Are you committed to me? Interpersonal commitment between strangers predicts students' willingness to sacrifice for the LGBTIQ+ community
| Author(s) | Bennekamper, Margaret A. | |
| Date Accessioned | 2025-05-27T18:18:42Z | |
| Date Available | 2025-05-27T18:18:42Z | |
| Publication Date | 2025 | |
| SWORD Update | 2025-05-12T04:04:45Z | |
| Abstract | Background: The LGBTIQ+ community has been systemically underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. Increasing advocates’ willingness to sacrifice time or money to pro-LGBTIQ+ movements is one potential solution to reducing STEM disparities. Close relationships research on willingness to sacrifice suggests people are more likely to sacrifice for people they feel committed to. Thus, I hypothesized that increasing advocates’ commitment to LGBTIQ+ individuals will, in turn, increase their willingness to sacrifice for the LGBTIQ+ community. ☐ Method: 358 University of Delaware undergraduates (Mage = 18.73, N = 267 Women, 73.1% White) who were not part of the LGBTIQ+ community took part in this study. This pre-registered between-subjects experiment manipulated the commitment (high vs. low) a non-LGBTIQ+ student felt toward an LGBTIQ+ student through a virtual interaction. Then, participants completed measures of willingness to sacrifice time and money to an on-campus LGBTIQ+ organization. ☐ Results: Consistent with my hypothesis, high-commitment participants (M = 4.69) were not only willing to donate more money to an LGBTIQ+ organization (oSTEM) than low-commitment participants (M = 4.02), t(356) = 2.90, p = 0.004, they were also more likely to volunteer time on behalf of oSTEM, X²(1, N = 358) = 4.79 p = 0.03. ☐ Conclusion: These results demonstrate that commitment to an individual will impact willingness to sacrifice for a cause with which that individual identifies. Considering the disparities that LGBTIQ+ professionals face in STEM fields, this study has the potential to become a foundation for how we can understand advocacy for LGBTIQ+ peers. | |
| Advisor | Jaremka, Lisa M. | |
| Degree | M.A. | |
| Department | University of Delaware, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences | |
| Unique Identifier | 1525144145 | |
| URL | https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/36206 | |
| Language | en | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | |
| URI | https://www.proquest.com/pqdtlocal1006271/dissertations-theses/are-you-committed-me-interpersonal-commitment/docview/3202790752/sem-2?accountid=10457 | |
| Keywords | Interpersonal commitment | |
| Keywords | LGBTIQ+ | |
| Keywords | Willingness to sacrifice | |
| Keywords | Virtual interaction | |
| Keywords | STEM fields | |
| Title | Are you committed to me? Interpersonal commitment between strangers predicts students' willingness to sacrifice for the LGBTIQ+ community | |
| Type | Thesis |