Task values and self-efficacy beliefs of undergraduate psychology students

Abstract

Objective:

Psychological literacy has been proposed as an outcome for psychology graduates, which requires an understanding of and integration between theory, research, and practice. Using the expectancy-value theory, the current study aimed to examine psychology students’ values and self-efficacy towards these domains. Method:

Three hundred and nineteen psychology students (M age = 26.25, SD = 10.26) reported on their social influences, task values, and self-efficacy beliefs for theory, research, and practice. Results:

Using 3 (Year) × 3 (Domain) mixed factorial analyses of variance (ANOVAs), it was shown that students have poorer task values and lower self-efficacy towards research than theory or practice. A consistent effect of year was not found for task values, but students’ self-efficacy beliefs showed an effect of training, with first years reporting poorer self-efficacy than middle and fourth-year students. Results indicated that students hold contrasting views of what they perceive friends and family to value compared to their perception of what academic staff value. Conclusions:

It was recommended that the undergraduate curriculum promote equal values across theory, research, and practice by integrating education in the three domains. Utility interventions are discussed as a cost-effective way to improve task values and performance in learning domains that are not well-valued by students.