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

[Michelle Roppeau]

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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