| dc.description.abstract | Persistent gender stereotypes, often reinforced by numerical dominance, have been shown to negatively influence sense of belonging and personal-professional identity development, attributing to the disproportional rate of attrition of women from the fields science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) when compared to their male peers. This study sought to identify potential relationships between the central personal-professional identities (i.e. Self-Gender, Self-STEM, and STEM-Gender associations), measured both explicitly (i.e. survey scales) and implicitly (i.e. Implicit Association Tests), using the Balance Identity Theory framework. More specifically, the study aimed to understand how the implicit measures of associations might correspond with their explicit counterparts, and if this relationship was different for women in STEM compared to their male peers. The cross-sectional data for this study is situated within a longitudinal study of identity balance among ethnically diverse undergraduate STEM majors in their junior and senior years. Participants completed three randomly displayed, online Implicit Association Tests and answered explicit survey questions measuring perceived gender identity, STEM identity, and STEM-Gender stereotype endorsements, from which implicit and explicit balanced identity scores were calculated.
A series of multiple regression analyses revealed that individual implicit association components did not significantly correlate with their explicit counterparts and this relationship did not vary by gender. However, a moderation analysis found that women exhibited a positive relationship between implicit and explicit balance scores, while the relationship was non-significant among men. Exploratory analyses showed that there were significant differences in implicit balance scores depending on participant’s major (Biological/Life Sciences or Engineering/Computer Science), but no significant differences by major for explicit balance scores. Overall, consistent with previous literature, results reaffirm the importance of both implicit and explicit measure of identity and emphasize the potential of gender-specific nuances of balanced identities within the context of STEM fields. | en |
