TY - JOUR
T1 - Is Seeing Believing? A Longitudinal Study of Vividness of the Future and Its Effects on Academic Self-Efficacy and Success in College
AU - McMichael, Samantha L.
AU - Bixter, Michael T.
AU - Okun, Morris A.
AU - Bunker, Cameron J.
AU - Graudejus, Oliver
AU - Grimm, Kevin J.
AU - Kwan, Virginia S.Y.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education (R305A160023). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - This research followed students over their first 2 years of college. During this time, many students lose sight of their goals, leading to poor academic performance and leaving STEM and business majors. This research was the first to examine longitudinal changes in future vividness, how those changes impact academic success, and identify sex differences in those relationships. Students who started college with clear pictures of graduation and life after graduation, and those who gained clarity, were more likely to believe in their academic abilities, and, in turn, earn a higher cumulative GPA, and persist in STEM and business. Compared to men, women reported greater initial vividness in both domains. In vividness of graduation, women maintained their advantage with no sex differences in how vividness changed. However, men grew in vividness of life after graduation while women remained stagnant. These findings have implications for interventions to increase academic performance and persistence.
AB - This research followed students over their first 2 years of college. During this time, many students lose sight of their goals, leading to poor academic performance and leaving STEM and business majors. This research was the first to examine longitudinal changes in future vividness, how those changes impact academic success, and identify sex differences in those relationships. Students who started college with clear pictures of graduation and life after graduation, and those who gained clarity, were more likely to believe in their academic abilities, and, in turn, earn a higher cumulative GPA, and persist in STEM and business. Compared to men, women reported greater initial vividness in both domains. In vividness of graduation, women maintained their advantage with no sex differences in how vividness changed. However, men grew in vividness of life after graduation while women remained stagnant. These findings have implications for interventions to increase academic performance and persistence.
KW - academic achievement
KW - academic self-efficacy
KW - sex differences
KW - STEM & business persistence
KW - vividness of the future
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106401092&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/01461672211015888
DO - 10.1177/01461672211015888
M3 - Article
C2 - 34018855
AN - SCOPUS:85106401092
SN - 0146-1672
JO - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
JF - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
ER -