Exam stress is unavoidable. We know that every year—at the end of the academic term-- millions of college students around the world start gearing up for their least favorite educational activity: Finals. While exams are unavoidable, the negative wellbeing consequences of super-stressful exam periods can be stopped (or at least diminished) by using some of the clever scientific findings from the psychological literature. As a health psychologist who specializes in the physiology of stress, I am all too familiar with the horrendous effects that stress can have on the body. For example, studies have shown that stress can weaken components of your immune system, can increase your risk for getting a cold or a flu, and of course, can put you in a terrible mood and can result in debilitating anxiety. So what can you do to protect yourself from the ills of test-stress?
Here are 5 simple research-based “hacks” that might help you survive this exam season without getting sick, and maybe with a (small) smile on your face.
1. Hug.
The wide ranging and incredible benefits of your social network is probably one of the most powerful phenomena in all of psychology. Relevant here, is what your network can do for you during times of stress. Research has shown that one of the factors that is most helpful for buffering people against difficult times is having help available from other people. This help can come in many flavors: Emotional support (e.g., a hug or a shoulder to cry on), tangible support (e.g., someone lending you their notes or helping you with something you don’t understand), informational (e.g., advice on how to study), or your friends may even just provide that sense of belonging and security that we all need. Research has shown again and again that people who feel supported persist better during times of stress. They are less anxious, depressed, have better health, and manage their health better. With this in mind: reach out to your friends and family when you are feeling bad.
One caveat: be careful with your social network when you are feeling really stressed. Social support is not the only thing that your friends offer you. They also offer you germs. Exam time could also be called “sick time” on most college campuses given the overflow of students hitting the health centers with colds, flus, and worse. Given this, hanging out with lots of friends might also mean lots of exposure to viruses and bacteria. Hamrick and colleagues (2002) showed that this exposure isn’t necessarily a problem when you are healthy and unstressed, but when the stress level in your body hit “red alert” levels, your immune function gets suppressed and can’t fight off those invasive agents nearly as well, and as a result, you might get sick. So use your friends to help you survive exams, but also use hand sanitizer!
2. Smile.
Smiling might be the last thing you feel like doing under stress, but it turns out it can actually help. My own work has shown time and time again that positive emotions are strongly related to better health and lower stress, but of course, it’s hard to be happy when facing countless finals. There are many positive emotion induction techniques that you can try out to break the negativity tied to stress (e.g., writing about things you are grateful for, watching your favorite funny youtube.com clip), but one of my favorites is to simply smile. Our research has shown that activating a big sincere Duchenne smile (the kind where your eyes are crinkled and your mouth is smiling) not only makes you feel better during times of stress, but it actually helps your heart rate return to normal levels after stress, even if you aren’t happy. That’s right! Faking a smile for a few moments, can actually help you feel less threatened about the whole exam thing. This is due to a phenomenon called the “Facial Feedback Hypothesis” which has shown that the simple act of activating muscles in your face can actually enhance the relevant emotions in your mind. You can try this out while studying: just hold your pen in your mouth sideways, push it all the way back in your mouth as far as it will go, and bam- you are smiling! Instant anti-stress.
3. Breathe.
Interestingly enough, one of the strange things that happens to our bodies when we get really stressed is that we forget to breathe and/or change our breathing rates in unhealthy ways. For example, our breathing gets shallow and rapid. You may have even noticed that you hold your breath during a really anxiety provoking situation. What you may not know is that breathing incorrectly can actually make your body more stressed as it doesn’t allow the relaxation arm of your nervous system (the parasympathetic nervous system) to work correctly. Fortunately, breathing is one of the few physical stress responses that we CAN control and simple breathing exercises have been shown to lower blood pressure and heart rate, reduce stress hormones, and improve feelings of energy, calm, and wellbeing. Exercises can be as simple as “equal breathing” where you inhale for a count of four and exhale for a count of four (all through the nose). Counting while breathing gives you the double benefit of distracting you from those rushing stressful thoughts going through your head, while also giving you the relaxing parasympathetic system activating effects at the same time. Other breathing techniques as well as numerous on-line meditation activities that focus on the breath can be found with a simple google search. Take a 10 minute breathing break and improve your stress and health!
