Precursors of Students’ Cost Perceptions: Identifying Proximal and Distal Antecedents

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Opportunities and Challenges of Intervention, In-the-Moment, and Person-Centered Motivation Research (Table 12)

Abstract

Studies of students’ cost perceptions are prevalent; however, little work has examined antecedents of these perceptions. Our work expands previous literature by examining proximal and distal precursors of students’ weekly cost perceptions throughout a semester in college physics using a weekly diary survey (N=351). Multilevel analyses showed that weekly measures of belonging and self-regulation predicted lower levels of nearly all cost types. Additionally, baseline measures of students’ expectancies and physics identity buffered against most dimensions of cost. Meanwhile, the number of credits students enrolled in did not predict costs. This study contributes to better understanding how cost perceptions are formed and may contribute to future interventions aimed at reducing costs.

Authors

• Elise C. Allen, University of Northern Colorado

• Patrick N. Beymer, University of Cincinnati

• Emily Quinn Rosenzweig, Teachers College, Columbia University