Setting, Elaborating, and Reflecting on Personal Goals Improves Academic Performance

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Morisano, Dominique; Hirsh, Jacob B.; Peterson, Jordan B.; Pihl, Robert O.; Shore, Bruce M.
• 署名单位: McGill University; University of Toronto; McGill University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-9010
• DOI: 10.1037/a0018478
• 发表日期: 2010
• 页码: 255-264
• 关键词: goal setting; university; academic achievement; student retention; intervention

摘要

Of students who enroll in 4-year universities, 25% never finish. Precipitating causes of early departure include poor academic progress and lack of clear goals and motivation. In the present study, we investigated whether an intensive, online, written, goal-setting program for struggling students would have positive effects on academic achievement. Students (N = 85) experiencing academic difficulty were recruited to participate in a randomized, controlled intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 intervention groups: Half completed the goal-setting program, and half completed a control task with intervention-quality face validity. After a 4-month period, students who completed the goal-setting intervention displayed significant improvements in academic performance compared with the control group. The goal-setting program thus appears to be a quick, effective, and inexpensive intervention for struggling undergraduate students.