Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

Process Goals Raise Academic Confidence and Performance of First-Generation College Students

First-generation college students (FGCS) enter college less academically prepared than their peers. Additionally, FGCS encounter more academic difficulty and earn lower grades compared to their counterparts. As such, it is important to find ways to increase academic confidence and performance among FGCS. One potential avenue for doing so may be to influence their goal orientation when approaching academic work. Process goals focus on the steps needed to achieve a desired outcome, while outcome goals focus on the desired outcome itself. Research suggests that, for difficult tasks, process goals result in greater levels of performance, lower feelings of anxiety, and higher perceptions of self-efficacy than outcome goals. The present study manipulated goal orientation on a difficult task, and then measured confidence and performance with respect to a subsequent pop quiz. It was expected for FGCS to exhibit lower academic confidence and performance compared to non-FGCS when instructed to adopt outcome goals; however, no such differences when participants were instructed to adopt process goals were to be expected. Participants consisted of 29 FGCS and 38 non-FGCS students in introductory psychology courses. All participants completed a challenging anagram task. Students were randomly assigned to either the Process Goal Condition or the Outcome Goal Condition. Results confirmed that FGCS benefited from process goals.