Religiosity, Religious Fundamentalism, and Ambivalent Sexism Toward Girls and Women Among Adolescents and Young Adults Living in Germany

The New Year’s Eve 2015 mass sexual assaults in Germany led to a broader debate about whether the perpetrators, most of them self-identifying as Muslims, were encouraged to such acts by particularly sexist attitudes toward girls and women. Here, we argue that it is not the specific religious affiliation of individuals per se that predicts sexism. Rather it should be the extent to which they are involved in their religion, i.e., their religiosity and their endorsement of religious fundamentalism. In line with the theory of ambivalent sexism, we distinguish hostile and benevolent sexism, while controlling for right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. In two Pilot Studies, we explored differences in ambivalent sexism (a) between male and female individuals of Muslim faith, Christian faith, Muslim faith, Christian faith, and no religious affiliation residing in Germany, while at the same time (b) differentiating between sexism directed toward girls and sexism directed toward women. In our Main Study, we tested the interrelations between religiosity, religious fundamentalism, and ambivalent sexism in our religious subsamples of male Christians, female Christians, male Muslims, and female Muslims using a multigroup multivariate moderated mediation analysis. In all three studies, Muslims were more religious, endorsed religious fundamentalism more strongly, and held stronger benevolent sexist beliefs toward girls and women as well as stronger hostile sexist beliefs toward women than Christians and non-religious participants. In our Main Study, with female Christians as the reference group, male Muslims’ stronger benevolent and hostile sexist beliefs toward girls were mediated by religiosity and fundamentalism. Female Muslims’ stronger endorsement of benevolent sexism toward girls could be explained by their higher level of fundamentalism. While our findings show that differences in ambivalent sexism between religious groups were partly due to different levels of religiosity and fundamentalism, they also suggest that there are factors other than those investigated in our studies responsible for male Muslims’ particularly strong sexism. We discuss specific contents of Islamic religious teachings and honor beliefs as possible causes to be investigated further in future research

Sources of male and female students' belonging uncertainty in the computer sciences

Belonging uncertainty, defined as the general concern about the quality of one's social relationships in an academic setting, has been found to be an important determinant of academic achievement and persistence. However, to date, only little research investigated the sources of belonging uncertainty. To address this research gap, we examined three potential sources of belonging uncertainty in a sample of undergraduate computer science students in Germany (N = 449) and focused on (a) perceived affective and academic exclusion by fellow students, (b) domain-specific academic self-efficacy beliefs, and (c) perception of one's individual performance potential compared to that of fellow students in the field. Perceived affective and academic exclusion by fellow students and domain-specific academic self-efficacy beliefs were significant predictors of female students' uncertainty about belonging in computer science. The perception of one's individual performance potential in comparison to that of fellow students, however, was a relevant predictor of both male and female students' belonging uncertainty in computer science. Our findings imply an expanded view of the theoretical concept of belonging uncertainty that goes beyond mere concerns of social connectedness

Perceived Peer Exclusion as Predictor of Students' Help-Seeking Strategies in Higher Education: Differences by Gender and University Major

Feeling excluded by fellow students may be associated with lower levels of adaptive help-seeking. In a cross-sectional study, we compared self-reported help-seeking strategies (autonomy-oriented, dependency-oriented, help-seeking avoidance) among N = 418 students in 25 seminar and tutorial groups in the undergraduate introductory courses of two subject domains: computer science and education. Analyses showed that, overall, students reported lower autonomy-oriented help-seeking and higher help-seeking avoidance in computer science than in education. In computer science, perceived peer exclusion predicted more help-seeking avoidance among both male and female students and less autonomy-oriented help-seeking among females. In education, however, perceived peer exclusion was a significant predictor of both male and female students' lower autonomy-oriented help-seeking. Results suggest that, in computer science, help-seeking appears to have an "image problem" signaling competence-related inferiority rather than being a form of effective selfregulated learning. Implications for enhancing adaptive help exchange cultures in computer science are discussed

