Color-blind racial attitudes, social dominance orientation, racial-ethnic group membership and college students' perceptions of campus climate.

Racial-ethnic group membership, color-blind racial attitudes (i.e., unawareness of racial privilege, institutional discrimination, and blatant racial issues), and social dominance orientation were used to predict perceptions of campus climate in general and specifically for people of color among a sample of 144 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at a predominately White university. Results indicate that after controlling for racial-ethnic minority status, perceptions of "general campus climate" (GCC) and "racial-ethnic campus climate" (RECC) are predicted by color-blind racial attitudes. Post hoc analyses indicated that unawareness of racial privilege partially mediated the relationship between race and RECC and fully mediated the relationship between race and GCC. Individuals with higher levels of color-blind racial attitudes tend to perceive the campus climate more positively. Implications for research, training and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Big Ten Student Suicide Study: a 10-year study of suicides on midwestern university campuses

The Big Ten Student Suicide Study was undertaken from 1980-1990 to determine the suicide rates on Big Ten University campuses. The study design attempted to address many of the statistical and epidemiological flaws identified in previous studies of campus student suicides. The 10-year study collected demographic and correlational data on 261 suicides of registered students at 12 midwestern campuses. The largest number of suicides for both males and females were in the 20-24-year-old age group (46%), and amongst graduate students (32%). The overall student suicide rate of 7.5/100,000 is one half of the computed national suicide rate (15.0/100,000) for a matched sample by age, gender, and race. Despite the overall lower suicide rate, the analyses revealed that students 25 and over have a significantly higher risk than younger students. Although women have rates roughly half those of men throughout their undergraduate years, graduate women have rates not significantly different from their male counterparts (graduate women 9.1/100,000 and graduate men 11.6/100,000).     

Liberal and conservative political ideology, experiences of harassment, and perceptions of campus climate.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among racial-ethnic group membership, political ideology (i.e., conservative and liberal), and perceptions of general campus climate (GCC) and of campus climate for racial-ethnic minorities (RECC). One hundred and thirty-six (136) undergraduate, graduate, and professional students participated in this study at a large public Midwestern university. A series of multivariate analyses of variance, hierarchical regressions, and mediation analyses were conducted. Findings indicated that Whites endorsed more positive perceptions of campus climate, reported fewer experiences of racial-ethnic harassment, and endorsed less liberal political ideological beliefs than people of color. No racial differences in conservative ideology emerged. After controlling for racial-ethnic group membership, results showed that experiences of racial-ethnic harassment predicted both GCC and RECC, whereas conservative ideology only predicted RECC. Post hoc analyses demonstrated that experiences of racial-ethnic harassment fully mediated the relationship between racial-ethnic group membership and GCC, but only partially mediated the relationship between racial-ethnic group membership and RECC. Neither conservative nor liberal ideologies were significant mediators. Implications for future research and practice are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Masculinity, vocational interests, and career choice traditionality: Evidence for a fully mediated model.

The authors used structural equation modeling to test a theoretically based, fully mediated model in which masculine gender roles influence vocational interests that, in turn, influence the traditionality of career choice for men. The authors also tested a competing partially mediated model that included an additional direct effect of masculine gender roles on career choice traditionality. Participants were 212 male undergraduate and graduate students representing 51 different majors. Results indicated that the direct relation between masculine gender roles and career choice traditionality was nonsignificant; however, vocational interests mediated the relation between these variables, thus providing support for the fully mediated model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Out on campus: sexual orientation and academic climate in a university context

Although lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) students often "come out" in university settings, empirical studies have demonstrated that these environments are often hostile toward them. The current paper posits that such hostile contexts adversely affect their educational experiences. Results from a survey of a stratified random sample of 1,927 undergraduate and graduate students on a scale measuring perceptions of academic climate (General Campus Climate) supported this claim: LGB students had more negative perceptions of a variety of campus factors. In addition, a scale measuring perceptions of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Campus Climate found that LGB students were more likely than heterosexuals to perceive the campus as inhospitable to LGB people. Women and racial and ethnic minorities were also more likely to rate the LGB climate as hostile. Finally, data from two scales measuring attitudes believed to influence these perceptions yielded gender, racial/ethnic, religious, and sexual orientation differences in theoretically meaningful directions. Results indicate that LGB students often experience the university in more negative ways than heterosexual students, and that certain campus communities--particularly women and racial/ethnic minorities--are more aware of this negativity and contribute to it less because of their relatively more progay attitudes. Implications for how to improve LGB students' experiences are discussed.     

