Utility-value intervention promotes persistence and diversity in STEM.

We tested the long-term effects of a utility-value intervention administered in a gateway chemistry course, with the goal of promoting persistence and diversity in STEM. In a randomized controlled trial (N = 2,505), students wrote three essays about course content and its personal relevance or three control essays. The intervention significantly improved STEM persistence overall (74% vs. 70% were STEM majors 2.5 y later). Effects were larger for students from marginalized and underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, who were 14 percentage points more likely to persist in STEM fields in the intervention condition (69% vs. 55%). Mediation analysis suggests that the intervention promoted persistence for these students by bolstering their motivation to attain a STEM degree and by promoting engagement with course assignments. This theory-informed curricular intervention is a promising tool for educators committed to retaining students in STEM.

College Students' Reasons for Leaving Biomedical Fields: Disenchantment with Biomedicine or Attraction to Other Fields?

This study examined whether students who left biomedical fields of study during college did so primarily because they became disenchanted with those fields or because they felt attracted to alternative fields of study. We identified 1193 students intending to pursue biomedical fields of study early in college, collected data about their beliefs and performance throughout college, and interviewed them near graduation about their future plans. Descriptively, we examined the topics students discussed as affecting their attrition decisions. Predictive research aims were to determine how academic performance, interest, and demographic factors predicted students' likelihood of overall attrition and likelihood of reporting distinct reasons for attrition. Among the 192 students who left biomedical fields, 62.5% described leaving only in terms of feeling disenchanted, whereas 37.4% expressed that they left at least in part due to feeling attracted towards non-biomedical fields. Most students who left biomedical fields expressed changing plans for reasons related to interest; this was especially prevalent among students who reported leaving due to attraction towards non-biomedical fields. Predictive analyses showed that interest in biology and grades at the end of an introductory biology course predicted the likelihood of overall attrition and likelihood of leaving due to feeling disenchantment, whereas underrepresented ethnic minority status predicted these outcomes positively. Interest and course grades also predicted the likelihood of students leaving due to feeling attraction towards other fields, but interest was a stronger predictor relative to grades. Results highlight distinct types of attrition that may have implications for policies to promote STEM retention.

Utility-value intervention with parents increases students' STEM preparation and career pursuit.

During high school, developing competence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is critically important as preparation to pursue STEM careers, yet students in the United States lag behind other countries, ranking 35th in mathematics and 27th in science achievement internationally. Given the importance of STEM careers as drivers of modern economies, this deficiency in preparation for STEM careers threatens the United States' continued economic progress. In the present study, we evaluated the long-term effects of a theory-based intervention designed to help parents convey the importance of mathematics and science courses to their high-school-aged children. A prior report on this intervention showed that it promoted STEM course-taking in high school; in the current follow-up study, we found that the intervention improved mathematics and science standardized test scores on a college preparatory examination (ACT) for adolescents by 12 percentile points. Greater high-school STEM preparation (STEM course-taking and ACT scores) was associated with increased STEM career pursuit (i.e., STEM career interest, the number of college STEM courses, and students' attitudes toward STEM) 5 y after the intervention. These results suggest that the intervention can affect STEM career pursuit indirectly by increasing high-school STEM preparation. This finding underscores the importance of targeting high-school STEM preparation to increase STEM career pursuit. Overall, these findings demonstrate that a motivational intervention with parents can have important effects on STEM preparation in high school, as well as downstream effects on STEM career pursuit 5 y later.

Promoting Persistence in the Biological and Medical Sciences: An Expectancy-Value Approach to Intervention.

