Much research has been done on mentors and role models, yet there has been little consensus on whether the two are equally effective and effective across different contexts. This project was a meta-analysis examining the effect of mentors and role models on behavioral and/or cognitive outcomes within laboratory/experimental, educational, occupational, and treatment/clinical domains. A mentor is defined as an actual person who provides emotional support and guidance to a less experienced person, whereas a role model is an imagined or celebrity person that provides inspiration through real or imagined attributes. Eligible published studies beginning in 1995 to 2016, that had a control group, were coded by multiple coders with acceptable inter-rater reliability. Effects from 104 papers indicate that mentors and role models both produce significant outcomes for protégés. Significant differences were found across domains, outcome type, and demographic moderators such as gender, age, and race. Implications of these findings are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Much research has been done on mentors and role models, yet there has been little consensus on whether the two are equally effective and effective across different contexts. This project was a meta-analysis examining the effect of mentors and role models on behavioral and/or cognitive outcomes within laboratory/experimental, educational, occupational, and treatment/clinical domains. A mentor is defined as an actual person who provides emotional support and guidance to a less experienced person, whereas a role model is an imagined or celebrity person that provides inspiration through real or imagined attributes. Eligible published studies beginning in 1995 to 2016, that had a control group, were coded by multiple coders with acceptable inter-rater reliability. Effects from 104 papers indicate that mentors and role models both produce significant outcomes for protégés. Significant differences were found across domains, outcome type, and demographic moderators such as gender, age, and race. Implications of these findings are discussed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Clevey, Lilah"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Rusty McIntyre, Ph.D., Chair","Michelle Byrd, Ph.D.","Stephen Jefferson, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z","subjects":["Mentor","Role-model","Clinical Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/900","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Rusty McIntyre, Ph.D., Chair","Michelle Byrd, Ph.D.","Stephen Jefferson, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Clevey, Lilah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-08-15T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Mentor","Role-model","Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/900"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Much research has been done on mentors and role models, yet there has been little consensus on whether the two are equally effective and effective across different contexts. This project was a meta-analysis examining the effect of mentors and role models on behavioral and/or cognitive outcomes within laboratory/experimental, educational, occupational, and treatment/clinical domains. A mentor is defined as an actual person who provides emotional support and guidance to a less experienced person, whereas a role model is an imagined or celebrity person that provides inspiration through real or imagined attributes. Eligible published studies beginning in 1995 to 2016, that had a control group, were coded by multiple coders with acceptable inter-rater reliability. Effects from 104 papers indicate that mentors and role models both produce significant outcomes for protégés. Significant differences were found across domains, outcome type, and demographic moderators such as gender, age, and race. Implications of these findings are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Comparing the impacts of mentors vs. role models across domains: A meta-analysis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Rusty McIntyre, Ph.D., Chair","Michelle Byrd, Ph.D.","Stephen Jefferson, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Clevey, Lilah"],"dc:date.available":["2018-08-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Much research has been done on mentors and role models, yet there has been little consensus on whether the two are equally effective and effective across different contexts. This project was a meta-analysis examining the effect of mentors and role models on behavioral and/or cognitive outcomes within laboratory/experimental, educational, occupational, and treatment/clinical domains. A mentor is defined as an actual person who provides emotional support and guidance to a less experienced person, whereas a role model is an imagined or celebrity person that provides inspiration through real or imagined attributes. Eligible published studies beginning in 1995 to 2016, that had a control group, were coded by multiple coders with acceptable inter-rater reliability. Effects from 104 papers indicate that mentors and role models both produce significant outcomes for protégés. Significant differences were found across domains, outcome type, and demographic moderators such as gender, age, and race. Implications of these findings are discussed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/900"],"dc:subject":["Mentor","Role-model","Clinical Psychology"],"dc:title":["Comparing the impacts of mentors vs. role models across domains: A meta-analysis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z"}