2015 Association for Women in Psychology Conference

The feminist movement was born in the early 20th century as a response to the unfair treatment of women. Despite the misrepresentation of feminism as a radical force solely in favor of a gender, feminism carries the broad message of gender equality and respect for the person’s independence and autonomy. Therefore, feminism is applicable across different social movements, therapeutic approaches, and advocacy. A feminist approach is sensitive to suffering and unfairness and is determined to reveal that suffering and take actions to eliminate it. This observation of feminism as an altruistic action with a desire to eliminate the source of suffering is an example of compassion. The field of compassion in psychology is in its infancy. However, the application of compassion in psychotherapy has been recognized globally. Kristian Neff in the U.S. and Paul Gilbert are pioneers of such approaches in psychotherapy. The recent body of literature has shown that compassion can promote both positive mental heath attributes and can result in promoting happiness in individuals. Therefore, many researchers tried to find the values and activities that promote compassion in individuals. One of the challenges in the development of compassionate is related to a lack of recognition of suffering in others. Others might battle with empathetic distress, which could lead to burn out. Therefore, finding a balance between compassionate behaviors is required. While social injustices and prejudices cause hardship and excessive suffering, feminist psychology promotes positive mental health and suggests ways in which to avoid suffering. The author of this article suggests that feminism as a moral imperative can provide both an active answer to suffering in the society and a healing tool. On the other hand, feminist psychology is rooted in social justice and in taking affirmative action to relieving suffering through equality. Therefore, there is an active connection between feminist psychology and compassion psychology. Moreover, while a compassionate psychologist might not be a feminist psychologist, a feminist psychologist by definition possesses the quality of a compassionate person.

This study investigated the effect of pregnancy on a candidate’s ability to acquire employment. Comparisons were made across the pregnant female, non-pregnant female, expectant male and non-expectant male candidates, interviewing for a traditionally masculine-typed job. Multiple regressions were used to understand pregnancy/expectancy’s effect on hiring evaluations and the interaction of the candidate’s sex with pregnancy status. Evaluations included ratings of competence and likability. Decisions about employability, qualification, and starting salary were also assessed. Absenteeism, the candidate’s likelihood of missing work, was assessed as one way of understanding reservations about hiring. Through an online survey, 266 participants reviewed the resume and an interview clip of one of the 4 fictional candidates for a temporary accounting position. Each candidate had identical performance and credentials and differed only by sex and pregnancy/ expectancy status. Results demonstrated that pregnancy status and candidate sex did not predict overall hiring decisions, though they did impact participant’s perceptions of that candidate (e.g., likeable, competent). In the literature, pregnant women are most often compared only to non-pregnant women controls, and there has been little research on differences between pregnant women and expectant men. The present study builds on the literature that has explored the effect of a woman’s pregnancy on her ability to obtain employment and salary recommendations, but also extends the research by studying expectant males. Participant demographic variables such as sex and parent status were also evaluated.

Sex roles and gender biases in American culture appear to have undergone changes in the past few decades, although the expectations for men have changed more slowly than those for women (Clow, Ricardelli & Bartfay, 2014; Wilde, & Deikman, 2005). But how much these modifications have changed and how much such beliefs have become more subtle—and, thereby, less noticeable—is difficult to say. It is also difficult to state with certainty whether the stereotypes for women have changed more than those for men. Adherence to gender stereotypes still appears to be prevalent in American society, even though much of the sexism stemming from these beliefs seems to be more covert for women. Prior research indicates these beliefs may fluctuate according to various factors, including gender and age (e.g., Maltby & Day, 2001). This current student-led study examines the effects of participants’ gender and age on both masculine and feminine stereotypes. Stereotypes were measured using the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI; Glick & Fiske, 1996) and Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory (AMI; Glick & Fiske, 1999). Age cohorts were defined using the age groups designated in the 2010 Census. Participants completed an online survey assessing their acceptance of feminine-typed and masculine-typed stereotypes. It is hypothesized that there will be a difference between men and women and their scores on two stereotyping scales. Furthermore, it is expected that older age cohorts will have stronger adherence to stereotyped beliefs. Finally, a significant interaction effect between gender and age cohort is expected to occur.

