Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Psychology
First Advisor
Tessa Dover
Term of Graduation
Spring 2026
Date of Publication
6-8-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Applied Psychology
Department
Psychology
Language
English
Subjects
Allyship, Intergroup Helping, Intergroup Processes, Social Network Analyses, Social Psychology
Physical Description
1 online resource (ix, 135 pages)
Abstract
As institutional commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion fluctuate, individual action becomes increasingly critical for sustaining inclusive environments. Allies—individuals who leverage their social privilege to support and advocate for members of underrepresented groups—play a vital role in advancing equity, particularly within STEM fields where representation remains disproportionately low. While prior research has employed qualitative, cross-sectional, and experimental methodologies, few studies have utilized network-based approaches to examine how allies' structural positions facilitate their capacity to promote equity within collaborative contexts.
This dissertation adopted a network-analytic and multilevel framework to investigate allyship as both a structural and relational process within collaborative STEM competition teams, with two research aims. The first examined whether different conceptualizations of allyship (self-nominated, behaviorally defined, and other-nominated) differentially predict network centrality. The second investigated how the quality and type of received allyship support—distinguishing proactive behaviors (e.g., mentorship, advocacy) from reactive behaviors (e.g., confronting discrimination)—influences perceptions of diversity climate. Data were drawn from a bi-national engineering competition involving 13 teams, with primary analyses conducted on a retained eight-team sample.
Other-nominated allyship was the strongest predictor of all four centrality outcomes—degree, eigenvector, betweenness, and proportion of URG connections—above and beyond self-identification, behavioral frequency, and formal leadership role. For the second aim, received proactive advocacy support quality significantly predicted diversity climate perceptions, while reactive discrimination-response support quality was consistently non-significant. Experienced discrimination emerged as a strong independent negative predictor of diversity climate.
These findings suggest that effective allyship requires both structural visibility within team networks and sustained, recipient-centered proactive support. Peer recognition of allyship—rather than self-identification or behavioral frequency—generates the structural network advantages that position allies as bridges and cross-group connectors, while the quality of support as experienced by recipients predicts individual diversity climate perceptions.
Rights
© 2026 Avery Nichole Waklatsi
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44986
Recommended Citation
Waklatsi, Avery Nichole, "Allyship in Action: Structural Positions, Supportive Behaviors, and Diversity Climate in Collaborative STEM Networks" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 7161.