It sounds funny, but I still have nightmares about university assignments. Research has found that the stress experienced by students is associated with lower quality of life in areas ranging from the psychological, social, and physical (Ribeiro et al., 2018).
Personally, a lot of the anxiety I experienced during my early years at uni stemmed from a struggle to maintain motivation, as well as the guilt that came from this. My lulls in motivation were usually provoked by setbacks regarding my marks. I couldn’t help but feel that a lot of the assignments I had poured immense effort into were not being graded any higher than assignments that I was leaving until the last minute. This is always going to be disheartening and make a student feel powerless.
The truth is, success and reward don’t correlate one-to-one, but the overwhelming trend is that more effort equals more success. Research has confirmed that more time spent studying is associated with higher marks, especially when you are making use of maximally efficient study methods (Ukpong & George, 2013; Nonis & Hudson, 2010).
Anyone with a background in psychology will have heard of the concept of locus of control, which stems from Julian Rotter’s social learning theory (O’Bryan, 2021). Those with an internal locus of control tend to attribute outcomes to their own habits and effort, while those with an external locus of control tend to attribute outcomes to uncontrollable external factors, such as fate, luck, and the world hitting back.
Although these attribution tendencies exist on a spectrum, there are advantages in recognising how our own everyday efforts contribute to important outcomes. Those with an internal locus of control tend to solve problems more effectively, as well as exhibiting greater resilience and experiencing greater motivation (O’Bryan, 2021).
During my master’s I was consistent with the amount of time that I studied. My marks weren’t perfect, but my average was a high distinction. Obviously, getting past the psychological barriers to being a good student is easier said than done. I have discussed aspects of this struggle in my articles on using mistakes productively and harnessing your own interests while studying. But, rest assured, it gets easier with time.
References
Nonis, S. A., & Hudson, G. I. (2010). Performance of college students: Impact of study time and study habits. Journal of Education for Business, 85(4), 229-238. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832320903449550
Ribeiro, Í. J. S., Pereira, R., Freire, I. V., de Oliveira, B. G. D., Casotti, C. A., & Boery, E. N. (2018). Stress and quality of life among university students: A systematic literature review. Health Professions Education, 4(2), 70-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpe.2017.03.002
Ukpong, D. E., & George, I. N. (2013). Length of study-time behaviour and academic achievement of social studies education students in the University of Uyo. International Education Studies, 6(3), 172-178. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v6n3p172
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