Does every person who puts in an effort deserve or even need to receive a ribbon post-effort to keep their spirits up? Will they not strive and thrive if met with failure and a lack of applause? I think these are good questions. And a new study by John R. Reynolds, Sociology professor at Florida State University sheds some light on the issue.
In Failed college dreams don’t spell depression, study finds, I learned:
Reynolds and Baird used two national studies of youth, the National Longitudinal Study and the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (ADD Health), both of which track respondents over a period of time, to test whether unrealized expectations are associated with depression in adulthood. Using data from more than 4,300 respondents, they compared the count of symptoms of depression for those who did and did not achieve their earlier educational plans and found little difference. [bolds mine]
Questionnaire data — not so hot, for sure. But it sure beats the simple assumptions behind many notions of pop psychology that can guide our thinking and even policy.
Interestingly, it seems that the above result was the opposite of what Reynolds had expected going into the study.
“My previous research showed that teenagers are increasingly unrealistic about what they will be able to achieve,” Reynolds said. “I wanted to see if there is anything wrong with that trend. Lots of theories predict that unmet goals will lead to frustration and anxiety. We were very surprised to find out that over-ambition is not a big concern, at least not from a mental health perspective.”
Food for thought, and further study, certainly.
My own thoughts about the matter include these two:
1. I imagine an important element might be a ratio of failures to successes, at least early in life, experienced by an individual. And perhaps for each individual that ratio is different. All successes . . . not very motivating. All failures . . . not very motivating. Likewise, a plethora of behavioristic research has found that reinforcements are more powerful when intermittent.
I wonder if some individuals perceive having made steps toward a goal as small successes, where others focus solely on the ultimate outcome.
2. As children age, intrinsic reinforcement seems to become an increasingly important element. So the treats and blue ribbons mean less than the feeling of satisfaction of putting in a good effort and/or succeeding brings. If a person finds the act of learning itself, of striving toward a goal, rewarding, that person will go much farther, and with a smile on her/his face, than the person who doesn’t. Generally.
It’s not the destination, but the journey . . . when it comes to education and mental health, there may be some truth to this cliché.
Tags: education, mental health
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