Extensions of the Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence (TIMSI): Using Explicit and Implicit Measures to Examine Ethnic Minority and Majority Student Academic Achievement

Author

Randie Christine Chance, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

8-1-2013

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Komarraju, Meera

Abstract

The Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence (TIMSI), is a revision of the classic Herbert Kelman theory of social influence and seeks to provide a theoretical foundation to better understand why racial/ethnic disparities continue to exist within higher education (Estrada, Woodcock, Hernandez, & Schultz, 2011). Using Kelman's model of compliance, identification, and internalization, this revised model suggests that students integrate into academia through these three orientations, renamed rule, role, and value. The rule orientation suggests that students are socialized into the academic community through feedback provided when the student succeeds, thus guiding performance. Through this feedback loop, students comply with the expectations of a student. Later the student will identify with this role and at this point, the individual's personal and academic identity begins to strongly overlap. Finally, students begin to internalize their student identity. At this point, the individual's values are the same as the values of a student. This process can be seen as a process of integration through social influence. The current study had two main purposes. The first purpose of the study was to determine whether or not the Implicit Associations Test (IAT) could successfully differentiate between the rule and value orientations. The second purpose of this study was to further develop the TIMSI model and determine how it applied to the samples in this study, using this new theory. African American, Latino, and white college students were recruited from two universities to complete a survey and an implicit measure of student identity. The current study examined the relationship between the TIMSI and the student identity IAT, as well as Academic Self-concept, Study Strategies, Coping Strategies, Implicit Theories of Intelligence, and Multi-Ethnic Identity. Results indicated that, as predicted, only value orientation was related to the student identity IAT. This study also examined differences in predictive models for GPA and institutional commitment based on race/ethnicity. Results of this study suggest there are significant differences based on race/ethnic groups in predicting GPA. For all groups, GPA was significantly predicted by Academic Self-concept, however, for the African American sample, the IAT score was also a significant predictor and for the Latino population, the Surface Processing Study Strategy was also a significant predictor. Conversely, role orientation was the sole predictor of institutional commitment across all racial/ethnic groups. Differences were also detected between race/ethnic groups in their rule orientation. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to efforts to enhance student retention and success.