A wide range of occupations require science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills, yet almost half of students who intend to pursue a post-secondary STEM education abandon these plans before graduating from college. This attrition is especially pronounced among underrepresented groups (i.e., racial/ethnic minorities and first-generation college students). We conducted a two-year follow-up of a utility-value intervention that had been implemented in an introductory biology course. This intervention was previously shown to improve performance in the course, on average and especially among underrepresented students, reducing the achievement gap. The goal of the present study was to examine whether the intervention also impacted persistence in the biomedical track throughout college. The intervention had a more positive impact on long-term persistence for students who were more confident that they could succeed at the beginning of the course, and this effect was partially driven by the extent to which students reflected on the personal relevance of biological topics in their essays. This mechanism was distinct from the process that had been found to underlie intervention effects on performance - engagement with course material - suggesting that utility-value interventions may affect different academic outcomes by initiating distinct psychological processes. Although we did not find that the intervention was differentially effective for underrepresented students in terms of persistence, we found that positive effects on performance were associated with increased persistence for these students. Results suggest that utility-value interventions in an introductory course can be an effective strategy to promote persistence in the biomedical sciences throughout college.

The Benefits of Combining Value for the Self and Others in Utility-Value Interventions.

Utility-value interventions, in which students complete writing assignments about the personal usefulness of course material, show great promise for promoting interest and performance in introductory college science courses, as well as persistence in STEM fields. As researchers move toward scaling up this intervention, it's important to understand which features are key to its effectiveness. For example, prior studies have used different types of utility-value assignments (i.e., self-focused essays and other-focused letters) and different assignment structures (i.e., over time, researchers provided a variety of tasks or choices between tasks), without comparing them. It is not known whether these assignment features are incidental details or key aspects of the intervention that impact its effectiveness. In the current study, we systematically compared different utility-value assignments, as well as ways of combining them, in a randomized controlled trial in an introductory college biology course (N = 590). Specifically, we compared different versions of the intervention in terms of their relative effectiveness for promoting course performance and the motivational mechanisms through which they operated. The intervention was most effective when students had opportunities to write about utility for both the self and others. Grades were higher in conditions in which students were either assigned a variety of self-focused and other-focused assignments or given the choice between the two. Among students with low performance expectations, grades were higher when students were assigned a specific combination: a self-focused assignment followed by other-focused assignments. Results suggest that different versions of the intervention may work through different mechanisms.

Improving Performance and Retention in Introductory Biology with a Utility-Value Intervention.

One way to encourage performance and persistence in STEM fields is to have students write about the utility value (UV) or personal relevance of course topics to their life. This intervention has been shown to increase engagement and performance in introductory courses. However, questions remain about the longevity of the effects and how best to implement the intervention in terms of dosage and timing. We tested a UV intervention in the first semester of a two-semester introductory biology sequence. For each of three units across the semester, students (N = 577) were randomly assigned to receive either a UV writing assignment, in which they explained why course material was useful to them personally, or a control assignment, in which they summarized course material. This fully crossed design tested the effect of UV dosage level (0, 1, 2, or 3 UV assignments) as well as the effect of timing (e.g., UV first, control first). We found that students exposed to any dosage of UV earned higher grades in the course, were more likely to enroll in the second course of the biology sequence, and were less likely to abandon their STEM major than students who did not receive any UV assignments. In terms of timing, students with a history of poor performance benefitted from writing a UV essay in the beginning of the semester, whereas higher-performing students benefitted from a UV essay at the end of the semester. Recommendations for practice are discussed.

The Role of Mothers' Communication in Promoting Motivation for Math and Science Course-Taking in High School.

In the context of concerns about American youths' failure to take advanced math and science (MS) courses in high school, we examined mothers' communication with their adolescent about taking MS courses. At ninth grade, U.S. mothers (n = 130) were interviewed about their responses to hypothetical questions from their adolescent about the usefulness of algebra, geometry, calculus, biology, chemistry, and physics. Responses were coded for elaboration and making personal connections to the adolescent. The number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses taken in 12th grade was obtained from school records. Mothers' use of personal connections predicted adolescents' MS interest and utility value, as well as actual MS course-taking. Parents can play an important role in motivating their adolescent to take MS courses.

Sexual Fluidity and Related Attitudes and Beliefs Among Young Adults with a Same-Gender Orientation.

