Paul A. Nelson’s research while affiliated with University of Nevada, Las Vegas and other places

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Publications (4)


Memories of Math: Narrative Predictors of Math Affect, Math Motivation, and Future Math Plans
  • Article

January 2020

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215 Reads

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29 Citations

Contemporary Educational Psychology

Jennifer E. John

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Paul A. Nelson

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Rachael D. Robnett

This mixed-methods study focuses on narratives that undergraduates tell about pivotal moments (i.e., turning points) in their prior history with math. A key objective was to examine whether these turning points would be associated with participants’ current math affect, math motivation, and future plans with math. Undergraduate participants (N = 210) completed quantitative measures assessing math anxiety, math self-expectancy, and math value, and also wrote narratives about a turning point with math and their future math plans. Thematic analysis revealed four themes in the math turning point narratives: (1) redemption, (2) contamination, (3) consistently positive, and (4) consistently negative. Quantitative analyses indicated that participants who wrote consistently positive narratives reported significantly lower math anxiety and higher math self-expectancy and math value relative to participants who wrote other types of narratives. Further, participants who wrote consistently negative turning point narratives were more likely to indicate that they would avoid math in the future. These results suggest that an individual’s memory of their early math experiences can color their math affect, math motivation, and plans for pursuing math in the future, even years after the experience has occurred. Implications for math education are discussed.


Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix for scientist identity and mentoring variables
Research mentoring and scientist identity: insights from undergraduates and their mentors
  • Article
  • Full-text available

November 2018

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356 Reads

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96 Citations

International Journal of STEM Education

Rachael D Robnett

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Paul A Nelson

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Eileen L Zurbriggen

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[...]

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Martin M Chemers

Background Mentored research apprenticeships are a common feature of academic outreach programs that aim to promote diversity in science fields. The current study tests for links between three forms of mentoring (instrumental, socioemotional, and negative) and the degree to which undergraduates psychologically identify with science. Participants were 66 undergraduate-mentor dyads who worked together in a research apprenticeship. The undergraduate sample was predominantly composed of women, first-generation college students, and members of ethnic groups that are historically underrepresented in science. Results Findings illustrated that undergraduates who reported receiving more instrumental and socioemotional mentoring were higher in scientist identity. Further, mentors who reported engaging in higher levels of negative mentoring had undergraduates with lower scientist identity. Qualitative data from undergraduates’ mentors provided deeper insight into their motivation to become mentors and how they reason about conflict in their mentoring relationships. Conclusions Discussion highlights theoretical implications and details several methodological recommendations.

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The Form and Function of STEM Research Mentoring: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Focusing on Ethnically Diverse Undergraduates and Their Mentors

March 2018

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73 Reads

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20 Citations

Emerging Adulthood

This mixed-methods study examines mentoring relationships in an ethnically diverse sample of undergraduates in majors related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Guided by an intersectionality framework, we examined whether features of research mentoring differ at the intersection of ethnicity and gender. Survey data from undergraduates (N = 486; 76% members of underrepresented ethnic groups; 66% women) revealed ethnic and gender variation in the amount of mentoring that participants reported receiving. Findings also showed that higher levels of instrumental mentoring at the study’s outset predicted higher STEM self-efficacy 1 year later. This finding was not moderated by ethnicity or gender, suggesting that instrumental mentoring bolsters self-efficacy among students from diverse backgrounds. To supplement the quantitative findings, we collected open-ended data from a subset of participants’ mentors (N = 97). Thematic analysis of these data provides insight into the range of strategies that mentors used to bolster students’ STEM self-efficacy.


