral environment accounted for the effects of impostorism on their attitudes about academic persistence. Also, the relation between impostorism and persistence attitudes strengthened as numerical representation of women in a STEM program increased. Results illuminate the potential role STEM departments can have on students’ persistence by developing early opportunities for research collaborations and fostering an early sense of accomplishment. Parents and teachers might also draw from our findings to develop strategies to inoculate younger students from the insidious effects of gender-based stereotypes.
Purpose:
Mistakes are ubiquitous in medicine; when confronted by error, physicians may experience anxiety, guilt, and self-doubt. Feedback may be useful for navigating these feelings, but only if it matches a physician's self-assessment; self-doubt and the imposter syndrome are examples of inaccurate self-assessments that may affect receptivity to feedback. The impact of real or imagined underperformance on seemingly competent physicians is poorly understood. This study aimed to develop a deeper understanding in order to identify strategies to support all physicians who struggle.
Method:
In 2015, 28 practicing physicians were interviewed about their experiences with underperformance at an academic institution in Canada. Early in the data collection process, participants spontaneously identified the imposter syndrome as a feature of their experiences; questions about the imposter syndrome were probed in subsequent interviews.
Results:
Many participants-even those at advanced career stages-questioned the validity of their achievements; progressive independence and career advancement were variably experienced as "rising to the level of your incompetence." Not all participants identified as imposters; the imposter syndrome occurred at the extreme end of a spectrum of self-doubt. Even positive feedback could not buffer participants' insecurities, which participants rarely shared with their colleagues.
Conclusions:
Self-doubt variably affects clinicians at all career stages. Frequent transitions may cause a resurgence of self-doubt that may affect feedback credibility. Medical educators must recognize that it is not just the underperforming or failing learners who struggle and require support, and medical culture must create space for physicians to share their struggles.
Although approach forms of achievement goals (mastery and performance goals) have been shown to predict academic achievement in college, recent research underscores that these associations are rather weak and not consistently observed. The present study tests students’ social class (in the present research, generational status) as a moderator of the relationships between both mastery-approach goals and performance-approach goals and final grade. One hundred students (45 first-generation students and 55 continuing-generation students, Mage = 18.9, SD = 1.52) answered an achievement goal scale related to one of their classes at the beginning of the year. Their final grade for this class was obtained three months later. As expected, performance-approach goals positively predicted final grade only for upper-class students, while mastery-approach goals tend to do so for lower-class students, supporting the idea that different kinds of motivation could predict students’ achievement depending on their social class.
PART I THE LOGIC OF HIERARCHICAL LINEAR MODELING Series Editor 's Introduction to Hierarchical Linear Models Series Editor 's Introduction to the Second Edition 1.Introduction 2.The Logic of Hierarchical Linear Models 3. Principles of Estimation and Hypothesis Testing for Hierarchical Linear Models 4. An Illustration PART II BASIC APPLICATIONS 5. Applications in Organizational Research 6. Applications in the Study of Individual Change 7. Applications in Meta-Analysis and Other Cases where Level-1 Variances are Known 8. Three-Level Models 9. Assessing the Adequacy of Hierarchical Models PART III ADVANCED APPLICATIONS 10. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models 11. Hierarchical Models for Latent Variables 12. Models for Cross-Classified Random Effects 13. Bayesian Inference for Hierarchical Models PART IV ESTIMATION THEORY AND COMPUTATIONS 14. Estimation Theory Summary and Conclusions References Index About the Authors
In light of rising academic stress and an increase in diagnosed mental illnesses among adolescents and young adults, this article offers the first comprehensive analysis of relationships between perceived competition and depression/anxiety among college students. Analyses were conducted by using clinically validated instruments for depression and anxiety and a diverse, national sample of 40,350 undergraduates from 70 institutions. Multivariate logistic regressions reveal that high levels of perceived competition in one’s classes are associated with increased risks of depression and anxiety, especially among queer, first-generation, Black, and Latino/a students. Discrimination and peer support moderate these relationships, suggesting avenues for future research and educational interventions.
