Evaluating the Effects of Academic Contingent Self-Worth on College Students’ Performance and Study Habits

Abstract

College students can derive a sense of their self-worth from their performance in academic domains, a concept known as academic contingent self-worth (Crocker et al., 2003; Crocker & Luhtanen, 2003). This tendency is heightened in higher education, where students spend a lot of time in an environment that centers on grades and are often evaluated to “prove” their learning (Crocker et al., 2003; Fairlamb, 2022). Although many studies have observed the characteristics associated with academic contingent self-worth, few have looked at how academic contingent self-worth relates to performance and behavior over time in a specific course. This study aims to both examine academic contingent self-worth over the course of a semester and to further add to the lists of characteristics associated with academic contingent self-worth while better understanding those previously studied. Participants were asked to complete a series of questionnaires at the beginning and end of the semester, gathering information on their goal orientations, test anxiety, and attribution of performance. Additionally, participants were asked about their study habits at the beginning of the semester, and after each of the three summative assessments throughout the semester. We will also obtain participants’ grades on summative assessments and final course grades at the end of the semester. We expect to find positive relationships between the level of academic contingent self-worth and attribution of performance and academic contingent self-worth and test anxiety. Also, we predict that we will find an association between academic contingent self-worth and performance and academic contingent self-worth and study habits. When adding in the variable of time point during the semester, we expect this association will persist but may change in direction. We plan to explore the relationship between the level of academic contingent self-worth and goal orientation and test anxiety and performance, expecting a positive relationship for both. The results of this study will provide a clearer picture of how the relationship between academic contingent self-worth, academic performance, and study habits change across the semester. Understanding these relationships can provide insight to both instructors and students concerning student mindset across the semester.