The gender gap in engineering in higher education and the workplace has been a concern for educators and government policy makers in the United States. Given the engineering occupational pipeline which continues to narrow from secondary education to the labor force among women engineers, additional research is needed to understand why women engineers leave engineering jobs, as well as predictors of their job satisfaction and the contextual barriers that they encounter. Lower job satisfaction eventually leads to higher turnover and a loss of talented women in the engineering workforce (Hill, Corbett, & Rose, 2010). There are lack of effort to understand the role of work and family to predict the job satisfaction among women engineers. The majority of work-family research has focused on negative perspectives such as work-family conflict (Eby, Lockwood, Bordeaux, & Brinley, 2005), however, recent literatures highlights that positive perspectives such as work-family enrichment can contribute to further understanding of work-family dynamics above and beyond conflict (Graywacz & Bass, 2003) and increase job satisfaction (Ferguson, Carlson, Zivnuska, & Whitten, 2012). Thus, this current study examines the job satisfaction among women engineers with a work-family enrichment perspective within social cognitive career theory of well-being (Lent, 2004) framework. Method Participants included 398 women engineers. Participants were recruited through email announcements sent to women alumni from engineering department at large U.S. universities. This proposed study mainly examined the job satisfaction, work-family enrichment, work-family conflict, self-efficacy, environmental supports. Results and Discussion Structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques used to test the overall model fit of the model. Implication of the finding will contribute to increasing knowledge regarding how psychologists can help women engineers increase their job satisfaction from work-family enrichment perspectives and also inform educational and workplace interventions for retaining talented women engineers. The limitations of this study and suggestions will be discussed.

Sexual satisfaction has been linked with important facets of life such as overall relationship satisfaction and general well-being. According to Ippolito (2012) there has been formally no study which has described the relationship between the behavior of pretending orgasm and sexual satisfaction for women. A study which analyzed this relationship was conducted in order to fulfill Master’s thesis project requirements. Participants (N=371) were Eastern Washington University college students recruited via an online survey website (Qualtrics). Participants completed the Pinney Sexual Satisfaction Inventory (Pinney, Gerrard & Denney, 1987) and answered questions regarding sexual practices, frequencies of sexual behaviors, relationship status and finally, frequency of and reasons for pretending orgasm. It was hypothesized that pretending orgasm would be negatively correlated with overall sexual satisfaction and that experiencing orgasm would be positively correlated with overall sexual satisfaction. Results from the study supported both hypotheses. Additional significant findings regarding relationship status and pretending orgasm as well as partner satisfaction and gender differences were also observed.

The impostor phenomenon refers to the experience of high achieving individuals, particularly women, who despite being successful attribute their accomplishments to luck and fear being exposed as frauds (Clance & Imes, 1978). The current study examines the influence of the impostor phenomenon on (a) graduate student self-efficacy, (b) perceptions of the research training environment and (c) academic persistence attitudes of female doctoral students completing a STEM related PhD program (N=177) at a large Midwestern public university. As hypothesized, the impostor phenomenon was significantly associated with these three variables in that STEM women who identified more greatly with being an “impostor,” reported a lower sense of self-efficacy as graduate students, a more negative view of their doctoral program, and a more pessimistic outlook on their academic experiences. However, results from a multiple mediational analysis revealed that a woman’s level of self-efficacy and her perception of her department buffers the impact of her impostor beliefs on her academic outlook. Based on these results, implications of how STEM doctoral programs and universities can address barriers to STEM degree completion for women are discussed.

Despite counselors’ involvement with social justice work, little empirical evidence has explored how social justice advocates themselves experience their social justice identity. Three aspects of social justice identity were present in the literature: (a) social justice identity is personally meaningful, (b) different factors impact one’s commitment to social justice identity, and (c) social justice identity relates to other social identities. In contrast from prior research, this study utilized qualitative methods to develop a participant-centered understanding of social justice identity. Feminist-constructivist paradigm informed the research, including the use of focus groups. With purposeful sampling, participants were recruited due to their participation in an elective, one year, social justice-oriented, feminist multicultural practicum. 20 individuals consented to participate (30% of 65 recruited); the majority (60%) were professionals with the remaining seeking their degree at the time of data collection. Data collection included focus groups and follow-up interviews. Phenomenological design and analysis were used to examine participants’ perspective. Analysis yielded five themes: (a) Acknowledging: I notice injustices, (b) Personalizing: I’ve made it my own, (c) Reflecting: Am I taking enough responsibility?, (d) Sustaining: I sustain my efforts with support and self-care, and (e) Engaging: My social justice-oriented action positively impacts others and me. Among the themes, both internal and contextual aspects of social justice identity were prevalent. Results were consistent with the existing literature on counselors’ social justice identity, and the study extended empirical support to the literature.

Feminist scholars have noted that substance use issues should be examined using a sociopolitical and cultural lens (Covington, 2002; Grant, 2006). There is limited research on the influence of social power structures, including internalized socially constructed gender roles, on drinking patterns of men and women. Over the past two decades the gender gap in alcohol use has narrowed (Greenfield, 2002), particularly for emerging adults (i.e., ages 18-25), with rates of alcohol use for women ‘catching up’ to those of men. What was once a male-dominated ‘rite of passage’ and overt display of masculinity is now a common behaviour among women as well, yet drinking is still construed as ‘unfeminine’ in some respects. The current study examines how social constructions of masculinity and femininity affect alcohol behaviours for men and women, given the recent trend in convergence. Emerging adults aged 19-25 (N=191; 132 women, 59 men) participated in an online survey. Participants responded to standardized measures of alcohol use, alcohol problems, conformity to norms of masculinity/femininity, gender stereotyped traits, and the degree to which they viewed gender roles as dichotomous. Men and women also estimated the number of drinks they typically consumed in various settings, which were either same-gender or mixed-gender contexts. Linear regression analyses revealed that several domains of masculinity and femininity were significantly associated with alcohol use and alcohol problems, whereas other domains were negatively related to alcohol outcomes. Further, gender conformity variables were found to be significant correlates of drinking in various settings and events. Overall, the patterns of relationships were gender specific. Being a ‘playboy’ (for men) and the desire to be thin (for women) were the most important correlates of alcohol use and problems. For women, sexual fidelity was significantly and negatively related to alcohol outcomes. Implications of these findings are discussed from a feminist critical perspective.

