Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
Spring 2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Department of Engineering
Advisor(s)
Olga Pierrakos
Abstract
Women are underrepresented in engineering, with 18-20% of engineering students being women1. We, therefore, used the framework of identity theory and self-concept differentiation to better understand female and male engineering student retention. An exploratory approach is used to measure freshman and senior engineering students’ personality and authenticity of personality across engineering and non-engineering contexts. First, we found personality profiles among engineering freshmen and seniors in engineering settings, and then compared them to their personality in nonacademic settings for authenticity purposes. Big 5 Personality and Authenticity scale were methods used through a survey to determine personality and authenticity in engineering and non-engineering environments for participants collected of their academic level and gender. Our results found that engineering students described themselves as agreeable (i.e. trusting), conscientious (i.e. reliable), and open to experiences (i.e. curious). We also found that freshman female engineering students have higher extraversion levels than seniors, and that senior females had the greatest variation of personality and authenticity between engineering and non-engineering settings. Understanding the impact identity, personality, and authenticity has on engineering students will benefit how we perceive students in and out of engineering and how that affects their persistence.
Recommended Citation
Stoup, Kylie D., "Understanding identity and personality authenticity of engineering students" (2016). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 178.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/178
