The barriers that keep women and people of color from pursuing studies and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are complex, but through research and outreach social psychologists are presenting some pragmatic solutions.
After a college-speaking engagement at which she discussed her research on self and social identity threat and stereotype threat, Dr. Mary Murphy, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University, was approached by a female African-American student who shared her experience of feeling unwelcome in STEM. One involved going to see her assigned academic adviser, who told her that chemistry was a very difficult major and she might consider other options.
“Belonging to a stereotyped group makes you more vigilant to these situational cues because you’re more uncertain about whether or not others are going to feel that you belong in those situations,” says Murphy. “So you’re going to be paying attention to subtle situational cues to see the value of your identity in that context.”
Murphy is the principal investigator of the Mind and Identity in Context Lab at Indiana University. Her research centers on developing and testing theories about how people’s social identities and group belongings interact with the contexts they encounter. She examines how situational cues in one’s environment can make an individual feel safe or threatened.
Model behavior
Murphy’s work has shown how situational cues in STEM settings affect one’s physiology. Identity-threatening cues increase heart rate and stress response and make it much less likely one will be able to concentrate in that environment.
According to Murphy, institutions need to create more identity safe contexts where all students feel a sense of belonging in order to attract more women and people of color to STEM.