Women are more likely than men to suffer disadvantages on perceived job-related skills or traits (Fuegen, Biernat, Haines, & Deaux, 2004; Cuddy, et al., 2004), and these effects may be exacerbated when a woman is perceived as a mother (Correll, Benard & Paik, 2007). When women are perceived as mothers and are rated less favorably on work-relevant characteristics, this effect is called the motherhood penalty. Some researchers have suggested that the motherhood penalty is due to the stereotypes that individuals have about women and mothers (Cuddy, Fiske, Glick, 2004). Though the motherhood penalty has been replicated throughout the extant literature, we considered the possibility that the same results may not hold approximately 10 years later, as society’s perceptions about women are changing (Braun & Scott, 2009). To test our research question, we employed a standard resume paradigm in which applicant gender and parental status were manipulated. Undergraduate students from a Midwestern university (N = 111; 74% women, 26% men) were asked to answer questions about their perceptions of work-related traits for a childless woman and for a mother. A series of paired-samples t-tests revealed that, compared to applicants who were perceived as mothers, applicants who were perceived as childless women fared better on several work-related traits (e.g., motivated, experienced, committed). Our results demonstrate that, at least in some samples, mothers continue to be penalized on work-related traits. Moreover, we present evidence suggesting that the motherhood penalty’s effects may vary by sample, as some university students actually rate mothers more favorably on work-related traits. Our findings suggest certain background characteristics, including geographical location, may influence perceptions of women. In the future, investigators of the motherhood penalty should examine which attitudinal and demographic variables are predictive of evaluations of childless women and mothers.

Women are underrepresented in science and engineering (SE) occupations, particularly in academia. Are gendered relationship norms a factor in this gender gap in persistence? A dominant norm is that women’s career should come second to those of their male partners--particularly when the partners’ career is demanding and high-status. This means that being in a committed relationship while in a demanding, high-status career path might add to the career challenges for women, and to career resources for men. This study examined intentions to pursue a doctorate and an academic career among female and male SE graduate students, across relationship commitments, and in reference to the partners’ occupation (STEM or not). One hundred and twenty nine (63% female) graduate students in SE doctoral programs at two universities completed a survey about their personal and educational profile and their educational/career intentions, prior to an interview. The study’s findings suggest a complex relationship between women’s relationship commitments, their male partners’ occupation, and intention to persist through an academic career. Single women (attached and not) were undecided about pursuing a doctorate. For married women, doctorate intention depended on the partners’ occupation. Married women whose partner was not in STEM were most intent at completing a doctorate, while married women whose partner was in STEM were less likely to express an intent to pursue a doctorate, relative to single women. Women married or attached to STEM partners tended to rule out an academic career. By contrast, for men, being married was associated with greater doctorate persistence intention. Men’s relationship status and their partners’ occupational field were unrelated to their academic career intent. These findings suggest that women’s and men’s intention to persist in the SE academia path is associated with different relationship profiles. Marriage appears to consistently be a resource for men, but not women.

Psychological empowerment (PE) focuses on empowerment at the individual level and refers to one’s capacity to have control and make choices regarding their personal life (Israel, Checkoway, Schulz, & Zimmerman, 1994), which includes self-efficacy, participatory behavior, and motivation to exert control over personal, educational and career goals (Zimmerman, 1990). However, psychological empowerment is contextual, therefore programs (i.e., programs at schools designed to increase PE), that aim to increase levels of PE vary depending on the context. Since processes vary between contexts, it is important to measure effects of processes to determine if a given process is having the desired effect The present thesis aims to determine if, and to what degree, the Women’s Leadership Symposium (WLS) at Governors State University impacts PE among 30 female participants. In this mixed-methods thesis on PE among WLS participants I will quantitatively measure PE three times: (1) before the WLS, (2) immediately after the WLS, and (3) three months after participation in the WLS. After the second administration of the PE measure, participants will be asked to volunteer their contact information for participation in individual interviews. The third administration of the quantitative PE measure will be administered after the individual interviews. While the quantitative measure will provide information on PE over time, the qualitative component intends to explore the ways in which participants applied what they learned through the symposium and student needs for future programming specifically designed for women. Data collection and analysis will be completed by February 2105, so the results will be presented followed by discussion of the limitations of the study and the WLS. Suggestions for future leadership programming will also be explored.