The longitudinal structure of general and specific anxiety dimensions in children: Testing a latent trait–state–occasion model.

In an 8-wave, 4-year longitudinal study, 787 children (Grades 3–6) completed the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (C. R. Reynolds & B. O. Richmond, 1985), a measure of the Physiological Reactivity, Worry–Oversensitivity, and Social Alienation dimensions of anxiety. A latent variable (trait–state–occasion) model and a latent growth curve model were applied to each of the 3 anxiety dimensions and to a general anxiety factor consisting of the 3 dimensions. Although the general anxiety factor reflected a significant stable trait process, the Worry–Oversensitivity and Social Alienation dimensions reflected an autoregressive process more than a stable trait dimension. In contrast to the other 2 anxiety dimensions, Physiological Reactivity reflected a significant stable trait process, suggesting that the longitudinal structure of anxiety in children depends upon the dimension assessed. In children as early as age 9 or 10, Physiological Reactivity (more than other anxiety dimensions) manifested a stable trait component. Structural findings were consistent across gender and race; however, mean differences in gender and race emerged for general anxiety and its 3 dimensions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Underrepresented students in STEM: The transition from undergraduate to graduate programs.

We used longitudinal tracking data from Cohorts I and II of the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program to test whether this intervention program and being a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) undergraduate major helped underrepresented students transition into STEM graduate degree programs in 2006–2007. We found that being a GMS Scholar increased the odds of being currently enrolled in a graduate program and in a STEM graduate field, regardless of whether the student was a STEM undergraduate major. We also found that STEM undergraduate majors were more likely to transition into these graduate degree programs, and that being an undergraduate STEM major was especially beneficial to GMS Scholars. These findings varied considerably across underrepresented groups. We found that undergraduate intervention programs can both retain and insert underrepresented students at the STEM graduate level, thus potentially adding needed diversity at these educational levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in belief in scientifically unsubstantiated phenomena.

Gender differences in belief in scientifically unsubstantiated phenomena are reported for 246 male and 326 female Canadian undergraduate and graduate students in science, psychology, and nonscience programs. Females were more likely than males to endorse belief in various scientifically unsubstantiated phenomena. Males, however, were more willing to endorse belief in unidentified flying objects. These gender differences were not found in the samples of nonscience undergraduate students. Nonscience males showed the same high levels of belief as the females. The gender differences were also absent in the science program graduate students, where females had the same low levels of belief as the males. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Students' ratings of academic programs: A study of structural and discriminant validity.

3,148 undergraduate and 1,336 graduate students responded to a questionnaire designed to measure students' satisfaction with their academic major programs. Hierarchical factor analyses produced 3 specific factors and 1 general factor that were invariant in undergraduate and graduate samples: Student Perception of Value in Program, Student Satisfaction with Instruction, Student Satisfaction with Faculty Mentorship, and Overall Satisfaction with Department. Significant differences in mean department subscale scores provided information for summative evaluation. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of social cognitive and ethnic variables on academic goals of underrepresented students in science and engineering: A multiple-groups analysis.