Growing Together—Effects of a school‐based intervention promoting positive self‐beliefs and social integration in recently immigrated children

We present a school‐based intervention geared to foster the social integration of recently immigrated (RI) primary school children by creating repeated positive contact situations with classmates brought up in the receiving society. Coaches encouraged groups of tandems, consisting of one RI and one child brought up in Germany each, to engage in cooperative activities designed to strengthen positive self‐beliefs and perception of equal status. In a quasi‐experimental control‐group design (N = 318), we compared the 30 children (12 RI) who participated in our intervention between pre‐test and post‐test with a reference group. Self‐beliefs were measured via self‐reports, social integration via sociometric peer‐nominations. The reference group (n = 288 children) included all children who did not participate in the intervention between pre‐test and post‐test: (a) 12 children (7 RI) of a waiting control group and (b) all classmates of both the students of the intervention and the waiting control group. Post‐test self‐beliefs were more positive in children having participated in the intervention. The intervention did not affect social integration: Neither the number of classmates nominating a student nor the number of peers the respective student nominated increased. Possibly, the intervention initiated self‐reinforcing processes which support social integration over longer time periods

Perceived Stress, Individual Psychological Resources, and Social Resources Among Computer Science Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, university students worldwide have experienced drastic changes in their academic and social lives, with the rapid shift to online courses and contact restrictions being reported among the major stressors. In the present study, we aimed at examining students’ perceived stress over the course of the pandemic as well as individual psychological and social coping resources within the theoretical framework of the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping in the specific group of STEM students. In four cross-sectional studies with a total of 496 computer science students in Germany, we found that students reported significantly higher levels of perceived stress at both measurement time points in the second pandemic semester (October/November 2020; January/February 2021) as compared to the beginning of the first (April/May 2020), indicating that students rather became sensitized to the constant pandemic-related stress exposure than habituating to the “new normal”. Regarding students’ coping resources in the higher education context, we found that both high (a) academic self-efficacy and (b) academic online self-efficacy as well as low (c) perceived social and academic exclusion among fellow students significantly predicted lower levels of students’ (d) belonging uncertainty to their study program, which, in turn, predicted lower perceived stress at the beginning of the first pandemic semester. At the beginning of the second pandemic semester, we found that belonging uncertainty still significantly mediated the relationship between students’ academic self-efficacy and perceived stress. Students’ academic online self-efficacy, however, no longer predicted their uncertainty about belonging, but instead had a direct buffering effect on their perceived stress. Students’ perceived social and academic exclusion among fellow students only marginally predicted their belonging uncertainty and no longer predicted their perceived stress 6 months into the pandemic. We discuss the need and importance of assessing and monitoring students’ stress levels as well as faculty interventions to strengthen students’ individual psychological and social coping resources in light of the still ongoing pandemic

How do others think about my group? Adolescents’ meta-stereotypes about Turkish- and German-origin students’ subject-related German and general school competence

In Germany, Turkish-origin students face negative competence-related stereotypes held by different groups in society, including teachers at school. While a large body of research has examined stereotypes (i.e., other-stereotypes) about immigrant students, little is known about their own competence-related meta-stereotypes, i.e., beliefs regarding the other-stereotypes that outgroup peers hold about them. The present study addresses this research gap by examining Turkish- and German-origin students’ meta-stereotypes about two dimensions of competencies not yet investigated, namely Turkish- and German-origin students’ subject-related German competence as well as their general school competence using a newly developed instrument combining verbal and non-verbal measures. These assessments are juxtaposed to the evaluations of a group of peers with other immigrant backgrounds (i.e., others’ meta-stereotypes). In line with previous evidence, we found positive meta-stereotypes (as well as other- and others’ meta-stereotypes) towards German-origin students reported by all three groups. However, our study is the first that supports the existence of negative meta-stereotypes (as well as other- and others’ meta-stereotypes) towards Turkish-origin adolescents, again, among all participants. This pattern was particularly pronounced regarding the dimension of subject-related German competence. We discuss the findings’ potential relevance for students’ self-concepts and intergroup interactions in classrooms

