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- Creators: Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business
- Creators: Department of Psychology
- Status: Published
Description
This paper considers what factors influence student interest, motivation, and continued engagement. Studies show anticipated extrinsic rewards for activity participation have been shown to reduce intrinsic value for that activity. This might suggest that grade point average (GPA) has a similar effect on academic interests. Further, when incentives such as scholarships, internships, and careers are GPA-oriented, students must adopt performance goals in courses to guarantee success. However, performance goals have not been shown to correlated with continued interest in a topic. Current literature proposes that student involvement in extracurricular activities, focused study groups, and mentored research are crucial to student success. Further, students may express either a fixed or growth mindset, which influences their approach to challenges and opportunities for growth. The purpose of this study was to collect individual cases of students' experiences in college. The interview method was chosen to collect complex information that could not be gathered from standard surveys. To accomplish this, questions were developed based on content areas related to education and motivation theory. The content areas included activities and meaning, motivation, vision, and personal development. The developed interview method relied on broad questions that would be followed by specific "probing" questions. We hypothesize that this would result in participant-led discussions and unique narratives from the participant. Initial findings suggest that some of the questions were effective in eliciting detailed responses, though results were dependent on the interviewer. From the interviews we find that students value their group involvements, leadership opportunities, and relationships with mentors, which parallels results found in other studies.
ContributorsAbrams, Sara (Author) / Hartwell, Lee (Thesis director) / Correa, Kevin (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
A growing number of jobs in the US require a college degree or technical education, and the wage difference between jobs requiring a high school diploma and a college education has increased to over $17,000 per year. Enrollment levels in postsecondary education have been rising for at least the past decade, and this paper attempts to tease out how much of the increasing enrollment is due to changes in the demand by companies for workers. A Bartik Instrument, which is a measure of local area labor demand, for each county in the US was constructed from 2007 to 2014, and using multivariate linear regression the effect of changing labor demand on local postsecondary education enrollment rates was examined. A small positive effect was found, but the effect size in relation to the total change in enrollment levels was diminutive. From the start to the end of the recession (2007 to 2010), Bartik Instrument calculated unemployment increased from 5.3% nationally to 8.2%. This level of labor demand contraction would lead to a 0.42% increase in enrollment between 2008 and 2011. The true enrollment increase over this period was 7.6%, so the model calculated 5.5% of the enrollment increase was based on the changes in labor demand.
ContributorsHerder, Daniel Steven (Author) / Dillon, Eleanor (Thesis director) / Schoellman, Todd (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
There is a serious need for early childhood intervention practices for children who are living at or below the poverty line. Since 1965 Head Start has provided a federally funded, free preschool program for children in this population. The City of Phoenix Head Start program consists of nine delegate agencies, seven of which reside in school districts. These agencies are currently not conducting local longitudinal evaluations of their preschool graduates. The purpose of this study was to recommend initial steps the City of Phoenix grantee and the delegate agencies can take to begin a longitudinal evaluation process of their Head Start programs. Seven City of Phoenix Head Start agency directors were interviewed. These interviews provided information about the attitudes of the directors when considering longitudinal evaluations and how Head Start already evaluates their programs through internal assessments. The researcher also took notes on the Third Grade Follow-Up to the Head Start Executive Summary in order to make recommendations to the City of Phoenix Head Start programs about the best practices for longitudinal student evaluations.
ContributorsArmfield, Jessica Ann (Author) / Duggan, Mary Anne (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This project, which consists of a review article and an applied creative project, proposes mirror neurons as being a physiological mechanism for motor imagery. The review article highlights similarities between motor imagery research and research on mirror neurons. The research is roughly divided into three types of studies: neuroimaging studies, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electromyography (EMG) studies, and electroencephalography (EEG) studies. The review also discusses the associative hypothesis of mirror neuron origin as support for the hypothesis and concludes with an assessment of conflicting research and the limitations of the hypothesis. The applied creative project is an instructional brochure, aimed at anyone who teaches motor skills, such as dance teachers or sports coaches. The brochure takes the academic content of the review and presents it in a visually pleasing, reader-friendly fashion in an effort to educate the intended audience and make the research more accessible. The brochure also prescribes research-based suggestions for how to use motor imagery during teaching sessions and how to get the best benefits from it.
ContributorsNgai, Valerie Christina (Author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Studies have shown that arts programs have a positive impact on students' abilities to achieve academic success, showcase creativity, and stay focused inside and outside of the classroom. However, as school funding drops, arts programs are often the first to be cut from school curricula. Rather than drop art completely, general education teachers have the opportunity to integrate arts instruction with other content areas in their classrooms. Traditional fraction lessons and Music-infused fraction lessons were administered to two classes of fourth-grade students. The two types of lessons were presented over two separate days in each classroom. Mathematics worksheets and attitudinal surveys were administered to each student in each classroom after each lesson to gauge their understanding of the mathematics content as well as their self-perceived understanding, enjoyment and learning related to the lessons. Students in both classes were found to achieve significantly higher mean scores on the traditional fraction lesson than the music-infused fraction lesson. Lower scores in the music-infused fraction lesson may have been due to the additional component of music for students unfamiliar with music principles. Students tended to express satisfaction for both lessons. In future studies, it would be recommended to spend additional lesson instruction time on the principles of music in order help students reach deeper understanding of the music-infused fraction lesson. Other recommendations include using colorful visuals and interactive activities to establish both fraction and music concepts.