In this study we investigated the academic interests and goals of 223 African American, Latino/a, Southeast Asian, and Native American undergraduate students in 2 groups: biological science (BIO) and engineering (ENG) majors. Using social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), we examined the relationships of social cognitive variables (math/science academic self-efficacy, math/science outcome expectations)—as well as the influence of ethnic variables (ethnic identity, other-group orientation) and perceptions of campus climate—to students’ math/science interests and goal commitment to earn a BIO/ENG degree. Path analysis revealed that the hypothesized model provided good overall fit to the data, revealing significant relationships between outcome expectations and interests and between outcome expectations and goals. Paths from academic self-efficacy to BIO/ENG goals and from interests to BIO/ENG goals varied for students in engineering and the biological sciences. For both groups, other-group orientation was positively related to self-efficacy, and support was found for an efficacy-mediated relationship between perceived campus climate and goals. Theoretical and practical implications of the study’s findings are considered as well as future research directions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On Selecting Psychology Graduate Students: Validity Evidence for a Test of Tacit Knowledge.

This study provides initial evidence for the criterion-related validity of tacit knowledge (TK) as an alternative measure for selecting psychology graduate students and adds insight to the construct of TK by evaluating its factor structure, assessing convergent relationships with other variables, and exploring alternative reasons for why TK predicts performance. TK provided incremental validity beyond GRE scores, undergraduate GPA, and 7 personality dimensions in predicting graduate school performance. Moreover, TK scores computed from experts at different universities yielded nearly identical criterion-related validity coefficients, thus strengthening the generalizability of the predictor. Although the results of the present study demonstrate convergent relationships between TK and conceptually related variables, factor analyses conducted on the TK measure did not support the subdimensions proposed by the authors of the scale. Limitations of the present study, issues involving revision of the TK measure, and recommendations for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The intersection of race and gender: Examining the politics of identity in women's studies.

Although race and gender are often treated as discrete dimensions of social identity, their conceptualization as intersecting categories has become central in some feminist critiques of existing theory. This study examined women's awareness of the intersection of race and gender in relation to attitudes regarding 2 issues manifesting identity politics in women's studies: (a) the marginalization of women of color and (b) proposals for separate women of color studies programs. Identity and attitude measures were completed by 110 female students enrolled in a women's studies program. The results of a structural equation model lend support to the hypotheses that attitudes toward a separate women of color studies program would be determined by an awareness of the race/gender intersection, and by a perception that women of color are marginalized in existing programs. Responses to issues regarding race and gender in women's studies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behaviorally anchored scales for assessing behavioral science teaching.

Attempted to (a) identify critical behavioral dimensions associated with teaching behavioral science courses at the university level, (b) develop a set of behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) to assess these dimensions, and (c) make a psychometric comparison of the BARS with the Student Instructional Report (SIR), a measure of student perceptions of teacher performance. Based on data obtained from 381 graduate and undergraduate students, BARS had less skewness, lower intercorrelation of ratings on various behavioral dimensions, and lower variability in ratings than the SIR. Content validity and latent factor structure of the new instrument are also reported. (French summary) (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job analysis results as influenced by sex of incumbent and sex of analyst.

22 male and 35 female undergraduate and 1st-yr graduate students were given preliminary training on the use of the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ). Subsequently, they used this job analysis instrument to rate the job of administrative assistant presented through a verbal narrative and color slide stimulus format. While all other factors remained constant in the job stimulus conditions depicted, sex of the job incumbent was manipulated by using male and female figures matched on attractiveness and voice quality. ANOVA results indicate that although sex of the job incumbent did not influence the PAQ scores, sex of the analyst showed a marginal but consistent effect. Female analysts gave relatively lower PAQ scores to the job than male analysts across 22 PAQ job dimensions regardless of the sex of the job incumbent. Adjective Check List scores had no consistent effect on PAQ dimensions. The need for replication is stressed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The White Privilege Attitudes Scale: Development and initial validation.

In this article, the authors describe 3 interrelated investigations among White undergraduate and graduate students that document the development and initial validation of the White Privilege Attitudes Scale (WPAS). The WPAS assesses the multidimensional nature of White privilege attitudes, reflecting affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions. In Study 1 (n = 250), exploratory factor analysis suggested a 28-item scale with 4 factors as follows: (a) Willingness to Confront White Privilege, (b) Anticipated Costs of Addressing White Privilege, (c) White Privilege Awareness, and (d) White Privilege Remorse. In Study 2 (n = 251), confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 4-factor model was a better fit of the data compared with competing models. The authors also found support for convergent validity between scores on the WPAS factors and theoretically related measures. Study 3 (n = 40) documented test–retest reliability of each of the WPAS factors and nonsignificant associations with socially desirable responding. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sociopsychological climates and teacher-bias expectancy: A possible mediating mechanism.