Abschlussbericht für das DFG-Projekt „Effekte und Moderatoren von Stereotype Threat in Wortschatz-Lernsituationen von türkischstämmigen Schülerinnen und Schülern an Grund- und weiterführenden Schulen“

Im Rahmen des Projekts wurden Effekte von Stereotypenbedrohung (ST) in Wortschatzlernsituationen bei Schülerinnen und Schülern (SuS) mit (türkischem) Migrationshintergrund (MIG) an Grund- und weiterführenden Schulen untersucht. Darüber hinaus wurde die Bedeutung verschiedener Merkmale der SuS (Teilstudien A1, A2/A3), der Lehrkräfte (Studien B-D) sowie der Umgebung (Teilstudien A2/A3) betrachtet. Insgesamt wurden fünf experimentelle Studien, die einem Prä-Post-Design folgten, durchgeführt. Studie A konnte weder an Grund- noch an weiterführenden Schulen statistisch signifikante ST-Effekte auf das Wortschatzlernen sowie auf motivational-affektive Merkmale bei SuS mit (türkischem) MIG finden. Bei SuS weiterführender Schulen gab es zudem auch keine ST-Effekte auf Speichelcortisol als bedeutsamen Stressmarker, wohl aber auf Alpha-Amylase, die einen weiteren zentralen Stressmarker darstellt: Bei expliziter ST-Induktion stiegen die Werte von Prä- zur Postmessung signifikant an. SuS- (z.B. Identifikation mit der Domäne Wortschatz) und Umgebungsmerkmale (z.B. Besuch Gymnasium/Gesamtschule) wirkten nicht moderierend. In beiden Altersgruppen zeigten sich keine Stereotype Lift-Effekte (SL) für SuS ohne MIG. Studie B ergab, entgegen der Erwartung, für jugendliche SuS mit einem türkischem MIG, dass sie die höchsten Lernerfolge hatten, wenn sie von einer türkischstämmigen Lehrkraft unterrichtet wurden, die das Stereotyp benannte. Für SuS ohne MIG zeigten sich auch in Studie B keine SL-Effekte, sie profitierten somit nicht von der Aktivierung des negativen Stereotyps über SuS mit türkischem MIG; allerdings fungierte die Herkunft der Lehrkraft als Prädiktor: SuS ohne MIG lernten bei einer deutschstämmigen Lehrkraft mehr Wörter hinzu als bei einer türkischstämmigen Lehrkraft. Studie C fand bei expliziter ST-Induktion keine signifikanten Haupteffekte bei jugendlichen SuS. Für alle drei SuS-Gruppen zeigte sich, dass es keinen Unterschied machte, wenn ST durch eine deutschstämmige Lehrkraft aktiviert wurde; bei ST-Aktivierung durch eine türkischstämmige Lehrkraft lernten nur die SuS mit einem anderen als türkischem MIG weniger Wörter hinzu im Vergleich zu SuS der Kontrollbedingung. Auch Studie D fand für jugendliche SuS keine statistisch signifikanten ST- und SL-Effekte. Für SuS mit türkischem MIG zeigte sich erwartungsdiskonform, dass sie in der Ermutigungsbedingung einen größeren Wortschatzzuwachs bei der deutschstämmigen Lehrerin hatten, in der Bedingung ohne Ermutigung jedoch bei der türkischstämmigen Lehrkraft. Für die anderen beiden SuS-Gruppen ergab sich hingegen keine signifikante Interaktion. Auch konträr zu den Erwartungen zeigte sich für türkischstämmige SuS bei der Abfrage von Tipps bei der Lehrkraft kein Unterschied zwischen ST- und Ermutigungsbedingung. Die Befunde der Studien A-D wurden durch tiefergehende Analysen sowie über den Antrag hinausgehende Studien bestätigt. Obwohl in weiten Teilen erwartungswidrig, bieten die Studienergebnisse dennoch Erkenntnisgewinne hinsichtlich der Frage, wie SuS mit MIG gefördert werden können; wie z.B. dass Ingroup-Lehrkräfte durch Benennung der Benachteiligung durchaus motivierend wirken können oder dass die Aktivierung von Stereotypen bei betroffenen SuS Stressreaktionen auslöst. Zudem tragen die Ergebnisse zu der Debatte bei, unter welchen Randbedingungen der ST-Effekt überhaupt (noch) nachweisbar ist (vgl. z.B. Warne, 2022)

