Do Allyship and Motivation Influence Women’s Cognitive Functioning and Self-Regulation After Witnessing Sexism?

Prior research shows the effects of sexism can accumulate over time, resulting in severe negative, cognitive, affective, motivational, and physiological consequences for women; however, most research focuses on the consequences of being a direct target of sexism, and the cognitive and motivational consequences of being a witness of sexism have not yet been fully explored. Additionally, while it is thought that allyship can help mitigate the consequences of sexism, minimal research has tested this relationship. It was proposed that shifts in reactive approach motivation (RAM); aimed to protect against anxiety and negative affect, may direct attention away from goal-oriented behaviors, inhibiting performance and self-regulation on current cognitive tasks. The study also investigated whether allyship acts as a protective factor against these impairments. Participants watched a Zoom interaction during which sexism occurs and the presence of an ally is manipulated (i.e., with allyship, without allyship). Participants completed self-report measures of state anxiety and negative affect and then were asked to sit quietly for five minutes, during which alpha hemispheric activity was recorded. After the session, participants completed a self-report measure of state approach motivation (i.e., BAS) and completed a cognitive task assessing an electrophysiological index of self-regulation (i.e., ERN amplitudes), proportion of correct responses, and response times. Results indicated that witnessing sexism negatively impacts women’s cognitive functioning and self-regulation, similar to being a direct target of sexism. Results investigating the effects of allyship were inconclusive. These results do not support prior research suggesting that allyship positively impacts those who experience sexism

Do Hardworking Role Models Lower Implicit Gender-Science Bias?

Prior research has demonstrated that implicit gender-science biases discourage women from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Gender-science biases promote the belief that women cannot be successful in STEM, which can affect women\u27s sense of belonging and commitment to STEM. While women scientists serving as role models benefit women in STEM by decreasing implicit gender-science biases and increasing perceived belonging and performance in STEM, the influence of role model qualities on implicit bias has not been widely explored. The current study examined the influence role model qualities (hardworking, gifted) have on implicit gender-science bias. The research also explored whether individual differences, such as women’s perception of their possible science selves and implicit intelligence theories, moderate the relationship between role model qualities and STEM outcomes (e.g., bias and self-perceptions). Participants (N = 41) completed an online questionnaire, which assessed the individual differences of science possible selves and implicit intelligence theories as moderators and completed a measure of implicit gender-science bias. In the lab, participants watched a documentary-style video featuring a hardworking (or gifted) woman scientist role model. Participants then completed the measure of implicit gender-science bias while their electrophysiological indices of implicit bias (N400, N200) were assessed. Results indicated that role model qualities (hardworking, gifted) do not influence implicit gender-science bias, and that science possible selves and implicit intelligence theories do not moderate this relationship. These results do not support prior research but can aid in the development of more effective role model manipulations in lab settings

Iowa Food Security, Insecurity and Hunger—No More Food Stamps: Iowa Households that Left the Food Stamp Program

Details of a research project that studied Iowa food stamp recipients who left the program in 1997.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_communities_pubs/1014/thumbnail.jp

Food insecurity and childhood obesity: beyond categorical and linear representations

Previous work on the relationship between food insecurity and childhood overweight has lead to a wide array of answers – some have found a positive relationship, others no relationship, and still others a negative relationship. This previous work has shared one thing in common – all have used parametric models. In this paper we move beyond parametric models by using non-parametric models. With data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and a wide array parametric methods, we find evidence across different samples of a positive relationship, no relationship, and a negative relationship between childhood overweight and food insecurity. When we turn to non-parametric methods, however, this ambiguity across samples is not as prevalent. Instead, across different samples, we find (a) increases in the probability of food insecurity in the middle of the BMI distribution, (b) increases in the probability at the very high end of the BMI, and (c) no relationship across the entire distribution. We present some parametric models that roughly mimic these relationships. Our results indicate that efforts to reduce food insecurity will either have no impact on childhood overweight or would lead to reductions in childhood overweight.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,

Research to Action: A Campus-Community Partnership to Address Health Issues of the Food Insecure

A university-community partnership assessed the food security and health status of food pantry participants in a midwestern urban community. Eighty percent of households surveyed were food insecure, and 40% experienced fair or poor health. The sample experienced higher rates of chronic disease than the general population. A nutrition education program designed to meet specific nutrition and health-related needs of pantry participants was developed. Implications include training pantry staff about chronic disease and its relationship to nutrition, identifying pantry foods that provide positive health benefits, and developing consumer publications focused on selecting and preparing pantry foods when one has chronic disease

Research to Action: A Campus-Community Partnership to Address Health Issues of the Food Insecure

A university-community partnership assessed the food security and health status of food pantry participants in a midwestern urban community. Eighty percent of households surveyed were food insecure, and 40% experienced fair or poor health. The sample experienced higher rates of chronic disease than the general population. A nutrition education program designed to meet specific nutrition and health-related needs of pantry participants was developed. Implications include training pantry staff about chronic disease and its relationship to nutrition, identifying pantry foods that provide positive health benefits, and developing consumer publications focused on selecting and preparing pantry foods when one has chronic disease

Iowa Food Security, Insecurity and Hunger—Emergency Food Resources: Meeting Food Needs of Iowa Households

Report of an ISU Extension study of people who used food pantries in Polk, Scott, Decatur, and Monroe counties in 2002.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_communities_pubs/1013/thumbnail.jp

Effects of Family, Friends, and Relative Prices on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by African American Youths

Facilitating healthy eating among young people, particularly among minorities who are at high risk for gaining excess weight, is at the forefront of current policy discussions and food program reviews. We investigate the effects of social interactions and relative prices on fruit and vegetable consumption by African American youths using rich behavioral data from the Family and Community Health Study and area-specific food prices. We find the presence of endogenous effects between a youth and parent, but not between a youth and friend. Lower relative prices of fruits and vegetables tend to increase intakes. Results suggest that health interventions targeting a family member may be an effective way to increase fruit and vegetable intake by African Americans as a result of spillover consumption effects between the youths and parents.social interactions, healthy food choices, fruit and vegetable consumption, African American youth, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, I12, J15, C35,