4. Sleep.
This tip is probably the hardest one for any of you to follow. Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per night to be healthy and happy, however, we know that the vast majority of undergraduate students are not getting anywhere near this much sleep. During exams, this problem intensifies. Why does this matter for stress? Not getting enough sleep will actually trigger an endless cycle of stress on your mind and body for numerous reasons. First, by not sleeping you are putting yourself in a depressed mood. This makes it more likely for you to experience stress and be reactive to negative events. Next, sleeping can actually hurt your studying abilities. Studies have shown that a lack of sleep can damage attention, memory and cognition, making it more difficult for you to learn, making you have to stay up longer and sleep less, and the cycle continues. Finally, from a biological perspective, your body needs sleep to regulate its complex physiological systems. Without enough sleep your immune system is compromised, your hormones dysregulated, and your metabolism wrecked. As we know, this dysregulated function again puts you at risk for catching the cold of your roommate when they sneeze on you. Do your body, mind, and stress levels of favor, and try to get enough shut eye to maximize your exam performance and keep you healthy.
Finally, it is important to remember that psychological stress is—by definition-- predominantly in your head. Our body’s stress response evolved to help us survive the kinds of troubles that prehistoric humans faced (e.g., imagine what your body would need to do now if a lion was chasing it). Specifically, it’s revving you up to prepare you for fight and flight. Unfortunately, your body’s needs when studying for exams doesn’t typically match what your body needs to fend off a wild animal attack. Thus, there are a few things you can do. One, remind yourself that this stressor isn’t actually life or death. Stress responses are driven by what thought processes are going on in your head and your perception of the stressor. If you can trick your mind into perceiving the stress as less threatening, your body will follow.
Talking to friends, smiling, slow breathing, and sleeping will all help with this calming effect, but so will self-talk to yourself to try to calm yourself down. Focus on what you are good at and what is important to you (besides these exams). Research has shown that self-affirmations can help reduce stress. Avoid destructive thought patterns (e.g., “I’m a failure!”) and instead focus on having self-compassion for yourself. Remember, psychological stress is all about the perception. If you can perceive stress in the right way, you will find that not only can you manage it better, but you can also keep yourself healthy in the process.
[Sarah Pressman is an assistant professor of psychology at University of California, Irvine. She researches the connections between stress, health & happiness. She is the co-author of the Noba module "The Healthy Life" - http://nobaproject.com/chapters/the-healthy-life]
Recently, my son—a 16 year old-- took a fitness test. Over the course of an hour he executed pull-ups, did push-ups, counted crunches, and timed various hangs and wall sits. We all understand the benefits of such testing: by quantifying a wide range of fitness related activities it is possible to get a global picture of my son’s flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular fitness. What is easy to overlook, however, is that the test itself improve his fitness. It was an hour long workout no different (in fact, harder) than his usual exercise. This leads to the question: when you give your students an exam do you primarily view it as an opportunity to assess prior learning or do you also view it as an opportunity for students to learn?
This point was emphasized, for me, through a testing suggestion from Rich Lucas, at Michigan State University. I don’t know if the idea was originally his but I learned it from him so I am willing to credit him here. The idea is simple and powerful: test your students twice. Here’s how:
First, offer your students the exam under normal conditions. This likely means producing answers solely from memory. Then, when they have finished and have turned in their Scantron or other answer form allow them to take the exam again immediately. This second time around, however, let your students use open notes, textbooks, or even small workgroups. Obviously, their performance on the second test should be better than on the first. What’s more, they will immediately have the chance to look up answers to those items that caused them trouble only a few minutes earlier. In short, they will learn.
There are many potential variations on this particular testing strategy. Here’s how I have used it in my own classes of 50 to 100 students: The score from the first iteration of the test is the base score. The score from the second iteration of the test is counted as extra credit and added to the base score. If my students score between a 90 and 100% on the second go-round I award 5 extra credit points to their base. If they score between 80 and 90 I award 4, and scores in the 70s receive 3 points. I don’t award any points for scores below a 70%.
One final note: On the several instances that I have used this testing strategy I have made it optional to take the second test. The most motivated students, without fail, opt to earn extra credit. About a third of my students elect not to take the second iteration.
[Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener is the senior editor of the Noba Project and author of more than 50 publications on happiness and other positive topics. His latest book is The Upside of Your Dark Side.]
I remember staring out the window of my apartment one weekend, watching a black-and-red clad horde of students marching towards the football stadium. I had decided that instead of attending one of the seven home games of the year I would get a head start on my work. Why waste a precious Saturday afternoon socializing when I had deadlines to meet and goals to achieve? Super fun, right?
The irony is that spending time with friends can actually help goal pursuits, even if the activity is completely irrelevant to those goals.
How does this work? Let’s start with, of all things, saliva. A group of researchers asked 5th and 6th graders to spit into test tubes at various times throughout the day over the course of four days. They found that children who had a best friend with them during a challenging experience had significantly lower levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) compared to peers who didn't. This finding suggests that children were less stressed navigating difficult situations when they had a friend by their side. In fact, friends do such a good job of helping manage stress that people who perceive more support from friends are less likely to contract the common cold.
In addition to helping us manage stress and avoid illness, friends give us energy. Have you ever left a lunch date feeling more motivated and upbeat than before you went? When we spend time with other people, endorphins are released. This is especially true when we laugh with friends. Laughing with others improves mood and can even increase tolerance to pain! A positive mood and increased energy can make tackling schoolwork more manageable.
Of course, there are caveats. First, people differ in how they enjoy spending time with friends. Not everyone likes coffee and not everyone likes sipping it with other people. When it comes to building friendships, what works for you might not work for someone else. Second, not all friends are created equal. Be strategic when choosing who you spend time with. And lastly, don't forget about moderation. Build in time for friends, but do so within your own limits.
The point is, humans are hardwired to connect with others. You don’t need to be a social animal, but even the most introverted people crave human interaction. You might think that saying “no” to social outings saves you time, but spending time with friends can help you be more efficient, better manage stress, and boost your mood.
So build in time for friends. The next time you find yourself holing up in your room to do work all weekend, take a break. Go to the football game. Go early to tailgate. Enjoy yourself! And reap the benefits.
[Fallon Goodman is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at George Mason University and a research fellow at the Center for the Advancement of Well-being. Fallon’s scholarly interests are in well-being measurement and intervention, emotion regulation, and social anxiety.]
If you teach long enough you’ll experience it: you’ll recognize plagiarized passages in a paper or catch a student glancing at his neighbor’s test. Academic dishonesty represents students at their worst and it is often as much a hassle as it is a disappointment for instructors. Catching dishonesty typically mandates a difficult conversation, the assigning of a failing grade and—at the more extreme end—academic hearings or similar formal procedures. It is easy to see why so many instructors look at instances of cheating as a colossal professional headache.
Instructors in psychology are in a privileged position in that we can—to some extent—sidestep the normal hassle associated with academic dishonesty. Because our discipline is fundamentally about how people think, feel and behave moments of ethical lapses are potential teaching opportunities. Sure, it can be off-putting to have students cheat but it can also offer an opportunity for learning.
Many years ago, for instance, I caught a young woman copying answers to a multiple choice question from her neighbor’s paper. After the test I set aside both answer sheets and compared the patterns of response. Both students missed exactly the same items. I then confronted the student concerning her wrong-doing. She became defensive and denied my accusations. A day later she phoned me and admitted that she had cheated. She was crying, contrite, and was shocked at her own behavior which she described as “out of character.”
I reflected on how difficult it must have been for her to make that call and how agonizing those 24 hours must have been. I explained to the student that I was going to award her a zero for the test. Because the test counted for so much of the overall grade it seemed unlikely that she would pass the course even with her B and C level work from homework and earlier quizzes. I offered her a deal.
I told her that she could write an optional paper. I explained that the paper should be on the emotion of guilt. I expected it to review the relevant research and to address certain topics: what are the behavioral consequences of guilt, who feels guilt and when? If she completed the paper, I told her, I would raise her grade from failing to a D. The offer, I thought, allowed her an opportunity to learn from her mistake, to find some sense of redemption, to take a deeper dive into psychology, and to eke out a passing grade, all while still holding her accountable for cheating. She opted for the paper.
