Putting Belonging in Context: Communal Affordances Signal Belonging in STEM.

ABSTRACT: A sense of belonging in a particular context is cued not only by the people in the role but by the affordances of the role-that is, the opportunities for goal pursuit. We investigate this role-based belonging in four studies documenting that the perceived affordances of social roles inform sense of belonging and convey known benefits of belonging. Perceiving more communal opportunities in naturalistic science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) settings was associated with heightened belonging in those roles (Studies 1-2). Experimentally manipulating collaborative activities in a science lab increased anticipated belonging in the lab and fostered interest, particularly among women (Study 3). Finally, mentally simulating communal affordances in a role promoted recovery from belo

SUBMITTER: Belanger AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7996047 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature