Introductory physics students connecting their physics experiences and personal perspectives

Physics students often experience a disconnect between their social identities and their learning of physics. To explore this, we analyzed 669 written survey responses from students in calculus-based introductory physics courses, where they were asked how their personal experiences and perspectives shaped their understanding of physics. Using the Critical Physics Identity framework, we categorized the types of experiences students identified as influential. While most students acknowledged that their perspectives affected their learning, they primarily referenced aspects related to Personal Characteristics within the Ideational Resource construct. Only a small portion mentioned perspectives linked to their social identities as in the Positioning in Physics and Perception of Physicists codes, despite having previously provided demographic information. We argue that this pattern reflects a dominant physics learning culture that presents the discipline as neutral and objective, often ignoring the role of broader social structures—particularly in the experiences of marginalized students.