Psychosocial Mentoring
In the psychosocial function, mentors are focused on developing the internal values and attitudes that will contribute to their mentees’ success in the profession. Click on the boxes below to learn more.
Provide Encouragement, Enhance Confidence
Everyone needs encouragement, from the graduate student who received a disappointing grade to the junior faculty member who doesn’t receive a grant, promotion, or paper acceptance. Here are some ways you can encourage your mentees and help them to develop a persistence mindset:
- Demonstrate enthusiasm for their ideas
- Encourage them to take calculated risks
- Offer emotional support when they experience failure or rejection
- Disclose your own challenges and how you overcame them
- Positively reframe their expectations if unrealistic (overly ambitious)
- Showcase their talents in public forums
- Celebrate their successes
“A positive outlook in the face of distress and difficulty can really reinvigorate one’s research ambition. Just today, I had an extensive meeting with my mentor. Even though we are low on funding, the experiments are showing the opposite of what we previously observed, and the stress seems unbearable, he helped me to refocus and reprioritize. More importantly, he re-instilled in me the joy of science and determination I need to tackle these current problems.”
— Mentee
Enhance Research Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is the perceived confidence people have in their ability to successfully perform a specific task or skill (“I can do this”). Self-efficacy has a tremendous impact on behavior. For example, people with a strong sense of self-efficacy view challenging problems as tasks to be mastered, rather than something to avoid, and form a strong sense of commitment to the interest area or activity they are pursuing. They also recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments, whereas people with low self-efficacy quickly lose confidence in their abilities.6
In science disciplines, research self-efficacy is crucial for stimulating and deepening people’s interest in research, encouraging their persistence during training, and supporting them through degree completion and career entry.7,8,9,10. As a mentor you can greatly influence, for better or for worse, how your mentees perceive their research capabilities.
Complete Activity 3 (next tab) to learn about the four primary sources of self-efficacy and some corresponding strategies you can apply in your mentoring relationships.
Clarify Professional Identity
Mentees may be on a career path that closely mirrors that of their mentors or one that follows a very different trajectory. Mentees don’t need to enter or exit the mentoring relationship as your professional clone. What matters is that you take the time to learn about and help shape your mentees’ vision for their careers. Recognize that this sense of professional identity may evolve over the course of your work together.
Some of the ways you can help mentees clarify their professional identity include:
- Periodically discussing their short- and long-term career goals
- Talking through various career paths and the competencies needed for each
- Engaging in thoughtful conversations about how a mentee’s cultural identity intersects with his/her professional identity in both positive and challenging ways
- Supporting career trajectories and professional identities that differ from yours
- Offering an honest assessment of their professional goals. Are they realistic for the mentee? In this institution? In this job market?
“I discuss with my mentees what they are passionate about and what they would like to be recognized for.”
— Mentor
Model Professional Behaviors, Attitudes, and Values
Through observation of their mentors, mentees gain valuable insight on what types of characteristics and actions, beyond scientific talent, help someone become a successful researcher. Two of the most important attributes that a mentor can model are professionalism and the ethical conduct of research. Here are a few examples of behaviors that a mentor can, and should, demonstrate to their mentees:
- Contributing to the daily functioning of a group or department
- Responding tactfully to external critiques
- Publicly recognizing the contributions of team members
- Delivering criticism privately and in a constructive manner
- Acknowledging and taking responsibility for mistakes
- Maintaining confidentiality in venues such as review panels for grant proposals
Mentors must model professionalism, research skills, teamwork, scholarship, ethics, commitment to the institution, and support of colleagues. In short, mentors personify the qualities of a successful independent researcher.
“As a mentor and role model, I try to emphasize the importance of viewing the data from different angles, being rigorous about quality control, and making sure we are confident in our own data before we try to convince others.”
— Mentor