Steven B. Robbins

Do psychosocial and study skill factors predict college outcomes? A meta-analysis

This study examines the relationship between psychosocial and study skill factors (PSFs) and college outcomes by meta-analyzing 109 studies. On the basis of educational persistence and motivational theory models, the PSFs were categorized into 9 broad constructs: achievement motivation, academic goals, institutional commitment, perceived social support, social involvement, academic self-efficacy, general self-concept, academic-related skills, and contextual influences. Two college outcomes were targeted: performance (cumulative grade point average; GPA) and persistence (retention). Meta-analyses indicate moderate relationships between retention and academic goals, academic self-efficacy, and academic-related skills (ps =.340,.359, and.366, respectively). The best predictors for GPA were academic self-efficacy and achievement motivation (ps =.496 and.303, respectively). Supplementary regression analyses confirmed the incremental contributions of the PSF over and above those of socioeconomic status, standardized achievement, and high school GPA in predicting college outcomes.

Measuring belongingness: The Social Connectedness and the Social Assurance scales.

The study developed 2 measures of belongingness based on H. Kohuts (1984) self psychology theory. The Social Connectedness Scale and the Social Assurance Scale were constructed with a split-sample procedure on 626 college students. Internal reliability estimates for the 2 scales were.91 and.82, respectively. Test-retest correlations revealed good test stability over a 2-week period (rs = .96 and .84, respectively). Cross-validation for the 2 measures was achieved with confirmatory factor analysis with an incremental fit index greater than .90. Scale functions are described and results are discussed in light of current research and theory

The Relationship between Social Connectedness and Anxiety, Self-Esteem, and Social Identity.

Social connectedness and its relationship with anxiety, self-esteem, and social identity was explored in the lives of women. Social connectedness was negatively related to trait anxiety and made a larger unique contribution to trait anxiety than social support or collective self-esteem. Women with high connectedness also reported greater social identification in high, as compared with low, cohesion conditions. Women with low connectedness exhibited no difference in either condition. Social connectedness was also positively related to state self-esteem across both conditions but did not have an effect on state anxiety. Future research in gender and cultural differences, self-evaluation process, and intervention strategies are discussed in light of the findings.

Unraveling the Differential Effects of Motivational and Skills, Social, and Self-Management Measures from Traditional Predictors of College Outcomes.

The authors report on a large-scale study examining the effects of self-reported psychosocial factors on 1st-year college outcomes. Using a sample of 14,464 students from 48 institutions, the authors constructed hierarchical regression models to measure the predictive validity of the Student Readiness Inventory, a measure of psychosocial factors. Controlling for institutional effects and traditional predictors, the authors tested the effects of motivational and skill, social, and self-management measures on academic performance and retention. Academic Discipline was incrementally predictive of academic performance (grade-point average) and retention. Social Activity and Emotional Control also helped predict academic performance and retention, whereas Commitment to College and Social Connection offered incremental prediction of retention. This study elaborates recent meta-analytic findings (S. Robbins et al., 2004), demonstrating the salience of a subset of motivational, social, and self-management factors. Future research questions include how measures of psychosocial factors can be used to aid students, the salience of these measures over the entire college experience and for predicting job performance, and the need for testing theoretical models for explaining postsecondary educational outcomes incorporating traditional, motivational, self-management, and social engagement factors.

Too much of a good thing: curvilinear relationships between personality traits and job performance.

The relationships between personality traits and performance are often assumed to be linear. This assumption has been challenged conceptually and empirically, but results to date have been inconclusive. In the current study, we took a theory-driven approach in systematically addressing this issue. Results based on two different samples generally supported our expectations of the curvilinear relationships between personality traits, including Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability, and job performance dimensions, including task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and counterproductive work behaviors. We also hypothesized and found that job complexity moderated the curvilinear personality–performance relationships such that the inflection points after which the relationships disappear were lower for low-complexity jobs than they were for high-complexity jobs. This finding suggests that high levels of the two personality traits examined are more beneficial for performance in high- than low-complexity jobs. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the use of personality in personnel selection.

Intervention effects on college performance and retention as mediated by motivational, emotional, and social control factors: Integrated meta-analytic path analyses.

Using both organizational and educational perspectives, the authors proposed and tested theoretical models on the mediating roles that psychosocial factors (PSFs; motivational, emotional, and social control factors) play between college interventions (academic skill, self-management, socialization, and First-Year-Experience interventions) and college outcomes (academic performance and retention). They first determined through meta-analysis of 404 data points the effects of college interventions on college outcomes and on PSFs. These meta-analytic findings were then combined with results from S. B. Robbins et al.s (2004) meta-analysis to test the proposed models. Integrated meta-analytic path analyses showed the direct and indirect effects (via PSFs) of intervention strategies on both performance and retention outcomes. The authors highlight the importance of both academic skill and self-management-based interventions; they also note the salience of motivational and emotional control mediators across both performance and retention outcomes. Implications from organizational and educational perspectives, limitations, and future directions are addressed.

Motivational and Skills, Social, and Self-Management Predictors of College Outcomes: Constructing the Student Readiness Inventory

The authors used a rational-empirical approach to construct the Student Readiness Inventory, measuring psychosocial and academic-related skill factors found to predict two important college outcomes, academic performance and retention, in a recent meta-analysis. The initial item pool was administered to 5,970 first-year college students and high school seniors to empirically validate and cross-validate the underlying factor structure. Ten first-order and 3 second-order factors were derived, partially resembling the original conceptual model. Future study is needed to explore the criterion and predictive validities of the factors constituting this inventory.

Validity Estimates for the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale.

The results of concurrent and discriminant validity studies only partially supported the construct validity of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale, and the use of individual subscales pr...

Goal Continuity as a Mediator of Early Retirement Adjustment: Testing a Multidimensional Model.

From a self-psychology perspective adaptation to cvhanges in life depends on the ability to maintain stable and meaningful life goals and purpose, or goal continuity. Goal continuity was hypothesized to be a mediator of early retirement adjustment, being a variable between personal and social resources and life adjustment.

Predicting Engineering Major Status From Mathematics Achievement and Interest Congruence

This study proposed that precollege students’ standardized mathematics achievement score and the congruence between their occupational interests and engineering tasks would predict their second-year retention in college and the stability of their major. Binary response models were used to predict second-year major status (i.e., continue, transfer major, or dropout). High mathematics achievement was predictive of retention on campus and within the engineering major. Interest congruence predicted likelihood of staying on campus. A trend was also detected (p < .07) between the Mathematics Achievement · Interest Congruence interaction effect. These findings reinforce the importance of examining both achievement and interest congruence factors when understanding the retention of engineering majors. Future research needs to replicate and extend this model to other majors and institutions to more fully understand the major choice and college retention processes.