Advancing Theory in Motivational Science by Testing Spheres of Connectedness

As adults undergo challenges associated with significant life challenges, for example, a new job or a new school, peoples’ achievement, motivation, and well-being often suffer. Such outcomes can undermine workforce participation and economic opportunities. This project advances a new theory and empirically tests the beneficial impacts of community connections and skill training (e.g., financial competency) to improve achievement, well-being, and workforce participation. Understanding the psychological dimensions that strengthen interpersonal connectedness and promote behavioral health can provide pathways for developing strategies to effectively help people overcome challenges throughout the lifespan. This project creates new knowledge on the relationship between connectedness and behavioral health by testing students who have recently started at new institutions. Methods include both a longitudinal and cluster randomization design, with the measurement of both qualitative and quantitative variables. Results are poised to provide an in-depth understanding of whether and how a first year course structure that includes manipulations of connectedness across five areas: academic, professional, wellness, community engagement, and financial development improve motivation and behavioral health compared to a control group. Broader impacts include the development of rich datasets that are used for training and mentoring opportunities. Motivation and persistence in education are critical for developing a 21st century workforce for key industries like AI, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology. The use-inspired design will produce results that have potential to transform theories that relate to the self, community, and ecology with translational possibilities for resources to support successful pipelines for workforce development. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.