home - login - register

Journal Article Detail Page

written by Jessi L. Smith, Karyn Lewis, Lauren Hawthorne, and Sara D. Hodges
Feeling like one exerts more effort than others may influence women's feelings of belonging with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and impede their motivation. In Study 1, women STEM graduate students perceived they exerted more effort than peers to succeed. For women, but not men, this effort expenditure perception predicted a decreased sense of belonging, which in turn decreased motivation. Study 2 tested whether the male-dominated status of a field triggers such effort expectations. We created a fictional "eco-psychology" graduate program, which when depicted as male-dominated resulted in women expecting to exert relatively more effort and decreased their interest in pursuing the field. Study 3 found emphasizing effort as expected (and normal) to achieve success elevated women's feelings of belonging and future motivation. Results suggest effort expenditure perceptions are an indicator women use to assess their fit in STEM. Implications for enhancing women's participation in STEM are discussed.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Volume 39, Issue 2, Pages 131-143
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education - Basic Research
- Behavior
- Research Design & Methodology
= Evaluation
= Statistics
- Sample Population
= Gender
- Societal Issues
= Gender Issues
- Student Characteristics
= Affect
Other Sciences
- None
- Graduate/Professional
- Lower Undergraduate
- Upper Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
PER-Central Type Intended Users Ratings
- PER Literature
- Professional/Practitioners
- Administrators
- Researchers
  • Currently 0.0/5

Want to rate this material?
Login here!


Formats:
text/html
application/pdf
Access Rights:
Available by subscription and
Available for purchase
Restriction:
© 2013 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.
DOI:
10.1177/0146167212468332
Keywords:
Expectancy Value Theory, STEM belonging, STEM identity, gender equity, gender imbalance, student motivation
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created July 7, 2022 by Lauren Bauman
Record Updated:
September 8, 2022 by Lauren Bauman
Last Update
when Cataloged:
February 21, 2013
ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link
AIP Format
J. Smith, K. Lewis, L. Hawthorne, and S. Hodges, , Pers Soc Psychol 39 (2), 131 (2013), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212468332).
AJP/PRST-PER
J. Smith, K. Lewis, L. Hawthorne, and S. Hodges, When Trying Hard Isn’t Natural: Women’s Belonging With and Motivation for Male-Dominated STEM Fields As a Function of Effort Expenditure Concerns, Pers Soc Psychol 39 (2), 131 (2013), <https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212468332>.
APA Format
Smith, J., Lewis, K., Hawthorne, L., & Hodges, S. (2013, February 21). When Trying Hard Isn’t Natural: Women’s Belonging With and Motivation for Male-Dominated STEM Fields As a Function of Effort Expenditure Concerns. Pers Soc Psychol, 39(2), 131-143. Retrieved December 6, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212468332
Chicago Format
Smith, J, K. Lewis, L. Hawthorne, and S. Hodges. "When Trying Hard Isn’t Natural: Women’s Belonging With and Motivation for Male-Dominated STEM Fields As a Function of Effort Expenditure Concerns." Pers Soc Psychol. 39, no. 2, (February 21, 2013): 131-143, https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212468332 (accessed 6 December 2024).
MLA Format
Smith, Jessi L., Karyn Lewis, Lauren Hawthorne, and Sara D. Hodges. "When Trying Hard Isn’t Natural: Women’s Belonging With and Motivation for Male-Dominated STEM Fields As a Function of Effort Expenditure Concerns." Pers Soc Psychol 39.2 (2013): 131-143. 6 Dec. 2024 <https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212468332>.
BibTeX Export Format
@article{ Author = "Jessi L. Smith and Karyn Lewis and Lauren Hawthorne and Sara D. Hodges", Title = {When Trying Hard Isn’t Natural: Women’s Belonging With and Motivation for Male-Dominated STEM Fields As a Function of Effort Expenditure Concerns}, Journal = {Pers Soc Psychol}, Volume = {39}, Number = {2}, Pages = {131-143}, Month = {February}, Year = {2013} }
Refer Export Format

%A Jessi L. Smith %A Karyn Lewis %A Lauren Hawthorne %A Sara D. Hodges %T When Trying Hard Isn't Natural: Women's Belonging With and Motivation for Male-Dominated STEM Fields As a Function of Effort Expenditure Concerns %J Pers Soc Psychol %V 39 %N 2 %D February 21, 2013 %P 131-143 %U https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212468332 %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Journal Article %A Smith, Jessi L. %A Lewis, Karyn %A Hawthorne, Lauren %A Hodges, Sara D. %D February 21, 2013 %T When Trying Hard Isn't Natural: Women's Belonging With and Motivation for Male-Dominated STEM Fields As a Function of Effort Expenditure Concerns %J Pers Soc Psychol %V 39 %N 2 %P 131-143 %8 February 21, 2013 %U https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212468332


Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.

Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The AJP/PRST-PER presented is based on the AIP Style with the addition of journal article titles and conference proceeding article titles.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.

Save to my folders

Contribute

Similar Materials