SBP: Investigating Social Comparison Processes among Undergraduates at a Hispanic Serving Institution

人们经常将自己与周围的人进行比较（即，进行社会比较）。对于少数民族本科生来说，他们周围的人通常是多数民族学生。然而，对于参加西班牙裔服务机构（HSI）的西班牙裔学生来说，他们周围的大多数人往往是其他西班牙裔学生。这种从少数人到多数人的转变可能会产生重要的后果;然而，没有研究探讨过这种潜在的影响。目前的项目计划进行研究，以了解学生如何在这种新的背景下比较自己与他人，并测试一种策略，以帮助学生比较自己与他人在更富有成效的方式。该项目对社会具有重要意义。通过这些研究获得的知识可以帮助学院/大学更好地为学生服务，并改善长期成果。此外，该项目将培训25名本科研究人员，研究结果将通过会议演示和出版物公开提供。最终，这项研究计划将改善STEM教育，创造一个更加多样化的劳动力。最有益的社会比较类型发生在人们将自己与他们认为比自己更好但在重要方面相似的人进行比较时（即，向上识别）。另一方面，当人们与他们认为相似但比自己更糟糕的人进行比较时，这可能是有害的（即，向下识别）。该项目的主要假设是，向下识别经常发生在西班牙裔学生谁参加HSIs，其中西班牙裔学生占多数。该项目通过四项研究来验证这一假设。研究1和2确定了当前的社会比较过程和与这些过程相关的结果。研究3使用实验来确定社会比较是否会导致学生成绩的变化。研究4在整个学年（六个数据收集时间点）跟踪学生，以测试旨在通过社会比较提高学生成绩的计划的长期影响。最终，这项研究扩展了关于社会比较过程的知识，并增强了未来关于提高学术成果和STEM领域少数群体代表性的研究和干预。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

People often compare themselves to others around them (i.e., engage in social comparison). For minority undergraduate students, the people around them are typically majority students. However, for Hispanic students who attend Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), the majority of people around them tend to be other Hispanic students. This shift from being in the minority to being in the majority may have important consequences; yet, no research has examined the potential effects. The current project plans to conduct studies to understand how students compare themselves to others in this new context and tests a strategy to help students compare themselves to others in more productive ways. This project has important implications for society. Knowledge gained through these studies can help colleges/universities better serve their students and improve long-term outcomes. Additionally, the project will train 25 undergraduate researchers and results from the study will be made publicly available through conference presentations and publications. Ultimately, this research program will improve STEM education and create a more diverse workforce.The most beneficial type of social comparison occurs when people compare themselves to others who they perceive as better off than themselves but who are similar in important ways (i.e., upward identification). On the other hand, it can be detrimental when people make comparisons to those who they perceive as similar but worse off than themselves (i.e., downward identification). The project’s main hypothesis is that downward identification occurs frequently in Hispanic students who attend HSIs where Hispanic students are in the majority. The project tests this hypothesis through four studies. Studies 1 and 2 identify current social comparison processes and outcomes related to these processes. Study 3 uses an experiment to determine whether social comparison causes changes to student outcomes. Study 4 follows students throughout an academic year (six data collection time points) to test the long-term effects of a program designed to improve student performance through social comparison. Ultimately, this research expands knowledge about social comparison processes and enhances future research and interventions on improving academic outcomes and minority representation in STEM fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.