Compassion as Moderator of Relation Between College Students' Psychological Attributes and Group Project Commitment

• In Event: Learning and Development Through Community Engagement and Group Learning

Abstract

With the increasing popularity of group projects in college coursework, it is important to understand the contributors to successful engagement with such group activities. This study explored the influences of two kinds of variables on college students’ group project commitment: individual psychological attributes, including need for structure, decisiveness, and need for cognition, and social/affective variables, represented by compassion to others and self-compassion. Data came from online responses of 634 undergraduates. Path analysis tested the model fit of the relations among individual attributes, compassion variables, and group project commitment. Findings were that students with higher levels of need for structure and need for cognition had higher commitments to their group projects, moderated by a higher level of compassion to others.

Authors

• John Park, Penn State University

• Nathan Hyungsok Choe, The University of Texas - Austin

• Diane L. Schallert, The University of Texas - Austin