Browsing by Author "Pietri, Evava S."
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Item A Comparative Analysis of Hierarchical and Numerical Representation in Organizational Diversity Perceptions and Identity-Safety(2020-08) Lewis, Arielle N.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Pietri, Evava S.; Williams, Jane R.A significant body of work has demonstrated the importance of diversity and representation in racial and ethnic minority jobseekers’ organizational judgments. While representation is often conceptualized as the general percentage or count of underrepresented minorities (URM) within an organization, a broader definition has been proposed that distinguishes this general or numerical representation from hierarchical representation which considers the placement of those URM employees within an organization. Although the separate effects of these two forms of representation have been evaluated, the present study extends on earlier work by considering the interactive effect. Additionally, the current research considered a potential mechanism to explain the influence of these forms of representation on URM’s organizational judgements. As expected, results showed that an organization depicting more URM employees (high numerical representation) and including Black leadership personnel (hierarchical representation) increased URM’s identity-safety relative to those which had low numerical representation and only White leadership. Moreover, and importantly, both representation effects could be explained indirectly via feelings of anticipated tokenism.Item Consequences of gender composition during a diversity intervention(2017-06) Ozgumus, Ezgi; Pietri, Evava S.Persistent gender bias (i.e., favorable treatment of men over women) has been consistently documented as the most likely cause perpetuating gender disparity in STEM occupations. It is therefore crucial to develop effective diversity interventions that increase awareness of gender bias and decrease sexism in STEM. However, interventions that facilitate greater recognition of gender bias in STEM may inadvertently trigger social identity concerns for women, suggesting they may not fit in those environments. Moreover, women may be less comfortable speaking up in groups where their gender is numerically underrepresented. To mitigate these negative consequences, current research tested the effectiveness of gender composition in a virtual group setting as an identity-safe cue. Results suggested that in groups that consisted primarily of women, participants identified more with their group and this increased identification, in turn, helped alleviate social identity threat. Additionally, participants in female majority groups were more likely than those in female minority groups to participate in group discussions via increased identification with their group. Thus, our findings indicated that diversity practitioners should consider exploring whether diversity interventions in STEM also inadvertently elicit social identity threat for women. Additionally, when developing new trainings, it is important to incorporate identity-safe cues in order to neutralize any potential threat associated with these trainings.Item Does the future look bright? Processing style determines the impact of valence weighting biases and self-beliefs on expectations(APA, 2019-02) Niese, Zachary Adolph; Libby, Lisa K.; Fazio, Russell H.; Eibach, Richard P.; Pietri, Evava S.; Psychology, School of SciencePeople regularly form expectations about their future, and whether those expectations are positive or negative can have important consequences. So, what determines the valence of people’s expectations? Research seeking to answer this question by using an individual-differences approach has established that trait biases in optimistic/pessimistic self-beliefs and, more recently, trait biases in behavioral tendencies to weight one’s past positive versus negative experiences more heavily each predict the valence of people’s typical expectations. However, these two biases do not correlate, suggesting limits on a purely individual-differences approach to predicting people’s expectations. We hypothesize that, because these two biases appear to operate via distinct processes (with self-beliefs operating top-down and valence weighting bias operating bottom-up), to predict a person’s expectations on a given occasion, it is also critical to consider situational factors influencing processing style. To test this hypothesis, we investigated how an integral part of future thinking that influences processing style—mental imagery—determines each bias’s influence. Two experiments measured valence weighting biases and optimistic/pessimistic self-beliefs, then manipulated whether participants formed expectations using their own first-person visual perspective (which facilitates bottom-up processes) or an external third-person visual perspective (which facilitates top-down processes). Expectations corresponded more with valence weighting biases from the first-person (vs. third-person) but more with self-beliefs from the third-person (vs. first-person). Two additional experiments manipulated valence weighting bias, demonstrating its causal role in shaping expectations (and behaviors) with first-person, but not third-person, imagery. These results suggest the two biases operate via distinct processes, holding implications for interventions to increase optimism.Item Dress to Repress: Exploring How Dress Codes & Norms Harm Black Women in the Workplace(2024-06) Beecham, Jasmine Grace; Derricks, Veronica; Pietri, Evava S.; Johnson, India; Williams, Jane; Dumortier, JeromeDress codes were originally based on safety practices but have evolved into standards around perceived professionalism that uphold White masculine norms in the workplace. At the crossroads of White male standards is Black women’s hairstyling habits. While some Black women may engage in impression management and straighten their hair to fit in more, others may not feel authentic with straightened hair and could choose to deliberately express their identity through their hairstyle. Across two studies, I examine whether dress codes and norms targeting natural Black hairstyling habits lead to