ContributorsGerrish, Julie Kathryn (Author) / Zambo, Ronald (Thesis director) / Hutchins, Catherine (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
With an increase in the discussion around mental health in general, there needs to be research geared toward how educational professionals may assist a student who struggles with anxiety symptoms or disorders. This study aimed to determine how students with anxiety and anxiety disorders are impacted by teachers' responses to their anxiety manifestations, both positive and negative, in terms of their school experience. This study also investigated students' suggestions for how teachers may effectively assist a student who struggles with anxiety. This study used self-reported data from students from an honors college via a survey and focus groups in order to investigate these topics. The results found that students value student-teacher relationships and communication, flexibility (accommodations), and empathy from the teacher. Results suggest it is important for teachers to get to know a student and understand his or her challenges before making judgments.
ContributorsWalsh, Sydney Justine (Author) / Oakes, Wendy (Thesis director) / Harris, Pamela (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
DescriptionAcoustic Ecology is an undervalued field of study of the relationship between the environment and sound. This project aims to educate people on this topic and show people the importance by immersing them in virtual reality scenes. The scenes were created using VR180 content as well as 360° spatial audio.
ContributorsNeel, Jordan Tanner (Author) / LiKamWa, Robert (Thesis director) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The fields of psychology and education are typically housed within separate contexts. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, thoughts, behaviors and actions (Nordqvist, 2018). The history of psychology originated centuries ago in Europe, although some attribute the beginning of mind study as far back as Aristotle. Currently, the American Psychological Association has 54 active scientific divisions, ranging from the Society of Military Psychology to Psychological Hypnosis. Education, has been studied in a variety of ways, including curriculum, instruction, and educational policy. Educational psychology is a relatively new field that examines the effects of how psychological science can be applied to learning and educational success (Parankimalil, 2014). Some of the factors that educational psychologists study include: educational reform, classroom interactions, stimuli effects on learning, student motivation, individual and collective self-beliefs, goal orientation, theory of attribution, and cognitive development. It is important to distinguish that each student has a unique approach to learning. Student relationships in classrooms can profoundly impact this learning. Moreover, student motivation stems intrinsically and is influenced by external factors. Research demonstrates the positive effects sensory stimuli, including auditory, tactile, olfactory and visual, can have on student learning as well. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are inseparable facets of student learning, as explained by the self-determination theory. This allows for student progression from external to internal motivation, to develop better learning methods. Educational psychology is very relevant to study today, more so in a classroom where students are actively synthesizing the information learned, to apply it to real-world situations. Future research includes studying cultural effects, technology, stereotypes and reciprocal determinism in an educational setting and providing individualized learning opportunities. This research provides a transition to a student focused change rather than the cyclical model currently driving the education system today. By studying the psychological effects in a classroom, the goal is to reduce the dropout rate and improve child and adolescent education by personalizing learning.
ContributorsGanesh, Ayoshna (Co-author) / Viswanath, Pooja (Co-author) / Lynch, Christa (Thesis director) / Mitchell, Jennifer (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This project was undertaken for the purposes of exploring the feasibility of website development for arts education information. In partnership with the Arizona Commission on the Arts, ideas for website design were collected. The original plan was to build a website that would be a "one-stop-shop" for educators to find arts education resources. Some resources deemed important to include on the website were: a search engine, calendar of events, curriculum ideas, discussion forum, feedback, ticketing, and financial support available. This website would make accessing arts education information easier, thus more appealing. It is understood that art is a fundamental part of education and it needs to be integrated into the public schools system, however, due to a lack of educational funding in Arizona it is important to bring outside organizations and resources into the education system. The following paper will examine how arts education is beneficial for children in grades K-12, what resources people want available on the website, what education administrators have to say about the website, and what aspects of the website would need to be included and addressed.
ContributorsJenner, Lindsay Ann (Author) / Phillips, Rhonda (Thesis director) / Ramella, Kelly (Committee member) / Nelson, Alex (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Dance (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Sport is a widespread phenomenon across human cultures and history. Unfortunately, positive emotions in sport have been long vaguely characterized as happy or pleasant, or ignored altogether. Recent emotion research has taken a differentiated approach, however, suggesting there are distinct positive emotions with diverse implications for behavior. The present study applied this evolutionarily informed approach in the context of sport to examine which positive emotions are associated with play. It was hypothesized that pride, amusement, and enthusiasm, but not contentment or awe, would increase in Ultimate Frisbee players during a practice scrimmage. Further, it was hypothesized that increases in pride and amusement during practice would be differentially associated with sport outcomes, including performance (scores, assists, and defenses), subjective social connectedness, attributions of success, and attitudes toward the importance of practice. It was found that all positive emotions decreased during practice. It was also found that increases in pride were associated with more scores and greater social connectedness, whereas increases in amusement were associated with more assists. The present study was one of the first to examine change in positive emotions during play and to relate them to specific performance outcomes. Future studies should expand to determine which came first: emotion or performance.
ContributorsKuna, Jacob Anthony (Author) / Shiota, Michelle (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Danvers, Alexander (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05