Little research has examined whether experiencing sexual fluidity--changes over time in attractions and sexual orientation identity--is related to specific cognitions. This study explored attitudes and beliefs among sexually fluid and non-sexually fluid individuals and developed two new measures of sexuality beliefs based on Diamond's sexual fluidity research and Dweck's psychological theory of intelligence beliefs. Participants were 188 female and male young adults in the United States with a same-gender orientation, ages 18-26 years. Participants completed an online questionnaire which assessed sexual fluidity in attractions and sexual orientation identity, attitudes toward bisexuality, sexuality beliefs, and demographics. Sexual fluidity in attractions was reported by 63 % of females and 50 % of males, with 48 % of those females and 34 % of those males reporting fluidity in sexual orientation identity. No significant gender differences in frequency of sexual fluidity were observed. Sexually fluid females had more positive attitudes toward bisexuality than non-sexually fluid females; however, no significant difference was observed for males. Females were more likely than males to endorse sexual fluidity beliefs and to believe that sexuality is changeable; and sexually fluid persons were more likely than non-sexually fluid persons to hold those two beliefs. Among males, non-sexually fluid individuals were more likely than sexually fluid individuals to believe that sexuality is something an individual is born with. Females were more likely than males to endorse the belief that sexuality is influenced by the environment. Findings from this research link sexual fluidity with specific cognitions.

Closing the Social Class Achievement Gap for First-Generation Students in Undergraduate Biology.

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 fifth 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 second course in the biology sequence, as well as overall GPA 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.

A prosocial value intervention in gateway STEM courses.

Many college students, especially first-generation and underrepresented racial/ethnic minority students, desire courses and careers that emphasize helping people and society. Can instructors of introductory science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses promote motivation, performance, and equity in STEM fields by emphasizing the prosocial relevance of course material? We developed, implemented, and evaluated a prosocial utility-value intervention (UVI): A course assignment in which students were asked to reflect on the prosocial value of biology or chemistry course content; our focus was on reducing performance gaps between first-generation and continuing generation college students. In Studies 1a and 1b, we piloted two versions of a prosocial UVI in introductory biology (N = 282) and chemistry classes (N = 1,705) to test whether we could encourage students to write about the prosocial value of course content. In Study 2, we tested a version of the UVI that combines personal and prosocial values, relative to a standard UVI, which emphasizes personal values, using a randomized controlled trial in an introductory chemistry course (N = 2,505), and examined effects on performance and motivation in the course. In Study 3, we tested the prosocial UVI against a standard UVI in an introductory biology course (N = 712). Results suggest that the prosocial UVI may be particularly effective in promoting motivation and performance for first-generation college students, especially those who are more confident that they can perform well in the class, reflecting a classic expectancy-value interaction. Mediation analyses suggest that this intervention worked by promoting interest in chemistry. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Helping parents to motivate adolescents in mathematics and science: an experimental test of a utility-value intervention.

The pipeline toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) begins to leak in high school, when some students choose not to take advanced mathematics and science courses. We conducted a field experiment testing whether a theory-based intervention that was designed to help parents convey the importance of mathematics and science courses to their high school-aged children would lead them to take more mathematics and science courses in high school. The three-part intervention consisted of two brochures mailed to parents and a Web site, all highlighting the usefulness of STEM courses. This relatively simple intervention led students whose parents were in the experimental group to take, on average, nearly one semester more of science and mathematics in the last 2 years of high school, compared with the control group. Parents are an untapped resource for increasing STEM motivation in adolescents, and the results demonstrate that motivational theory can be applied to this important pipeline problem.

Gender, culture, and mathematics performance.

Using contemporary data from the U.S. and other nations, we address 3 questions: Do gender differences in mathematics performance exist in the general population? Do gender differences exist among the mathematically talented? Do females exist who possess profound mathematical talent? In regard to the first question, contemporary data indicate that girls in the U.S. have reached parity with boys in mathematics performance, a pattern that is found in some other nations as well. Focusing on the second question, studies find more males than females scoring above the 95th or 99th percentile, but this gender gap has significantly narrowed over time in the U.S. and is not found among some ethnic groups and in some nations. Furthermore, data from several studies indicate that greater male variability with respect to mathematics is not ubiquitous. Rather, its presence correlates with several measures of gender inequality. Thus, it is largely an artifact of changeable sociocultural factors, not immutable, innate biological differences between the sexes. Responding to the third question, we document the existence of females who possess profound mathematical talent. Finally, we review mounting evidence that both the magnitude of mean math gender differences and the frequency of identification of gifted and profoundly gifted females significantly correlate with sociocultural factors, including measures of gender equality across nations.

