Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Using the Race Model Inequality to Quantify Behavioral Multisensory Integration Effects
Published on: May 10, 2019
Distinguishing institutional identification from academic goal pursuit: interactive effects of ethnic identification
Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton1, Janina Pietrzak, Geraldine Downey
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA. rmd@berkeley.edu
Abstract:
We examined the interactive effects of ethnic identification (EI) and race-based rejection sensitivity (RS-race) on institutional outcomes among African American college students. We distinguished between effects on institutional identification on the one hand and academic goal pursuit (e.g., staying in school, grade point average [GPA]) on the other. Supporting the utility of this distinction, we found that EI and RS-race interacted to predict these outcomes differently. Higher EI in combination with higher RS-race predicted reduced identification with the institution (Studies 1, 2, and 3a). This combination, however, did not lead to decreases in GPA over time. Moreover, EI was positively related to intentions to stay in school as well as to GPA increases among those lower in RS-race (Studies 1 and 3b). Implications for understanding identity negotiation vis-à-vis performance in institutional settings are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Social Identity
Surveys
Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison
Role-Based Identity
