Perceptions of Safety and Threat in the Environment: The STEP Scale

Abstract

The Safety and Threat in Environment Perceptions (STEP) scale assesses perceptions of environments as safe (welcoming, inclusive) or threatening (critical, intimidating). We first evaluated the factor structure of the scale and demonstrated its unique predictive validity in classrooms (Studies 1 and 2), gyms (Studies 3 and 4), and the workplace (Study 5). When seeing classrooms with stereotypically masculine (vs. neutral) objects, women perceived less safety, which predicted less engagement, interest, and intentions to recruit others. When seeing an unwelcoming (vs. welcoming) gym, women (vs. men) perceived less safety, which predicted less engagement, interest, and intentions to recruit others, especially when the gym contained masculine (vs. feminine or gender-balanced) social cues. When seeing a boardroom with unwelcoming (vs. no) social cues, both men and women perceived greater threat, which predicted less intentions to recruit others. Together, these findings suggest that the STEP scale is a useful measure for assessing perceived safety and threat in any environment.

Keywords: belonging; cues; motivation; safety; threat.