Year

2025

Season

Summer

Paper Type

Master's Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Name

Master of Science in Psychological Science (MSPS)

Department

Psychological and Brain Sciences

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Committee Chairperson

Dr. Elizabeth R. Brown

Second Advisor

Dr. Lori Lange

Department Chair

Lori Lange

College Dean

Kaveri Subrahmanyam

Abstract

Diversity statements and experiences form the first impressions students have of their prospective universities and employers, setting the stage for perceived feelings of belonging, otherness, and comfort within new environments (Baleria, 2021; O’Keeffe, 2013; Starck et al., 2021). Diversity statements can signal feelings of comfort and belonging or feelings of stress depending on the way in which diversity is framed (Chaney, 2022; Trawalter et al., 2016). This is especially true for students, who are more often affected mentally and physically by changes in university diversity perspectives (Sladek et al., 2021) The current study thus uses a novel blood pressure measure to examine potential biomarkers for diversity language discomfort in a 2 (Diversity is Good/Diversity is Fair) x2 (Diversity is Moral/Diversity is Instrumental) study design. Student participants’ (n=48) blood pressure was measured via a BioPac NIBP100-EHD finger and arm cuff as they read a proposed university diversity statement. Contrary to expectations, students did not show significant changes in comfort, belonging, diversity motivation, affirmative action knowledge/confidence, or agreement between Good/Fair and Moral/Instrumental conditions. Student agreement with diversity was linked to student comfort with diversity, however. Above-baseline scale scores also suggest that students felt generally positive feelings of comfort, belonging, diversity-oriented motivation, affirmative action knowledge/confidence, and agreement after reading a diversity statement. Future studies will account for students’ political viewpoints as well as seek larger, more diverse samples to better determine how different diversity statements can benefit long-term student belonging outcomes.

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