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Outfits Serve as Symbols for Overlapping Feminine and STEM Identity Goals
Sadia Zaman1, Hanna Spychalska-Waszek1, Johannes T Doerflinger2,3
1SWPS University, Wroclaw, Poland.
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|February 2, 2025
Summary
Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experience identity goal overlap. Higher overlap between feminine and STEM professional identities correlates with choosing outfits serving both goals.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Gender Studies
Background:
- Women in STEM fields often navigate dual identity goals: feminine and professional.
- This research examines identity goal pursuits and their manifestation in symbolic choices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the overlap between feminine and STEM professional identity goals.
- To determine if greater identity goal overlap influences outfit preferences that serve multiple purposes.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted with women in STEM (N=232 and N=226).
- Methods included assessing identity goal overlap and analyzing outfit preferences and evaluations.
Main Results:
- Study 1 found a positive relationship between identity goal overlap and willingness to wear outfits serving both feminine and professional identities.
- Study 2 indicated that higher identity goal overlap was associated with evaluating outfits as more multifinal (serving multiple purposes).
Conclusions:
- The degree to which women in STEM perceive their feminine and professional identities as overlapping influences their symbolic choices.
- Multifinality in outfit choices reflects the integration of diverse identity goals for women in STEM.
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