Hypothesized that sociopsychological climates would underlie teacher-bias expectancy effects. 220 undergraduate student teachers completed the Classroom Environment Scale (CES, ideal form) aimed at determining underlying sociopsychological climate preference for 2 race by 2 ability groups of hypothetical students. Ss were instructed to respond to the CES as they thought their hypothetical students would respond. Results support a 3-dimensional structure for sociopsychological climates and support sociopsychological climates as a mediating mechanism for teacher-bias expectancy. Discussion centers on the structure of and differences between the sociopsychological climates of the different expectancy groups. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistical models of implicit personality theory: A comparison.

Evaluated factor analytic (FA), cluster analytic (CA), and multidimensional scaling (MDS) models of implicit personality theory in a methodological study that compared statistically derived dimensions and categories of traits and stimulus persons with S-generated groups of traits and stimulus persons. 60 undergraduate and graduate students rated 10 familiar and 10 unfamiliar people on 20 diverse traits and, from these traits and persons, formed groups of related traits and groups of similar people. The trait ratings were subjected to FA, CA, and MDS procedures, computed for each S individually. Comparison of the direct groups with the derived FA and MDS dimensions and CA categories, using 4 different match indices, indicated that the CA model provided the best match. A tendency toward better matching for traits than persons was observed, as well as greater differentiation in cluster space for familiar than unfamiliar persons. It is concluded that when Ss categorize rather than dimensionalize stimulus objects, a model such as CA may be more appropriate. Problems associated with testing the complementary hypothesis—that a dimensional model is more appropriate when perceivers dimensionalize—are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Course and student characteristic correlates of the course evaluation instrument.

Describes briefly the Course Evaluation Instrument (CEI), which has 5 dimensions for assessing instructor and course effectiveness. For samples of undergraduate (n = 3,498) and graduate students (n = 1,438), a field test is reported that examined relationships between dimension scores and (a) 5 student and course characteristics (GPA, expected grade, course difficulty, course required or not, and course in major area or not) and (b) courses taken treated as a set of dummy variables. Student and course characteristics accounted for a small but significant proportion of variance for all dimensions. However, courses taken accounted for a substantial proportion of dimension variance even after the student and course characteristic variables had been controlled. It is suggested that the CEI measures differences in student learning. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test Anxiety and Academic Performance in Undergraduate and Graduate Students.

This study investigated the relationship between test anxiety and academic performance in 4,000 undergraduate and 1,414 graduate students and found a significant but small inverse relationship between test anxiety and grade point average (GPA) in both groups. Low-test-anxious undergraduates averaged a B+, whereas high-test-anxious students averaged a B. Low-test-anxious female graduate students had significantly higher GPAs than high-test-anxious female graduate students, but there were no significant GPA differences between low- and high-test-anxious male graduate students. Female undergraduates had significantly higher test anxiety and higher GPAs than male undergraduates, and female graduate students had significantly higher test anxiety and higher GPAs than male graduate students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational climate configurations: Relationships to collective attitudes, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.

Research on organizational climate has tended to focus on independent dimensions of climate rather than studying the total social context as configurations of multiple climate dimensions. The authors examined relationships between configurations of unit-level climate dimensions and organizational outcomes. Three profile characteristics represented climate configurations: (1) elevation, or the mean score across climate dimensions; (2) variability, or the extent to which scores across dimensions vary; and (3) shape, or the pattern of the dimensions. Across 2 studies (1,120 employees in 120 bank branches and 4,317 employees in 86 food distribution stores), results indicated that elevation was related to collective employee attitudes and service perceptions, while shape was related to customer satisfaction and financial performance. With respect to profile variability, results were mixed. The discussion focuses on future directions for taking a configural approach to organizational climate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)