My experience with this young woman has informed my thinking regarding subsequent instances of cheating in the classroom. The most impactful, perhaps, involved a woman I will call Janice who attended a course of mine in 2009. I noticed, at the end of the term, that Janice—in all other ways a good student—did not hand in her final paper. When I contacted her about it she made a confession: “I had a paper to hand in however "I" didn't write it, my friend did. I had been pretty stressed lately with some personal stuff and when whining about my ‘to do’ list for the end of term, my friend offered to help with the paper and in a temporary lapse of judgment, I said ok (which will NEVER happen again). When it came time to hand the papers in, I couldn't bring myself to do it.”
Once again, I was forced to give a student a zero grade. Even so, I could not help but feel a grudging admiration for her to come clean and accept the consequences of her actions. I wrote her and told her the truth: I told her that I admired her. A snippet from that e-mail: “you listened to your own nagging doubts and took the grade hit rather than compromise your integrity and I think that is laudable.”
In the interests of life-long education I did not stop there. I put our e-mail correspondence in a folder so that I could follow up with her. Five years later I did. Janice was a college graduate and home owner. I wrote to her and asked whether she ever thought about that episode and what lasting effects it might have had on her. Here is her answer:
“The best I can answer is that yes, from time to time, I do think of the situation I put myself in back then. It was a defining moment for me. When I think about it, I feel nauseous and it bothers me and I'm GRATEFUL that it does bother me. If it didn't bother me then that would mean I have no conscience of right and wrong and would have lost part of the person I pride myself to be.”
When I compare my interactions with Janice to other times I have wrangled with cheating students I feel good. Rather than playing hardball and complaining to my colleagues about the terrible state of students I have decided to engage with some students—those who appear willing—in an effort to craft a worthwhile “teaching moment.”
[Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener is the senior editor of the Noba Project and author of more than 50 publications on happiness and other positive topics. His latest book is The Upside of Your Dark Side.]
By Eureka Foong – Winner of the 2104 Noba Student Video Award
@Eurekafoong
This summer, I had the ultimate internship experience for any psychology student -- working at the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C. Even though the APA works to bring psychological research to legislators and the mass media, many people still have trouble seeing its value. “The mind cannot possibly study itself,” echoes a recent article from the parody news outlet The Onion. But people often miss that psychologists have uncovered mechanisms of thought that are not just “common sense.” One of the greatest examples of this is our research on human memory and the fact that memory does not act like a camera.
In January 2014, when I heard Noba was offering awards for videos on memory, I thought this would be a great way to dispel some “common sense” myths about memory. After much deliberation (and a coin toss), I decided to make a video on the “misinformation effect” . In a nutshell, misinformation happens when, in the process of reconstructing a memory, we are fed incorrect information that tampers with our memory of an event. My first order of business was to come up with a theme for the video. “Memory is constructive… constructive… like a sandwich!” were the exact words I used to describe my first idea to my friend, who responded with very little enthusiasm. Later that week, as I sat down to take a photo of my delicious dinner (typical Asian), it clicked. I could talk about the misinformation effect by showing how different memory is from the pictures we take every day.
As a one-woman production team, I wanted my script to be easy enough for high school students to understand, yet still be informative to a psychology major in college. I scoured YouTube for ideas and read several studies on the misinformation effect. To add something different, I ended the script by talking about how a misinformed eyewitness can send an innocent person to jail. Though my storyboard was complete, I only began working on the video a few weeks before the deadline. I filmed my friends taking photos of their dinner, looked for stock graphics and designed some images on Adobe Illustrator. I assembled everything – backdrops, objects and animations – in Microsoft PowerPoint and imported the video to Windows Movie Maker, where I added voiceovers and sound effects. From the time I began working on my computer, it took two and a half weeks to finalize the project.
If you’re thinking about taking part in the next Student Video Award, here are a few things to keep in mind. Choose a topic early and learn as much as you can about it, even beyond the online Noba modules. See what others have done with the same topic on YouTube. When writing your script, explain concepts that might be new to your audience. Provide fun facts and tie your topic to another area that might be outside of psychology. And most importantly, enjoy sharing the fruits of your labor when you’re done – you’ve made it!
