[UCM-Student-Success] Psychological capital & Student success

[John Newton]

This is great Michelle!  I’m also reminded of Yosso’s Cultural Wealth model when I read your email. To answer your question, I like to do several things:

Use the word “opportunity”, A LOT. I had a student say that they are always behind in their readings for class. I said that there’s an opportunity to look at your time management techniques. I build a conversation around that word opportunity, no matter the challenge, barrier, or issue.

I also reframe failure to steer them away from their own internal deficit thinking. I pull up their transcript in Blink (I like the overview it provides as opposed to Banners functional look) and point to their D or F and their 1.2 GPA or 1.7 GPA and tell them: “This doesn’t define you. This letter doesn’t define you. This number doesn’t define you. You are more than a letter and a number; you are a whole person that brings so much to the campus and the classroom, so don’t think that these are what you should focus on, but instead look at who you are and what you want to accomplish here.” It taps into intrinsic motivation and goals.

I also point to the positive things in academic behaviors they should be doing. What’s the good that can come out of office hours: not only clarification of class topics, but also opportunities for research, and future letters of recommendation for graduate or professional school. What’s the good that can come out of tutoring: not only clarification of class topics, but also a mentor who can provide advice on future courses in your major, which professors are supportive of student success, and what experiences they can do while at UCM. I tell them tutors are seniors who have taken the classes you will need to take later, so why not ask them for advice while getting support for BIO 1? By focusing on positive outcomes, it seems less of a “chore” to do those things and more of, dare I say, an OPPORTUNITY.

Lastly, I use stories. Metaphors. Examples. I recently asked a student if she played sports in high school. She said track; she ran the 100, 200, 400, hurdles, and 1600 relay. I asked her if she won every race. I asked her to remember the feeling when she was running to the finish line when her legs were burning and what she was thinking when pushing toward that goal. If she lost, did she stop running track, or practice more for the next meet to do better? She related. I use books, movies (very easy to do), and my own personal experiences. When students can relate to something that’s intangible, like a concept, by an example (why do you think memes are so popular right now?), then the connection can be made a lot easier.

Thank you for sending this!! I’d like to read up more so I’ll take a look at those resources. :)

Be well, and enjoy the day!
John

[Sig]

From: UCM-Student-Success <ucm-student-success-bounces at lists.ucmerced.edu> On Behalf Of Michelle Roppeau
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2019 5:24 PM
To: ucm-student-success at lists.ucmerced.edu
Subject: [UCM-Student-Success] Psychological capital & Student success

Hi Student Success Listserv Colleagues,

Welcoming and interacting with our new first years during the last month--and hearing the stories of their individual journeys to UC Merced-has reminded me of the privilege and responsibility inherent in our professional roles.  As one of the many first-generation staff, faculty, and administrators at UC Merced, I have been reflecting recently on the resilience that our students demonstrate and the ways in which resilience contributes to both academic and personal success.

During his tenure as president of the American Psychological Association, Martin Seligman challenged fellow psychologists to use scientific methodology to investigate factors that contribute to positive human functioning (e.g., flourishing, adjustment) rather than focusing primarily on the negative aspects of human functioning (e.g., dysfunction).  Based on Seligman’s work in positive psychology, Luthans and colleagues originally developed the construct of psychological capital-or PsyCap-to describe four positive psychological capacities in employees that were associated with higher performance, lower stress levels, and better wellbeing in organizations.  The PsyCap construct was later extended to research on college students with inquiry exploring the role of PsyCap in academic adjustment, learning empowerment, creative performance, career choice, academic performance, leadership, mental health, and life satisfaction.

So what is PsyCap?  And how does it contribute to student success?

The four positive psychological capacities-sometimes abbreviated as “HERO”--include:


*         Hope:  a sense of goal-directed energy and a plan or pathway to meet that goal


*         Efficacy or self-efficacy:  the confidence to accept and devote necessary effort to succeed at challenging tasks


*         Resilience:  the ability to bounce back and go beyond (learn to function at an even higher level) when faced with a challenging experience, adversity, or failure



*         Optimism:  the inclination to look at the bright side of any situation and expect the best possible outcome from an event or interaction

Much like the shift in research on first-generation college students-from the original deficit model (i.e., what first-gen students lack) to a strengths-based inquiry-PsyCap recognizes the positive characteristics already present in our students before they join us.  There is also room for growth since PsyCap is considered malleable and open to development in every individual.

Research has shown that PsyCap can be increased in college students through interventions (Luthans et al. 2006, 2014) although longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether results are sustained.  Components of interventions have used a combination of goal setting, vicarious learning (i.e., observing older peers successfully navigating similar challenges), and techniques that focus on identifying and building assets within each of the four HERO domains.  At UC Merced, the new partnership between Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and TAO (ThePath.Taoconnect.org) might be an example of an intervention that affects PsyCap:  TAO provides free online cognitive behavioral training modules for college students on topics that include resilience building.

My questions for our student success community:  in our individual and group interactions, how do we intentionally nurture the HERO in both our students and our colleagues?  And in what new ways might we impact the HEROic efforts of our Bobcats during 2019-20?

Michelle


Michelle Roppeau, Ph.D.

Director of First Year and Undeclared Advising

Bobcat Advising Center<bobcat-advising-center.ucmerced.edu>

COB2 260

Division of Undergraduate Education

University of California, Merced

maroppeau at ucmerced.edu<mailto:maroppeau at ucmerced.edu>

(209) 382-4407

--------------------------------

For further reading:
Liran, B. H., & Miller, P. (2019). The role of psychological capital in academic adjustment among university students.  Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(1), 51-65.

Luthans, B. C, Luthans, K. W., & Avey J. B.  (2014).  Building the leaders of tomorrow:  The development of academic psychological capital.  Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 21(2), 191-199.

Luthans, F., Avey, J. B., Avolio, B. J., Norman, S. M., & Combs, G. M. (2006).  Psychological capital development: Toward a micro‐intervention.  Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 27(3), 387-393.

Luthans, F. & Youssef, C. M.  (2004).  Human, social, and now positive psychological capital management.  Organizational Dynamics, 33, 143-160.

O’Neal, C. R., Espino, M. M., Goldthrite, A., Morin, M. F., Weston, L., Hernandez, P., & Fuhrmann, A.  (2016).  Grit under duress: Stress, strengths, and academic success among non-citizen and citizen Latina/o first-generation college students.  Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 38(4), 446-466.

Selvaraj, P. R. & Bhat, C. S. (2018).  Predicting the mental health of college students with psychological capital.  Journal of Mental Health, 27(3), 279-287.

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