Plot of the two-way interaction between gender and social dominance orientation (SDO) for Study 2. The slope for SDO is significant for women (β = -.22, p = .009) and for men (β = -.59, p = .001)
Path coefficients for Study 3 mediation model. Paths for men are on the left; paths for women are on the right. The indirect effect of social dominance orientation on perceived marriage commitment was nonsignificant for men (β = -.04, p = .08) and for women (β = -.02, p = .25). *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001
“She Might be Afraid of Commitment”: Perceptions of Women Who Retain Their Surname After Marriage

November 2016

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381 Reads

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24 Citations

The tradition of the wife adopting her husband’s surname continues to be widely endorsed within the U.S. and many other nations. The current research focuses on perceptions of heterosexual women who violate this tradition. Specifically, we examined how women who retain their surname are evaluated with respect to their marriage commitment and personality attributes. We also tested for sources of individual variation in these evaluations. Three studies were carried out with a total of 1201 undergraduates (912 women and 289 men) at two U.S. universities. Participants in Study 1 rated a woman who retained her surname as lower in marriage commitment than a woman who adopted her husband’s surname. They also allocated her a high proportion of agentic traits. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that both women and men high in social dominance orientation (SDO) were especially likely to rate a woman who retained her surname as lower in marriage commitment. Collectively, findings indicate that women who violate the marital surname tradition may encounter negative stereotypes about their marriage commitment and that these stereotypes may be particularly likely to originate from people with a preference for group-based inequality. Implications center on links between marriage traditions and broader patterns of gender inequality.

Citations (4)


... In addition, according to the motivational theory of emotion, children's math anxiety can reduce their interest and motivation in learning math by negatively impacting their enthusiasm and initiative. This lack of emotion and motivation may result in insufficient investment in math learning, ultimately leading to reduced math achievement (John et al., 2020;. Research based on behavioral tests has confirmed that individuals with increased math anxiety tend to avoid math problems (Choe et al., 2019); this, in turn, hinders math achievement (Wang et al., 2021). ...

Reference:

Parents’ rearing styles and adolescents’ math achievement: the multiple mediating effect of self-control and math anxiety
Memories of Math: Narrative Predictors of Math Affect, Math Motivation, and Future Math Plans
  • Citing Article
  • January 2020

Contemporary Educational Psychology

... Strategies to bolster the affective domains of science identity is a growing area of research (Morelock, 2017). Addressing recognition, numerous studies describe formal mentorship programs and research opportunities (Carlone & Johnson, 2007;Estrada et al., 2018;Hazari et al., 2010;Robnett et al., 2018). The vast active learning umbrella (e.g., hands-on learning, projectbased learning, and community-based learning) has been shown to develop interest and intrinsic motivation (Al-Hammoud et al., 2022;Asher et al., 2023;Ballen 2017). ...

Research mentoring and scientist identity: insights from undergraduates and their mentors

International Journal of STEM Education

... Robnett et al. (2018) identified a relationship between instrumental mentoring (i.e., support in learning tasks, skills, and professional development) and STEM self-efficacy. STEM higher education literature consistently points to faculty interaction and relationships as being among the most important factors in shaping student experiences and outcomes (McCoy et al., 2017;Park et al., 2020).Though research evidence is clear that meaningful relationships among students and faculty promote positive psychosocial development, it is difficult to create formalized mentoring relationships when mentors rarely receive guidance or training in effective mentoring or identify cultural practices which support students from minoritized ethnic and racial groups in recognizing strengths they bring (Yosso, 2005;Robnett et al., 2019;Espinoza and Rincón, 2023). Instead, faculty often act as gatekeepers, providing access to opportunities for specific students, and beneficial learning opportunities to those whom they deem as prepared or talented. ...

The Form and Function of STEM Research Mentoring: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Focusing on Ethnically Diverse Undergraduates and Their Mentors
  • Citing Article
  • March 2018

Emerging Adulthood

... Norms become more visible in situations where gender and action do not align and examples of such situations include when a woman becomes the head of the United Kingdom in the mid-1900s or Norwegian men change their surname in the 2010s. Until recently, little attention has been given to men's naming choices as gendered, as it is most often women's choice to keep, change or combine surnames in marriage that has faced the greatest interest (examples of this focus includes Noack & Wiik 2008;Omura 2019;Fitzgibbons Shafer 2017;Hoffnung & Williams 2016;MacEacheron 2016;Robnett et al. 2016;Keels & Powers 2013). In sum, the impression is that women must offer an explanation regardless of surname choice. ...

“She Might be Afraid of Commitment”: Perceptions of Women Who Retain Their Surname After Marriage