Eureka’s video on the Misinformation Effect won the top Award in 2014. She received $6,000 and her video is now included in the Noba modules “Memory (Encoding, Storage, Retrieval)”, and “Eyewitness Testimony and Memory Biases”. You can see it and the other 2014 Award winners here - http://nobaproject.com/student-video-award/winners
The 2015 Student Video Award is all about “Social Influence”. Students can pick any topic from either of two modules –
Find a creative and memorable way to capture your topic in a short (3-minutes or less) video and you could win a share of $10,000. To see all the details and entry form visit the Awards page on the Noba website - http://nobaproject.com/student-video-award
When it comes to graduate school admissions, the plethora of advice can seem overwhelming. Too many times, it’s negatively skewed and not in the statistical distribution sense. Professors might remind you how competitive it is. Fellow classmates may share horror stories of being rejected by programs. But graduate school entry need not be so complicated nor hopeless. In fact, there are many ways that students can maximize their chances of graduate school admission and success. Too many times all the hype is caused by some key but commonly made mistakes.
1. Starting the process last minute
For some students, deciding to go to graduate school can be a last minute decision. Maybe they wavered between going into the job market and waiting out the economy. Perhaps the prospect of mom and dad’s couch as a post-degree option was not so attractive. Regardless of the reason, sometimes students can decide to jump head first into applying to schools without careful planning.
A successful application is made up of many components. Yes, there are your personal statements and letters of recommendations along with GPA and test scores. But often, at top programs they are ultimately assessing your potential for success as a researcher. Hence, it can be important to prioritize activities that will indicate this. Join your professor’s research team. Ask them if you can present a poster at a conference. Maybe they will even let you co-author a paper. Many schools offer undergraduate research grants. Apply for one! Naturally, these things all take time. And if you’re doing the math properly, you’ll see it is definitely not too early to get the process started freshman and sophomore years. So start early!
2. Applying to dozens of schools
Not only can it be expensive, but it is just not necessary! The ideal graduate school candidate has a focused view of exactly what they are hoping to get out of their schooling. While it isn’t required to know precisely what you’ll study, it can help to have a strong grasp of the areas that interest you. Let’s say you love marriage and family therapy focusing on interracial couples. Or you are very interested in the social psychology of health change behaviors. You can easily start to narrow the field to the handful of programs and researchers at those institutions that offer such opportunities. When I applied for graduate school I knew I loved multiculturalism and diversity. That led me to 5 total schools spanning across Clinical, Counseling and Social Psychology Ph.D. programs. By focusing on the 5 schools, I was able to create more customized applications and really emphasize how I was a strong candidate. Imagine trying to write 15 custom essays and cover letters. Forget about it!
3. Going it alone
Applying to graduate school can be a draining and taxing process. Often, finding someone who is going through the same process can help you immensely. While your competitive side might feel wary of over-sharing, you don’t have to provide every essay detail. Merely having someone there with you can be a wonderful support. Faculty and general advisors may also be a fantastic source for just sharing your thoughts and anxieties.
4. Focusing on the numbers
Really, it’s true: the GREs aren’t the single factor deciding your graduate school fate. This does not mean that you can walk out with an extremely low score, but it does mean that scoring near the average isn’t the end of the world. High GPAs, grades in advanced math courses, and other criteria can make up for a lower GRE score. There are schools that compute indexes using your GRE scores and GPA as a cutoff. But really, do you want to be attending an institution that places so much emphasis on numbers rather than on other personal qualities that cannot be quantitatively measured? Often doing your research can help a lot. For example, not all programs require the Psychology GRE test. I never took it and hope to think I am no less competent in my field because of it.
5. Forgetting the big picture
Finally, when drowning in stacks of applications, it always helps to stand back and ask yourself why you are doing this. Graduate school can be a truly incredible journey. Regardless of what happens, remember to take care of yourself and not become a martyr to your applications. Eat, sleep, exercise, see your friends and even vent if you need to. In the absolute worst case scenario there is always next year. Sacrificing your health definitely isn’t worth it. Remember to try to relax (easier said than done) and allow yourself to enjoy the beginning of what can be an amazing journey.
[Goal Auzeen Saedi is a clinical psychologist, writer of the Psychology Today blog “Millennial Media,” and author of the upcoming book, “By Invitation Only: Joining the Academy and Finding the PhDiva Within.”]