threats to authenticity and identity safety, in turn leading to negative organizational outcomes. A measure of one’s desire to deliberately express identity (general and Black) through hair was included to examine potential moderation. In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of three hypothetical dress code conditions – a restrictive dress code, inclusive dress code, or a control of general company values with no dress information. Hypotheses were almost fully supported in Study 1, with restrictive dress codes having the lowest identity safety and authenticity outcomes and inclusive having the highest. The contrast between restrictive vs inclusive dress codes and the subsequent authenticity outcome was moderated by both Hair Identity & Hair Expression Importance. Hair Expression Importance also moderated the relationship between restrictive vs inclusive dress codes and identity threat. Lower feelings of authenticity and identity safety both led to lower feelings of organizational attraction (for all moderator models). In Study 2, participants all saw the same inclusive dress code for the company and were then randomly assigned to one of three dress norms – unaccepting, accepting, or an unknown norms control. Unaccepting dress norms led to the lowest feelings of authenticity and identity safety and accepting dress norms led to the highest. Unlike in Study 1, neither hair scale moderated the relationship between the dress norms contrasts and authenticity. Unexpectedly, Hair Expression Importance partially moderated the relationship between dress norms and identity threat. Lower feelings of authenticity once again led to lower organizational attraction, but identity safety did not act as a significant predictor (for all moderator models).Item Gender Equity Workshops for STEMM Departments at IUPUI: Interim Report(IUPUI, 2018-08-01) Stockdale, Margaret S.; Pietri, Evava S.The purpose of this study was to create and evaluate hybrid online + live department workshops to address issues regarding gender bias and gender equity in STEMM academic departments in an effort to create a welcoming campus climate for both female and male faculty and staff in these disciplines.Item I Like What I See: Exploring the Role of Media Format on Benefits of Allyship Among Black Women(2019-08) Rhodes, Virginia L.; Pietri, Evava S.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Stockdale, Peggy S.Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) researchers and organizations recognize that a large gender and racial disparity exists in these fields. However, individuals with intersectional identities (i.e., Black women) have unique experiences of bias that preclude them from entering STEM careers and feeling a sense of belonging. As such, featuring an employee that demonstrates allyship for Black women on an organization’s website can be a useful identity-safe cue to signal that a Black woman’s identity will be valued and promote the recruitment of Black women in STEM organizations. Yet, research indicates that Black women who are high in stigma consciousness (i.e., sensitive to potential discrimination based on their identity) do not trust or believe a White woman ally presented in a written profile cares about helping Black women. The current study found that presenting an ally in a video profile mitigated these negative effects of stigma consciousness, and increased Black women’s anticipated belonging and trust in a fictional STEM organization via higher perceptions of allyship. Theoretical implications for research, practical implications for organizations, and future research avenues to explore are discussedItem Locus of Control and Depression as Mechanisms in the Relationship between Racial Discrimination and Substance Use(2020-12) Khazvand, Shirin; Zapolski, Tamika C.B.; Cyders, Melissa A.; Pietri, Evava S.Exposure to racial discrimination has been consistently linked with risk for substance use. However, outside of affect-based factors, few other mechanisms have been examined in the literature. One potential candidate is locus of control (LOC). LOC is a learning processes that involves the degree to which an individual attributes rewards as resulting from their own control (internal LOC) versus outside control (external LOC). There is evidence that exposure to stressors is associated with LOC, with a separate body of literature linking LOC with substance use. Thus, it is plausible that LOC may be a mechanism underlying the relationship between racial discrimination and substance use. Additionally, there is evidence that depression is related to LOC. Thus, the relationship between racial discrimination, locus of control, and substance use may also be serially mediated through depressive symptoms. The current study investigated these two pathways among 503 racial/ethnic minority adults aged 18-35 who completed an online questionnaire that included measures on racial discrimination related stress, locus of control, depressive symptoms, and substance use. Results indicated a significant indirect effect of racial discrimination related stress through external locus of control, specifically the chance orientation, on substance use. Moreover, for both domains of external locus of control (i.e., chance and powerful others) a significant serial indirect effect was found through depressive symptoms within the racial discrimination-substance use pathway among racial/ethnic minority adults. These findings expand our understanding on potential mechanisms that underlie the racial discrimination-substance use risk pathway among racial/ethnic minority adults, which may in turn provide important targets for substance use intervention programming for this populationItem Maybe She Is Relatable Increasing Women’s Awareness of Gender Bias Encourages Their Identification With Women Scientists(SAGE, 2018-06-01) Pietri, Evava S.; Johnson, India R.; Ozgumus, Ezgi; Young, Alison I.In the current research, we explored whether informing women about gender bias in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) would enhance their identification with a female scientist and whether this increased identification would in turn protect women from any adverse effects of gender bias information. We