When Grades Are High but Self-Efficacy Is Low : Unpacking the Confidence Gap Between Girls and Boys in Mathematics

Girls have much lower mathematics self-efficacy than boys, a likely contributor to the under-representation of women in STEM. To help explain this gender confidence gap, we examined predictors of mathematics self-efficacy in a sample of 1,007 9th graders aged 13–18 years (54.2% girls). Participants completed a standardized math test, after which they rated three indices of mastery: an affective component (state self-esteem), a meta-cognitive component (self-enhancement), and their prior math grade. Despite having similar grades, girls reported lower mathematics self-efficacy and state self-esteem, and were less likely than boys to self-enhance in terms of performance. Multilevel multiple-group regression analyses showed that the affective mastery component explained girls’ self-efficacy while cognitive self-enhancement explained boys’. Yet, a chi-square test showed that both constructs were equally relevant in the prediction of girls’ and boys’ self-efficacy. Measures of interpersonal sources of self-efficacy were not predictive of self-efficacy after taking the other dimensions into account. Results suggest that boys are advantaged in their development of mathematics self-efficacy beliefs, partly due to more positive feelings and more cognitive self-enhancement following test situations. © Copyright © 2020 Zander, Höhne, Harms, Pfost and Hornsey

Stereotype threat in learning situations? An investigation among language minority students

Stereotype threat (ST) is a potential explanation for inequalities in language competencies observed between students from different language backgrounds. Language competencies are an important prerequisite for educational success, wherefore the significance for investigation arises. While ST effects on achievement are empirically well documented, little is known about whether ST also impairs learning. Thus, we investigated vocabulary learning in language minority elementary school students, also searching for potential moderators. In a pre-post design, 240 fourth-grade students in Germany who were on average 10 years old (MAge = 9.92, SD = 0.64; 49.8% female) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: implicit ST, explicit ST without threat removal before posttest, explicit ST with threat removal before posttest, and a control group. Results showed that learning difficult vocabulary from reading two narrative texts was unaffected by ST. Neither students’ identification with their culture of residence and culture of origin nor stereotyped domain of reading were moderators. The findings are discussed with regard to content and methodological aspects such that a motivation effect might have undermined a possible ST effect. Implications for future research include examining the question at what age children become susceptible to ST and whether students have internalized negative stereotypes about their own group, which could increase the likelihood of ST effects occurring. © 2022, The Author(s)

Stereotype threat in learning situations? An investigation among language minority students

Stereotype threat (ST) is a potential explanation for inequalities in language competencies observed between students from different language backgrounds. Language competencies are an important prerequisite for educational success, wherefore the significance for investigation arises. While ST effects on achievement are empirically well documented, little is known about whether ST also impairs learning. Thus, we investigated vocabulary learning in language minority elementary school students, also searching for potential moderators. In a pre-post design, 240 fourth-grade students in Germany who were on average 10 years old (MAge = 9.92, SD = 0.64; 49.8% female) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: implicit ST, explicit ST without threat removal before posttest, explicit ST with threat removal before posttest, and a control group. Results showed that learning difficult vocabulary from reading two narrative texts was unaffected by ST. Neither students’ identification with their culture of residence and culture of origin nor stereotyped domain of reading were moderators. The findings are discussed with regard to content and methodological aspects such that a motivation effect might have undermined a possible ST effect. Implications for future research include examining the question at what age children become susceptible to ST and whether students have internalized negative stereotypes about their own group, which could increase the likelihood of ST effects occurring