Are Undergraduates and Their Research Mentors on the Same Page? Implications for Scientist Identity

• In Event: 3-218 - Context matters for STEM outcomes: Factors that help or hinder underrepresented students in K-college education

Integrative Statement

Background
Although science majors have a reputation for being challenging, pursuing a degree in science may be especially difficult for women and people of color. This is because members of these groups often receive negative messages—both subtle and explicit—that can reduce their sense of psychological identification with science. These messages may be especially damaging when they occur during emerging adulthood, which is a time when young people often work toward integrating their academic/career identity with other core facets of identity.

To address the lack of diversity in science, researchers and educators have partnered to offer numerous academic outreach programs. These programs often feature an intensive period of mentored research involvement. For some undergraduates, these research apprenticeships yield positive outcomes; other undergraduates, however, benefit very little.

The current study seeks to better understand this variation in student outcomes by focusing on the relationship between students and their research mentors. Specifically, we tested for associations between three forms of mentoring (i.e., instrumental, socioemotional, negative) and undergraduates’ scientist identity. To contextualize and corroborate self-report data from the undergraduate participants, we also collected data from their research mentors.

Method
Participants were 66 undergraduate-mentor dyads who worked together in a research apprenticeship. They were recruited from colleges and universities across the U.S. The undergraduate sample was predominantly composed of women (75%), first-generation college students (51%), and members of ethnic groups that are historically underrepresented in science (70%). Undergraduate participants completed an online survey, which included scales that assessed their scientist identity as well as various aspects of their mentoring relationships. Undergraduates’ research mentors also completed an online survey. Specifically, mentors provided quantitative evaluations of their own mentoring behaviors as well as qualitative reflections about difficult moments in the mentoring relationship.

Results
Findings illustrated that undergraduates who reported receiving more instrumental mentoring were higher in scientist identity (p < .01). The same pattern was observed for socioemotional mentoring (p < .05). Interestingly, undergraduates’ reports of the negative mentoring they received were not significantly associated with their scientist identity; however, mentors who reported engaging in higher levels of negative mentoring behaviors (e.g., ignoring the student) had undergraduates with lower scientist identity (p < .05).

Qualitative data from undergraduates’ mentors provided deeper insight into negativity in the mentoring relationships. Specifically, mentors reported that (1) underprepared students and (2) communication problems were key challenges within their mentoring relationships. Importantly, mentors varied in the extent to which they shouldered responsibility for these challenges. Whereas some mentors blamed their students for difficulties in the mentoring relationship, other mentors took at least some personal responsibility. Mentors who took personal responsibility for challenges tended to have students with higher scientist identity.

Implications
Findings from the current research provide insight into features of mentoring relationships that may help (instrumental and socioemotional mentoring) or hinder (negative mentoring) psychological identification with science among students from underrepresented groups. Also, through its dyadic, mixed-methods approach, the current research provides insight into several methodological practices that may yield especially fruitful data in future mentoring studies.

Authors

• Rachel D. Robnett, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  Presenting Author

• Paul Nelson, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  Non-Presenting Author

• Eileen Zurbriggen, University of California, Santa Cruz
  Non-Presenting Author

• Faye Crosby, University of California, Santa Cruz
  Non-Presenting Author

• Martin Chemers, University of California, Santa Cruz
  Non-Presenting Author