Inside the STEM pipeline: Changes in students' biomedical career plans across the college years.

Researchers often invoke the metaphor of a pipeline when studying participation in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), focusing on the important issue of students who "leak" from the pipeline, but largely ignoring students who persist in STEM. Using interview, survey, and institutional data over 6 years, we examined the experiences of 921 students who persisted in biomedical fields through college graduation and planned to pursue biomedical careers. Despite remaining in the biomedical pipeline, almost half of these students changed their career plans, which was almost twice the number of students who abandoned biomedical career paths altogether. Women changed plans more often and were more likely than men to change to a career requiring fewer years of post-graduate education. Results highlight the importance of studying within-pipeline patterns rather than focusing only on why students leave STEM fields.

Hopelessness and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents: An integrative data analysis.

Although hopelessness has been linked to depression for centuries, the diagnostic criteria for depression are inconsistent with regard to the status of hopelessness. Most research on hopelessness and depression has focused on adults. The current study examined this relation in children and adolescents. Integrative data analyses with a pooled sample (N = 2466) showed that clinical levels of hopelessness multiplied the odds of having a clinical diagnosis of depression 10-fold. Conversely, not having clinical levels of hopelessness multiplied the odds of endorsing no clinical level of depressive symptoms 28-fold. Moreover, results differed by levels of depression: (a) among youths with clinical levels of depression, hopelessness was associated with six depressive symptoms; (b) among youths without clinical levels of depression, hopelessness was associated with nine depressive symptoms. We found that hopelessness helps to explain the heterogeneity of depressive presentations. Our finding supports the consideration of hopelessness in the diagnosis (if not treatment and prevention) of depression in children and adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Gender Differences in Depression: Biological, Affective, Cognitive, and Sociocultural Factors.

The odds ratio (OR) for gender differences in major depression is 1.95, averaged meta-analytically over all ages and nations. The gender difference appears by age 12, OR = 2.37, and peaks at OR = 3.02 for ages 13-15. Using the ABC (affective, biological, cognitive) model as a framework within a vulnerability-stress approach, we consider the evidence for biological vulnerabilities (genes, pubertal hormones, and pubertal timing), affective vulnerabilities (temperament), and cognitive vulnerabilities (negative cognitive style, objectified body consciousness, and rumination). The impact of stress is central to the vulnerability-stress model, and we review evidence on gender differences in stress exposure, emphasizing gender differences in sex-related traumas such as child sexual abuse and rape. Finally, we examine sociocultural factors that may contribute to the gender difference, including the media and gender inequality. An implication for research methods is that single-gender designs should be questioned. Regarding clinical implications, the vulnerabilities and stressors identified in this review should contribute to personalized interventions with depressed individuals, especially depressed women.

A meta-analysis of the associations between callous-unemotional traits and empathy, prosociality, and guilt.

Antisocial behavior is harmful, financially costly to society, and hard to treat. Callous-unemotional (CU) traits, which predict greater risk for antisocial behavior, are defined in theoretical and diagnostic models as representing low empathy, guilt, and prosociality. However, no meta-analytic reviews have systematically integrated the findings of studies that have reported associations between measures of CU traits and empathy, guilt, or prosociality, or potential moderators of these associations, including gender, age, severity of antisocial behavior, and informant (i.e., self or other reports of measures). To address this gap in the literature, we conducted three separate meta-analyses exploring the association between CU traits and empathy, guilt, and prosociality. In follow-up analyses, we explored associations between CU traits and affective versus cognitive empathy. The results revealed statistically significant and moderate-to-large negative associations between measures of CU traits and empathy (ρ = -.57), guilt (ρ = -.40), and prosociality (ρ = -.66). The negative association between CU traits and cognitive empathy was stronger when the informant was a parent or teacher rather than the child, and in younger children. CU traits were also more strongly related to cognitive empathy than affective empathy when the informant was a parent or teacher rather than the child, and in younger children. The findings establish that CU traits are moderately-to-strongly correlated with the presence of callous (low empathy), uncaring (low prosociality), and remorseless (low guilt) behaviors.