For some of us final exams are approaching, for others a new term is at hand. Regardless of the time of year, if you’re an instructor you’ve probably got more than enough on your plate at any moment. But let me suggest another area of focus that’s critically important that you really ought to add to your instructional practice if it isn’t in the mix already – fostering student well-being.
Five reasons stick out from the crowd. The first is obvious. Well-being is good in itself, and you would be pretty mean spirited if you were not generally concerned with the welfare of others. So let’s move on from that one…
Secondly, research indicates that students on the whole have lower well-being than the general population. They report lower life satisfaction and less positive emotions, and report more depressed mood, anxiety, and stress. It’s damn hard being a student with all the change, financial strain, high achievement expectations, and need to constantly form new relationships. As such it is easy for them to neglect social relationships, emphasize extrinsic motivation (e.g., grades) over intrinsic interests (i.e., learning/innovation), work excessive hours, and engage in other patterns of behaviour that diminish well-being over both the short and long term (e.g. drug and alcohol use, inadequate sleep). These are the primary reasons why university environments continue to report significant student dropout rates and high levels of psychological distress amongst students. So the second reason is really that they are a group in need of well-being attention and support, but you probably already knew this one…
Thirdly, what you may not know is that research is confirming a strong link between well-being and academic achievement – in other words, intelligence and ability are not the only determinants of academic success. To sum this literature up in a sound bite, increased student well-being has been linked with greater creativity, task persistence, multitasking, achievement, optimism, engagement, attention, sociability, trust, and helpfulness, and with less illness and less hostility. If you want your students to succeed academically, they need these tools in their backpacks...
Fourthly, it’s likely that your boss, or the university administration, will turn to student well-being in the future, if they have not already at your institution, largely because of the aforementioned relationship between retention and success factors. Don’t wait to be directed, be ahead of this wave…
Lastly, increased student well-being is good for all of us. As Shane Lopez comments, “Imagine an educational system that develops the individual strengths of our young people so they may realize their personal potential and fulfill a loftier goal — that of creating a thriving community of civically responsible and productive members; it may very well be attainable”.
So, with these reasons in mind, consider the important role that you can play in fostering well-being and personal development amongst your students. Come on board the well-being bandwagon, recognizing that beyond academic success, attending to and increasing student well-being - along with teaching the traditional goals of education - will enable them to perform better at university and to perform better later in the workplace. Ask yourself: Can you think of initiatives to enhance student engagement, motivation, concentration, positive emotions, and sense of confidence and autonomy? Can you increase students’ ability to handle stressors by teaching skills such as optimistic thinking, assertiveness, decision making, relaxation, coping, and problem-solving skills? Can you increase students’ ability to capitalize on well-being by teaching skills such as strength identification and use, growth mind-sets, gratitude, and purpose? Can you change your instructional practices with well-being in mind? Can you infuse some well-being into your curricular development?
With your answers, go forth with vigour and develop the skills of well-being, flourishing, and optimal functioning in your students and be the instructor they remember…
Bio
Dr. Aaron Jarden is a Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, president of the New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology, lead investigator for the International Wellbeing Study and the New Zealand Wellbeing Index, founder of The Tuesday Program, co-editor of the International Journal of Wellbeing, and Senior Scientist for Work on Wellbeing.
Professors often ask students to work on projects and activities in groups. These learning groups can yield remarkable educational benefits, but their value depends on how well the group manages its work and its relationships. Consider, for example, these two students’ experiences in groups.
Ava
Ava is upset as she listens to her professor make a nightmare of an assignment: a 5-student group project comparing the James-Lange theory of emotions to the Cannon-Bard theory. She doesn’t like working in groups, but she manages to get everyone’s name and emails as class ends. That night she sends them all messages and sets up a meeting for the next day. Sadly, only two other people show up, but together they talk about the project some—although they also discuss how unfair group projects are. They decide to split the paper up into parts, and assign each part to one member. Ava emails everyone their assignment, and all agree to do their work. As the deadline looms, 3 turn in drafts, one turns in part of a draft, and the fifth member explains he has been ill and did not get to it. Ava downloads the various parts and turns them into a paper, but she has to pull an all-nighter to get it done. The professor gives the paper a C-, and threatens to turn the group into the honor council since portions are plagiarized.
