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This paper describes the types of social comparison used by Hispanic students at a Hispanic Majority Institution through two studies ( N = 406). We found that students engaged in upward identification more often than downward identification, downward contrast, and upward contrast. However, when comparing themselves on an academic measure, downward identification and upward contrast became relatively more frequent. Additionally, downward identification tended to predict higher self-reported confidence about academic abilities than other types of social comparison.
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This content will become publicly available on June 1, 2026
Unraveling Intersecting Hispanic and Latiné Engineering Student Identities to Understand Sense of Belonging at a Hispanic Serving Institution
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A sense that there are a limited number of role models at colleges and universities for Hispanic and other minority students has been a concern of researchers in higher education for a number of years but little is actually known about who Hispanic students consider a role model. Similarly, researchers have investigated the impact of mentoring relationships on success in college and persistence for majority and minority students, yet little is known of the preferences students studying at Hispanic-Serving Institutions have regarding mentors and whether Hispanic students at these institutions have expectations that differ from those of their peers. An NSFfunded investigation gathered data in both these areas. Findings from two surveys, one with responses from 464 students at 14 Hispanic-Serving Institutions and the other with responses from 746 students at a comprehensive, regional state university and two community colleges from which the university receives transfer students, are discussed. The first survey set the context for the second and its sample came from colleges and universities in New Mexico and Texas. The sample for the second survey is isolated to north Texas. On the first survey, students at HSIs were asked three general questions about mentors, to select types of individuals they saw as role models from a list of six short descriptions and to select all that applied from a list of eight characteristics desired in role models. The second survey included similar patterns but all the questions targeted mentors and mentoring relationships. Responses on both surveys include three primary findings. At the HSIs represented, the preferences of Hispanic students regarding role models and mentors are different from their non-Hispanic peers in several key ways. Their preferences appear to be related to cultural identity and to primary language for those who have English as their second language. The Hispanic students in the second survey were also more likely than their non-Hispanic peers to submit low ratings of the understanding representatives of their institution had of the student’s culture. This occured for all forms of engagement listed: advising/mentoring, instruction, tutoring, financial aid assistance, scholarship services, career services, and student organizations.more » « less
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Social comparison processes can affect academic and interpersonal outcomes for minoritized college students. However, the literature has not addressed how these processes play out for Hispanic students who attend Hispanic Majority Institutions, in which Hispanic students comprise more than 50% of the population. In this study, such students ( N = 191) completed online assessments for social comparison orientation (SCO), belongingness, academic self-concept, and perceived stress. Results showed that, regarding belongingness, SCO was positively correlated to rejection/exclusion, but not acceptance/inclusion. Regarding academic self-concept, SCO was positively correlated to self-doubt, but not self-confidence. Mediation analyses showed that perceived stress fully mediated the relationship between SCO and rejection/exclusion, and partially mediated the relationship between SCO and academic self-doubt. In other words, SCO was associated with increased stress, which was then associated with increased feelings of rejection/exclusion and self-doubt about academic abilities. These findings offer additional insight into Hispanic college students’ experience.more » « less