found that, relative to a control information condition, gender bias information promoted beliefs that a successful woman (but not a man) scientist had encountered bias and encouraged identification with that woman scientist. Feelings of empathic concern was an important mechanism underlying this increased identification (Experiments 2 and 3). Moreover, when presented with a man scientist, information about gender bias in STEM decreased female participants’ anticipated belonging and trust in a STEM environment, compared to participants in a control information condition (Experiment 1a and 1b). However, identifying with a woman scientist after learning about sexism in STEM fields alleviated this harmful effect. Finally, compared to those in the control condition, women college students who learned about gender bias reported greater interest in interacting with a woman STEM professor at their university (Experiment 3). Our results suggest that interventions that teach women about gender bias in STEM will help women identify with women scientists. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684317752643.Item Men Don't Care While Women Find it Unfair: Exploring the Harmful Consequences of Illegal Interview Questions on Women's Reactions(2020-02) Beecham, Jasmine; Pietri, Evava S.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Lindsey, Alex P.; Stockdale, Margaret S.Although interviews are a widely used and popular selection technique, when they lack clear structure and a predetermined set of questions, bias can permeate the interview selection process. In particular, illegal interview questions (i.e., questions that cannot legally be asked, such as marital status or children) may be particularly threatening for female applicants. Justice and social identity theory were used to explain the applicant reactions to illegal interview questions in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four hypothetical interview conditions – a control of four low face-valid interview questions, four non-gender relevant illegal interview questions, or four gender-relevant illegal interview questions. There was a significant gender by condition interaction on all outcome measures. Illegal interview questions had a significant negative effect on women’s organizational reactions (job pursuit intentions, organizational attractiveness, belonging, trust & comfort) but not on men’s organizational reactions. In contrast both women and men had significantly lower procedural justice perceptions of the gender-relevant illegal interview condition compared to the two other conditions. However, women perceived the illegal interview questions (both the gender relevant and gender non-relevant questions) as lower in face validity (i.e., were less relevant to the job), whereas men perceived all the interview questions as equally face-valid. Thus, although men believed the illegal interview questions were low in procedural justice and unfair, men still perceived these questions as valid and job-relevant. Overall, an indirect effect of procedural justice perceptions on organizational reactions was significant for both men and women, indicating that lower procedural justice did have a significant negative effect on applicants’ organizational reactions. Taken together, the following study demonstrates that illegal interview questions (both those related to gender and unrelated to gender) act as a social identity threat for women and harm women’s attraction to the organization, whereas men are primarily unaffected by these illegal interview questions in their reactions.Item The Promotive and Protective Role of Racial Identity Profiles(2020-05) Clifton, Richelle Lee; Zapolski, Tamika C.B.; Pietri, Evava S.; Wu, WeiAIM Racial identity has been shown to buffer against the effects of racial discrimination among African Americans. Recently, researchers have developed a more comprehensive assessment of racial identity through the construction of profiles. These profiles help better identify combinations of racial identity that are most protective, as well as those that have the potential to increase risk. To date a majority of the research has been conducted on internalizing and academic outcomes, with limited research on externalizing outcomes, such as substance use. The current study aimed to fill this gap in the literature. METHODS 345 African American college students (80.0% female, 88.4% USA-born, and Mage=21.56) completed measures on racial identity, racial discrimination, internalizing symptomology, academic motivation, and substance use. RESULTS Four racial identity profiles were identified and labeled race-focused (n=228), multiculturalist (n=64), integrationist (n=38), and undifferentiated (n=15). Several direct effects were observed. Multigroup analysis, stratified by profile, revealed several direct relationships between racial identity profiles and outcomes. The probability of being in the multiculturalist profile was negatively associated with depression and stress and positively associated with academic motivation. The probability of being in the race-focused profile was positively associated with cannabis use and the probability of being in the integrationist profile was negatively associated with academic motivation. Being in the undifferentiated profile was not significantly related to any of the outcomes. Two specific moderating effects were also observed; individuals in the integrationist profile were significantly lower in academic motivation as a result of racial discrimination than individuals in the race-focused profile (b=0.10, SE=0.05, p=0.046). Individuals in the integrationist profile were also higher in stress as a result of racial discrimination than individuals in the race-focused profile, however this effect was only trending toward significance (b=-0.14, SE=0.08, p=0.080). CONCLUSION Based on these results, there is evidence for the differential direct and moderating associations of racial identity profiles with various health and behavioral outcomes, such that some appear protective whereas others increase risk. These findings can be used to inform future research related to racial identity and interventions for African Americans experiencing racial discrimination.