Stephanie Anglin '10 (Endicott, N.Y.) and Jessica Ruddiman '09 (Chesterfield, N.J.) are working this summer with Associate Professor of Psychology Jennifer Borton on a research project aimed at understanding the adverse effects of suppressing negative self-referent thoughts, such as thoughts about oneself. They hypothesize that people who suppress thoughts about a self-relevant stigma (for example, women being told that men perform better at a job they are doing) will be less confident and dominant in their interactions with others than will those who do not. Furthermore, they predict that suppressing thoughts about a task-relevant stigma affects people more than suppressing thoughts that are not relevant to the immediate task, especially for those who are particularly sensitive to being stigmatized (those high in "stigma consciousness"). Anglin's and Ruddiman's summer research is a continuation of Erica Vazquez's 2008 senior thesis.
In Vazquez's original study, female participants were paired with a male partner and asked to come up with the most creative alternate uses for various everyday items. Prior to the start of the experiment, the female participants were told that men tend to perform better on this task. This served as a negative self-referent stigma. The women were divided into three groups: 1.) a control group in which the participants were asked to simply concentrate on doing their best (they did not suppress any thoughts); 2.) a control group in which participants were asked to not think about or suppress something worrying them from their life (this was considered a non-relevant thought); and 3.) an experimental group in which participants were asked to not think about or suppress the fact that men outperform women on the task they were to perform (this was considered a relevant thought).
During the task, the female participant and her male partner discussed the alternate uses they came up with for each common item and decided among themselves which use was the most creative. The male partners were confederates, meaning they acted like they were normal participants but were actually a part of the experiment. The men had been given a list of both good and bad ideas in advance and presented these ideas to the female participants in a scripted manner. At the conclusion of the experiment, the female participants filled out a survey in which they rated how they felt about their interactions with their male partners and how they thought their male partners viewed them.
Whereas Vazquez analyzed only these self-reports for her senior thesis, Anglin and Ruddiman are looking at videotape footage of the experiment with an outsider's perspective to analyze the female participants' verbal and nonverbal indicators of self-confidence and dominance in their interactions with the men. For example, women who maintained an assertive posture or who frequently interrupted their male partner were considered confident and dominant.
Conversely, women who shrugged or who phrased their statements as questions were not considered confident or dominant. Anglin and Ruddiman predict that, among women high in stigma consciousness (those who thought about the stigma frequently), suppressing thoughts of the stigma will result in lower confidence and dominance in the interaction. Less marked differences across condition are expected among those low in stigma consciousness.
Ruddiman is a psychology major and philosophy minor. This is her first summer of research at Hamilton. She is particularly interested in social psychology, and although she is planning to focus on self-esteem rather than thought suppression for her senior thesis, she is excited to continue working with Professor Borton this year. During the year, Ruddiman works as a statistics teaching assistant. Anglin is a psychology major and this is also her first summer of research. Outside of the lab, she works as a writing tutor and a statistics teaching assistant.
-- by Nick Berry '09
In Vazquez's original study, female participants were paired with a male partner and asked to come up with the most creative alternate uses for various everyday items. Prior to the start of the experiment, the female participants were told that men tend to perform better on this task. This served as a negative self-referent stigma. The women were divided into three groups: 1.) a control group in which the participants were asked to simply concentrate on doing their best (they did not suppress any thoughts); 2.) a control group in which participants were asked to not think about or suppress something worrying them from their life (this was considered a non-relevant thought); and 3.) an experimental group in which participants were asked to not think about or suppress the fact that men outperform women on the task they were to perform (this was considered a relevant thought).
During the task, the female participant and her male partner discussed the alternate uses they came up with for each common item and decided among themselves which use was the most creative. The male partners were confederates, meaning they acted like they were normal participants but were actually a part of the experiment. The men had been given a list of both good and bad ideas in advance and presented these ideas to the female participants in a scripted manner. At the conclusion of the experiment, the female participants filled out a survey in which they rated how they felt about their interactions with their male partners and how they thought their male partners viewed them.
Whereas Vazquez analyzed only these self-reports for her senior thesis, Anglin and Ruddiman are looking at videotape footage of the experiment with an outsider's perspective to analyze the female participants' verbal and nonverbal indicators of self-confidence and dominance in their interactions with the men. For example, women who maintained an assertive posture or who frequently interrupted their male partner were considered confident and dominant.
Conversely, women who shrugged or who phrased their statements as questions were not considered confident or dominant. Anglin and Ruddiman predict that, among women high in stigma consciousness (those who thought about the stigma frequently), suppressing thoughts of the stigma will result in lower confidence and dominance in the interaction. Less marked differences across condition are expected among those low in stigma consciousness.
Ruddiman is a psychology major and philosophy minor. This is her first summer of research at Hamilton. She is particularly interested in social psychology, and although she is planning to focus on self-esteem rather than thought suppression for her senior thesis, she is excited to continue working with Professor Borton this year. During the year, Ruddiman works as a statistics teaching assistant. Anglin is a psychology major and this is also her first summer of research. Outside of the lab, she works as a writing tutor and a statistics teaching assistant.
-- by Nick Berry '09