Choose Your Own Intervention: Using Choice to Enhance the Effectiveness of a Utility-Value Intervention.

Utility-value interventions, in which students are asked to make connections between course material and their lives, are useful for improving students' academic outcomes in science courses. These interventions are thought to be successful in part because the intervention activities afford students autonomy while they complete them, but no research has explored directly whether interventions that include more support for autonomy are more effective. In this study, the degree of choice incorporated in a utility-value intervention was systematically varied in order to test this possibility. We assigned college biology students (n = 406) to a high-choice utility-value intervention condition (choose between two formats- essay or letter- for each of 3 writing assignments), one of two low-choice intervention conditions (complete either an essay and then a letter, or vice versa, and choose a format for the third assignment), or a control condition (summarize course material 3 times). Students in the high-choice condition reported significantly higher perceived utility value and interest for biology course content compared to students in the low-choice conditions. There were also significant, but small, indirect effects of choice on students' final course grades and enrollment in the next course in the biology sequence via perceived utility value and interest. Results suggest that social-psychological interventions which include more choice are likely to be more effective than those which include less choice.

Sexual satisfaction in the seventh decade of life.

This research presents data on the sexuality of men and women in their mid-sixties. The data are from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study 2003 mail survey; analyses include 2156 men and 1955 women. Respondents reported having sex 1.7 times per month. Regression analyses were used to identify variables associated with sexual behavior and satisfaction. Included were measures of physical health, sexual functioning, psychological distress, and satisfaction with the relationship. Frequency of sexual activity was significantly predicted by reports that partner lost interest in sex. Satisfaction with the sexual relationship was predicted by marital/ relationship satisfaction and frequency of sexual activity. Sexual expression remains a significant aspect of intimate relationships in the seventh decade of life.

Gender differences in depression in representative national samples: Meta-analyses of diagnoses and symptoms.

In 2 meta-analyses on gender differences in depression in nationally representative samples, we advance previous work by including studies of depression diagnoses and symptoms to (a) estimate the magnitude of the gender difference in depression across a wide array of nations and ages; (b) use a developmental perspective to elucidate patterns of gender differences across the life span; and (c) incorporate additional theory-driven moderators (e.g., gender equity). For major depression diagnoses and depression symptoms, respectively, we meta-analyzed data from 65 and 95 articles and their corresponding national data sets, representing data from 1,716,195 and 1,922,064 people in over 90 different nations. Overall, odds ratio (OR) = 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.88, 2.03], and d = 0.27 [0.26, 0.29]. Age was the strongest predictor of effect size. The gender difference for diagnoses emerged earlier than previously thought, with OR = 2.37 at age 12. For both meta-analyses, the gender difference peaked in adolescence (OR = 3.02 for ages 13-15, and d = 0.47 for age 16) but then declined and remained stable in adulthood. Cross-national analyses indicated that larger gender differences were found in nations with greater gender equity, for major depression, but not depression symptoms. The gender difference in depression represents a health disparity, especially in adolescence, yet the magnitude of the difference indicates that depression in men should not be overlooked. (PsycINFO Database Record

Ecological Invalidity of Existing Gaydar Research: In-Lab Accuracy Translates to Real-World Inaccuracy: Response to Rule, Johnson, & Freeman (2016).

In recent years, several empirical studies have claimed to provide evidence in support of the popular folk notion that people possess "gaydar" that enables them to accurately identify who is gay or lesbian (Rule, Johnson, & Freeman, 2016). This conclusion is limited to artificial lab settings, however, and when translated to real-world settings this work itself provides evidence that people's judgments about who is gay/lesbian are not pragmatically accurate. We also briefly review evidence related to the consequences of perpetuating the idea of gaydar (i.e., "the gaydar myth"). Although past claims about accurate orientation perception are misleading, the work that gave rise to those claims can nevertheless inform the literature in meaningful ways. We offer some recommendations for how the evidence in past "gaydar" research can be reappraised to inform our understanding of social perception and group similarities/differences.