Is this university the right place for me? Identity-related processes, university emphasis on selection, and cultural mismatch in understanding the socio-economic gap in education

Research in social psychology has shown that educational contexts contribute to widening the gap in identification-related processes between high- and low-SES students. While the study of student identity has led to the development of constructs such as identity compatibility, identification, and sense of belonging, the proliferation of these constructs raises concerns about their conceptual distinctiveness and measurement. The first aim of this doctoral thesis is to clarify the constructs of identity compatibility, identification, and sense of belonging in higher education using a psychometric approach. Through three studies (N = 938), we examined the internal structure, psychometric properties, and discriminant validity of scales measuring these constructs. Additionally, we assessed their sensitivity in capturing differences between high- and low-SES students. The second aim of this thesis investigates how messages about university selection shape students’ sense of compatibility with higher education. Prior research highlights how selection (i.e., selecting the best students) and independent cultural norms (emphasizing uniqueness and self-independence) disproportionately disadvantage First-Generation (FG) students compared to Continuing-Generation (CG) students. This work extends these findings by proposing that university selection act as a cue for independent cultural norms, which in turn affect FG students’ perceived compatibility with higher education. Through two experimental studies (Study 1: N = 73, Study 2: N = 310), we demonstrated that a university’s emphasis on selection (vs. education) activates independent (vs. interdependent) cultural norms, which in turn influence FG (but not CG) students' sense of compatibility with the university. This work not only contributes to the validation and refinement of widely used measurement instruments, but it also represents a crucial methodological step toward a deeper understanding of the identity compatibility gap. By refining measurement tools, this research lays the groundwork for further exploration of the interplay between university functions, cultural norms on students' sense of compatibility with higher education.