Ethan is worried when his professor explains the assignment: a 10 page group paper about the psychological effects of playing violent video games. He has been in groups before, and in one class he nearly failed because the group got an F on their project. But, at the group’s first meeting, held immediately after class, he is relieved when the students quickly settle on a time for a more extended meeting. At that meeting they discuss the project, and ideas flow because everyone read the portions of the chapter that apply to their topic before the meeting. One member volunteers to set up a Google Docs page to facilitate their work, and over the next several weeks the members stay in email contact and busily revise the online document. They finish the project two days before it is due, and one project member has it reviewed and edited by a consultant at the writing center. They make the final changes, the professor gives the paper an A, and the group celebrates that evening after class.
Ava and her fellow members learned only one thing from their experience: avoid working in groups. But Ethan’s group learned something about the topic they studied and how to work successfully in collaborative groups. Next time one of your professors assigns a group project, what can you do to make sure your group is more like Ethan’s than Ava’s?
Many factors combine to influence group performance, but Tuckman’s (1965) theory of group development highlights four: planning (forming), dealing with conflict (storming), setting standards (norming), and teamwork (performing).
1. Forming
Groups do not become instantly effective teams—they must spend time as members identify goals and develop interdependencies. In study after study, researchers have found that groups that spend time during the forming stage identifying their goal and planning their process outperform other groups, First, they get clear, as a group, on what the group must deliver at the end of the project: Is it a paper, will you be taking quizzes as a group, answering problem sheets together, doing a PowerPoint presentation? Second, they identify the steps the group will take to reach its goal. The plan can change along the way, but having a goal is of little benefit if your group does not know what steps to reach the goal.
2. Storming
Working with others is not always a smooth, harmonious process. Members often disagree each other—over their procedures, who gets to be in charge, who is right, who is wrong—but these conflicts must be handled skillfully if your group is to prosper. It is not conflict, but the poor management of conflict, that leads to problems. When researchers have studied student learning groups, they found that too many spend more time trying to resolve conflict instead of just getting down to work. The #1 goal of a learning group is to learn, not to become fast friends. Cohesive groups are not necessarily more effective groups, but effective groups tend to become more cohesive over time.
3. Norming
All groups develop informal rules that guide member’s behaviors—norms—but not all norms facilitate group productivity. One of the key differences between a group and a team is a team is collaboratively structured—members know their roles and responsibilities and they recognize that the group’s overall performance is determined by their personal contribution to the group. Successful groups do not tolerate people who do their own thing: the slackers, control freaks, partiers, and so on. They define expectations and monitor members’ behavior, being careful to not wait too long before intervening to clarify the group’s standards.
4. Performing
With goals, procedures, and norms in place, the members are ready to go to work on the project. But highly effective groups do not do their work individually. They continue to collaborate across the duration of the work phase—in short, they use teamwork to reach their goals. They resist the temptation to break the project down into parts and assign the parts to members. Instead, they work as a team, communicating ideas, offering support and suggestions, and helping each other learn the material the group is reviewing. During the performing phase the group also carefully monitors its time and its methods. Groups, even more so than individuals, have a difficult time calibrating the time they will need to do their work (the planning fallacy). Effective groups often appoint one person who is the time-keeper—always responsible for reminding the members of deadlines.
So, why did Ava’s group founder, whereas Ethan’ prospered? Ava’s group failed to harness the power of their five minds, and so the result was less—far less—than the sum of the parts. Ethan’s group formed, stormed, normed, and performed its way to success, confirming the adage, “none of us is smart as all of us.”
Bio
Donelson R. Forsyth, a social and personality psychologist, holds the Colonel Leo K. and Gaylee Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. A fellow of the American Psychological Association, he researches and writes about ethics, groups, and related topics. Dr. Forsyth is the author of the Noba module "The Psychology of Groups"
Perhaps you can relate to this: It is a month before the new term starts and e-mails trickle in asking to receive the course syllabus in advance. Some students want the syllabus so that they can make a decision about which courses to take. Others want to use it to work ahead. Regardless of their rationale I tell my students I cannot share the syllabus with them. My attitude does not come from stinginess nor does it come from a lack of preparation. Simply put: I do not have a syllabus.