Producing sufficient numbers of graduates who are prepared for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations has become a national priority in the United States. To attain this goal, some policymakers have targeted reducing STEM attrition in college, arguing that retaining more students in STEM fields in college is a low-cost, fast way to produce the STEM professionals that the nation needs (President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology [PCAST] 2012). Within this context, this Statistical Analysis Report (SAR) presents an examination of students' attrition from STEM fields over the course of 6 years in college using data from the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) and the associated 2009 Postsecondary Education Transcript Study (PETS:09). In this SAR, the term STEM attrition refers to enrollment choices that result in potential STEM graduates (i.e., undergraduates who declare a STEM major) moving away from STEM fields by switching majors to non-STEM fields or leaving postsecondary education before earning a degree or certificate.1 The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of this attrition by: • determining rates of attrition from STEM and non-STEM fields; • identifying characteristics of students who leave STEM fields; • comparing the STEM coursetaking and performance of STEM leavers and persisters; and • examining the strength of various factors' associations with STEM attrition. Data from a cohort of students who started their postsecondary education in a bachelor's or associate's degree program in the 2003-04 academic year were used to examine students' movement into and out of STEM fields over the subsequent 6 years through 2009. Analyses were performed separately for beginning bachelor's and associate's degree students. For brevity, these two groups are frequently referred to as bachelor's or associate's degree students in this study. Selected findings from this SAR are described below.
Scholars typically view class socialization as an implicit process. This study instead shows how parents actively transmit class-based cultures to children and how these lessons reproduce inequalities. Through observations and interviews with children, parents, and teachers, I found that middle- and working-class parents expressed contrasting beliefs about appropriate classroom behavior, beliefs that shaped parents’ cultural coaching efforts. These efforts led children to activate class-based problem-solving strategies, which generated stratified profits at school. By showing how these processes vary along social class lines, this study reveals a key source of children’s class-based behaviors and highlights the efforts by which parents and children together reproduce inequalities.
This study empirically tested prior theoretical speculations and clinical observations concerning the impostor phenomenon. The cognitive and affective experiences of “impostors” and nonimpostors were assessed prior to and following feedback on an important evaluative event. As hypothesized, impostors expected to perform less well and were more anxious than were nonimpostors prior to a midterm exam but did not differ in exam performance. Furthermore, impostors felt affectively worse and suffered a greater loss in state self-esteem than did nonimpostors after subjective failure on the exam, but they did not differ from nonimpostors after subjective success. Analyses performed holding initial trait self-esteem scores constant further revealed that initial self-esteem could account for many of the differences between impostors and nonimpostors. However, the crucial differences between these two groups in postfailure affect and state self-esteem could not be accounted for by the fact that impostors were initia...
In 1978, Clance and Imes developed the term Imposter Phenomenon (IP) to designate an internal experience of intellectual phoniness that seemed to be particularly prevalent among a select sample of high achieving women. They worked with 150 highly successful women from a wide range of professional fields such as law, nursing, medicine, social work, and university teaching, plus students at graduate and undergraduate levels. Clance and Imes had worked with their subjects in clinical settings such as individual psychotherapy or theme-centered inter-actional groups or small discussion-oriented college classes. These subjects had obtained earned degrees, high scores on standardized tests, or professional recognition from colleagues or organizations, yet they did not experience an internal sense of success. They were afraid they were "impostors" who did not belong "here with all these bright, competent people." They were very frightened that others would discover that they were not as competent as they appeared to be, and dreaded such discovery. They attributed their success to hard work, luck, knowing the right people, being in the right place at the right time, or to their interpersonal assets such as charm and the ability to relate well, rather than to ability or competence. For instance, students often said the admissions committee had made an error. One student expressed her feelings by saying, "I walk around thinking I'm the Michigan mistake." A highly respected professional woman explained, "I just got my job as a fluke. They needed someone at mid-year and so very few qualified applicants applied." The reality was that the students who were feeling like impostors were among the highest ranked students and the search committee for the woman professional had selected her out of a pool of many highly qualified candidates. These subjects were ingenious at negating objective external evidence that indicated they were indeed very bright. They had tremendous difficulty in accepting compliments or positive feedback. If they received an excellent quarterly evaluation they might think, "This agency or institution does not have very high standards if they think I'm good." Yet, if they received any negative feedback they belied it and tended to remember it as evidence of their deficits.