253 - Ambient Identity Cues Within Digital Spaces: How Institutional Identities Influence Text and Image Selection

Belonging is a basic human need with substantial impact on overall health and well-being (e.g., Baumeister & Leary, 1995). The presence of ambient identity cues, socially symbolic objects that communicate stereotypes about group members inhabiting a given environment, can powerfully impact perceptions of belonging and interest (Cheryan et al., 2009). Our previous work examined the presence of identity cues in academic digital spaces regarding text analyses. Through examining 36 institutional website pages, we conducted a qualitative assessment of identity cues via Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (Pennebaker et al., 2001). The current work analyzes the images within the institutional websites, particularly their about and welcome sections, to determine the various emotions and feelings of belonging evoked from selected images. PWIs are coded as majority-serving institutions; HBCU and Tribal institutions are coded as minority-serving institutions. Analyses found that minority-serving institutions feature more images with people. Regarding exemplification of a diverse student population, minority-serving institutions feature more photos with diverse individuals. However, majority-serving institutions over-represent diversity relative to the conservative estimates of expectedness within their student population. In our current study, students are presented with a number of randomized images conveying multiple themes, diversity, academics, etc. Responses will be analyzed regarding what emotions were evoked and level of belongingness felt dependent on the image shown. Given the critical link between belonging and academic achievement/knowledge retention (Brannon & Lin, 2021; Suhlmann et al., 2018), it is important to gain a better understanding of how cues differ across institutions and their impact on prospective students.