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All Subjects: Academic Self-Efficacy
Creators: Kwan, Virginia

Birth Order Effects on Personality: Implications for Field of Study, Academic Self-Efficacy, and Future Self-Identification

Description

The purpose of this study is to explore birth order effects on personality and how they influence field of study, academic self-efficacy, and future self-identification. The research aims to replicate past findings on birth order and personality variation while further exploring how birth order affects field of study, academic self-efficacy, and future self-identification. Furthermore, the research study will examine if personality variation mediates the relationship between birth order and field of study, academic self-efficacy, and future self-identification. The research sample (N=90) was used to explore these concepts. Lastly, the research will investigate within families, if birth order predicts differences in personality, academic self-efficacy, and future self-identification using 13 sibling pair results. The researchers recruited participants to complete self-reports of birth order, variable measures, and demographics using a survey on Qualtrics survey software through social media channels during the Fall and Spring of 2022 - 2023. The study yielded very few implications for birth order and personality variation, and how they influence fields of study, academic self-efficacy, and future self-identification. Further exploration of birth order and personality as they relate to field of study, academic self-efficacy, and future self-identification is necessary as it may positively contribute to parental expectations, parent-child relationships, and parental understanding of differences of goals and interests among siblings. Furthermore, future studies should investigate factors that may change birth order effects on personality such as evolving social standards, family size, and culture shifts.

ContributorsLinos, Emilia (Author) / Kwan, Virginia (Thesis director) / Mae, Lynda (Committee member) / McMichael, Samantha (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)

Created2023-05

Developing and Testing an Intervention to Promote Future Self-Connectedness Among Premedical Students

Description

This study was designed to develop and test an intervention to increase future self-connectedness among students considered on the pre-medical career path at Arizona State University. Recent research has identified organic chemistry as one primary reason pre-med students change their major during undergraduate studies. Difficulty connecting to one’s future self and low academic self-efficacy are also reasons that help explain the large numbers of students changing majors. This study proposed and tested an intervention to increase future self-connectedness in order to help keep students in the pre-med pathway. It was predicted that the proposed intervention would be successful at promoting greater future self-connectedness and academic self-efficacy across all students, with significant results hypothesized for women and members of minority groups. It was further hypothesized that this intervention would be successful at decreasing stress levels and increasing persistence when given sample MCAT questions. 78 undergraduate participants from organic chemistry classes completed this study, 37 in the intervention and 41 comprising the control group. The intervention consisted of a guided thought exercise that walked participants through a day in the life of a medical resident. Results were found indicating a significance between the mean scores for the intervention group and increased future self-connectedness, as well as academic self-efficacy as compared to the control. Results also indicate that lower levels of initial future self-connectedness and academic self-efficacy were associated with higher levels of change in levels of future self-connectedness following the intervention. Additionally, high initial academic self-efficacy was correlated with lower levels of perceived stress and higher overall grade point average, as hypothesized. Results indicate that the intervention was successful at increasing future self-connectedness and academic self-efficacy among pre-med students, especially among women and minority groups, however the intervention was not successful at decreasing levels of perceived stress within the intervention group. Given the small sample size future studies are needed to further verify the generalizability of these results.

ContributorsDimmick, Kaileine (Co-author) / Truong, Rodney (Co-author) / Kwan, Virginia (Thesis director) / Patock-Peckham, Julie (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2019-05