Research on self-determination theory suggests that people are motivated, at least in part, by a sense of autonomy. It occurred to me that an instructor-created syllabus might undermine student autonomy. In essence, instructors tell students “here is what we are going to study, here is when we are going to study it, here is what I expect of you and here is how I will evaluate you.” Although this is precisely what students expect it may miss an opportunity to engage them more deeply.
The “Class-sourced syllabus” is based on the concept of Open Space Technology (OST) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology). This is an approach to facilitating meetings in which you do NOT begin with a formal agenda. Instead, you invite the participants to focus on their own desired outcomes and to take personal responsibility for achieving these both for themselves and for the group as a whole.
What does this look like in a typical university psychology course? It looks a lot like a menu at a restaurant. The instructor uses her expertise to identify content areas that are vital to the course and those which are more elective in nature. She then allows the students to choose those areas that they personally find most interesting and adds them to the syllabus.
In my own course on positive psychology I ensure that we cover the core topics of happiness, strengths, altruism and optimism. I let the students choose from among “smaller” topics such as post-traumatic growth, courage and grit. I have experimented with letting the class vote on these topics as a whole and with allowing students to break into groups with each studying a different topic on some special weeks. I sometimes also allow students to choose from among various options for evaluation: tests, papers, participation and so forth. I always require two or more methods but I let the students decide how they would like to be assessed and then hold them accountable for their choices.
There is no doubt that a class-sourced syllabus is additional work for an instructor. At its most radical end, each student could have an individualized syllabus. In fact, with technologies like Noba, each student could even have an individualized textbook. The payoff, however, is a student body that is more motivated and engaged in the learning process. In my own course students waver between puzzlement and anxiety on the first day as they are asked to participate in the creation of the course. By the end of the term, however, the vast majority report feeling that this approach is refreshing and motivating.
Do you have experience using class-sourced syllabi? Are you critical or curious about this teaching method? We would love to hear your comments! Please post to our Facebook discussion on the topic.
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[Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener is the senior editor of the Noba Project and author of more than 50 publications on happiness and other positive topics. His latest book is The Upside of Your Dark Side.]
Every generation is known for something. People who lived through World War II—the so-called “Greatest Generation” is famous for being tough and hard working. Their children, the “baby boomers,” are known for their social actions such as the Civil Rights movement. “Generation X,” the smallest generation, is known for being cynical, non-conforming and creative. Your generation, the “Millennials” are known for several things: wanting to work for meaning instead of money, environmental consciousness and—last but not least—perfectionism.
Young people ranging from the ages of, say, 10 to 25 have a greater leaning toward perfectionism, on average, than did the generations that came before. Young people are an achievement oriented group and doting parents have often instilled a strong message of “you are special” “you are able” and “you will be successful.” The drive for success is higher now than it was when I graduated from college (true story: my college graduation motto was “Do you want fries with that?”).
Unfortunately, perfection is hard to achieve and young people might experience more anxiety than did past generations. 1996 was the first year that university counseling centers began treating anxiety at the same rates as depression.
Understanding a bit about perfectionism might be helpful to you as you begin the new academic year. Psychologists who research the topic generally divide perfectionism into both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, research across cultures and with high school and college students shows that perfection is associated with greater hope, higher standards and better organization. Pretty cool, right? On the down side, perfectionism is associated with bodily complaints, increased depression and increased burn out. Bummer.
How can perfectionism be associated with both good and bad outcomes? It has to do with what I will refer to as “flexible perfectionism.” People who strive for perfection—those who have high standards—tend to benefit from that aim. On the other hand, people who react to imperfection by being self-critical are more likely to suffer. So, there’s the trick: the flexibility lies in striving for greatness but also accepting the fact that performance won’t always match that ideal. Making mistakes or occasionally performing below your ability is not something to beat yourself up about; it is something to learn from as you go forward.
Remember: You aren’t realistically expecting perfection, you are striving for greatness (which includes a little imperfection).
[Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener is the senior editor of the Noba Project and author of more than 50 publications on happiness and other positive topics. His latest book is The Upside of Your Dark Side.]
