Lower-SES students feel less comfortable behaving counter-normatively in public campus spaces but not in private spaces¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i2 Lower-SES students reported feeling less comfortable doing counter-normative things in public campus spaces (η2 = .07), while SES was not associated with comfort in their dorm room. → Bart-Plange 2025

Evidence¶

Bart-Plange 2025¶

Bart-Plange, D.-J., Henderson, K., Hoffman, K., & Trawalter, S. (2025). Critiquing and Reimagining Belonging in Public Spaces in Higher Education. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10061-z

q2 · i2 · associational · r1

In a survey of 56 undergraduates adapted from Price and Bouffard's behavioral appropriateness questionnaire, participants rated comfort performing behaviors (e.g., kissing, walking barefoot) in campus public spaces and their dorm room on 9-point scales. SES predicted public-space comfort, η2 = .07; a gender effect also emerged, B = −.22, η2 = .09.

"as predicted, a main effect of SES, B = .23, t (52) = 2.16, p = .035, η2 = .07, 95% CI [0, .22], such that lower-SES students reported feeling less comfortable than did higher-SES students in public spaces."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Lower-SES and racially minoritized students use less campus space and fewer public spaces, which is associated with lower belonging — related
• Campus symbols such as antebellum architecture signal belonging to White and high-SES students and unwelcomeness to marginalized students — related
• Students perceived as lower-SES take up less space in campus public spaces — related