College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item Does Interacting with Women Encourage Civic and Prosocial Attitudes? Evidence from Simulated Contact Experiments in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait(Cambridge University Press, 2023-06-22) Jones, Clavert W.Research suggests that interacting with women may encourage civic and prosocial attitudes, yet findings to date have been limited to democracies notable for their egalitarian norms. Using simulated contact experiments under controlled conditions, this article tests hypotheses for the first time in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, arguably “hard cases” given persistent norms of patriarchy and gender segregation. Yet, despite stronger contexts for male dominance, results suggest that interacting with women may indeed steer Saudi and Kuwaiti men toward more civic and other-regarding orientations, including aspects of tolerance, egalitarianism, openness, and community rule-following. These findings add much-needed comparative perspective to experimental research on mixed-gender dynamics and align with broader work highlighting the benefits of diverse interactions for groups and nations.Item The Motivations and Experiences of Mexican Americans in the U.S. Marine Corps: An Intersectional Analysis(2012) De Angelis, Karin Kristine; Segal, David R.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)As one of the largest and fastest growing minority groups in the United States, Mexican Americans are reshaping the major institutions of American life, including the military. The Mexican American military population, although still underrepresented when compared to their presence in the American population generally, is a growing ethnic group. Although growth is occurring across the services, Mexican Americans have a large presence in the U.S. Marine Corps, a trend unlike the military behavior of African Americans, the next largest minority group in the military. This trend holds for both Mexican American men and women, even though the Marine Corps is the most combat-oriented of the service branches and the service branch with the lowest proportion of occupations open to women. Using an intersectional approach and through in-depth interviews of Mexican American men and women serving in the Marine Corps, I examine the personal characteristics, motivations, and experiences that are associated with the decision to join the Marine Corps. I argue that Mexican American Marines, regardless of gender, share common motivations for service grounded in the intersection of their common ethnicity and socioeconomic position. However, while the majority of respondents were drawn to the military because of occupational considerations, I also argue that they felt a connection to the Marine Corps because of its more institutional nature, which intermeshed well with their own individual values. I also compare the experiences of the respondents while in the service. In regard to ethnicity, the majority of respondents discussed the large number of Hispanics in the Marine Corps, even as they noted stratification in the population. They did not view themselves as a minority, but as a population growing in size and influence. These commonalities decline with the application of an intersectional analysis, as gender becomes the most salient and divisive characteristic. Despite their diversity, the women were considered a unified category and as a token population, their proportions shaped the group culture in predictable, visible ways. I conclude by discussing how lived experiences are not only shaped by one's social characteristics, but by the social institutions in which one operates.Item Psychological Climate for Diversity: Antecedents and Outcomes(2011) Nag, Monisha; Ostroff, Cheri; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Although some research has examined climate for diversity in organizations and its outcomes, little attention has been devoted to the antecedents of individuals' climate for diversity perceptions (psychological climate) or to a broader nomological network. The extent to which individuals have experience with diversity and receive information regarding diversity in an organization from various media were purported to relate to their diversity related climate perceptions, which in turn were proposed to relate to their racial understanding, belonging, ethnic identity, and performance. Further, individuals' race was believed to moderate the antecedent-climate-outcomes relationships. Hypotheses were tested using two samples, 871 newcomers and 688 incumbents, enabling examination of potential differences in relationships between the two. Overall, the proposed model was supported. Psychological climate for diversity partially mediated the exposure to diversity-outcomes relationship, and fully mediated the information regarding diversity-outcomes relationship. However, contrary to expectations, moderation of the antecedent-climate-outcomes relationships by race was weak, and these relationships were largely similar in the two samples.Item Being Different: A Study of Relational Demography and the Influence of Individual and Team Characteristics(2005-11-04) Keller, Kirsten Michelle; Hanges, Paul; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined the effects of gender and ethnic dissimilarity to team members on the individual level outcomes of team commitment, turnover intentions, and psychological empowerment. Results provided some support that dissimilarity to one's teammates has the most adverse effects for males and African Americans. In addition, there was some support that ethnic and gender identification and climate for ethnic diversity may be important moderators of this relationship. Specifically, individuals with low ethnic and gender identification felt more empowered when dissimilar to teammates, while individuals with high ethnic and gender identification had similar levels of empowerment regardless of their dissimilarity to teammates. Focusing on the team context, a positive climate for ethnic diversity reduced the negative consequences for individuals who often find themselves in the demographic minority, while, unexpectedly, a low climate for ethnic diversity seemed to heighten feelings of empowerment for individuals more dissimilar to their teammates.