Assignment for Applied Social Psychology course at Fulbright University, 2023
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Annually, Fulbright University welcomes over 250 new students from diverse regions and varied economic backgrounds (NSSE, 2022). While adjusting to their novel living and academic surroundings, freshmen have numerous challenges such as financial, emotional, physical, and cultural (Brooker, 2017). Each student confronts unique personal issues, with varying degrees of urgency and different capacities to adapt to these challenging circumstances. As a result, it becomes a daunting task for Fulbright's learning support and student life teams to organize workshops that address the needs of each individual student.
To address this problem, this article introduces a workshop program designed to encourage an active participation mindset among students. The program entails inviting first-year students to engage in group-based self-reflection activities, enabling them to identify potential obstacles they might confront. Then, our program guides them to proactively engage with upperclassmen for advice and to tap into resources within the university. This approach highlights the strength of weak tie relationships in social networks, demonstrating how an active participation mindset can aid students in adapting to the Fulbright environment and bolstering the Fulbright community. This program employs two socio-psychological theories - the social capital theory and the concept of a sense of belonging - to elucidate how the program operates and its benefits for the community at large. This article is structured into three main sections: firstly, it describes the difficulties encountered by first-year students; secondly, it presents a case study to explain the foundational social psychology theories; and thirdly, it proposes the program, which applies these theories in action.
First-year students may face a diverse range of difficulties due to changes in their living environment and academic setting. These challenges can include financial, emotional, and physical health issues, course or family expectations, and navigating unfamiliar university systems and cultures. That difficulty can make students feel distressed and can become the reason that first-year students drop out (Brooker, 2017). However, not everyone experiences the same difficulties or copes with them in the same way. Therefore, asking students about their experiences is crucial, as they are considered experts in their own lives.
From a developmental perspective, students in early adulthood are in a unique stage of growth, especially regarding brain and cognitive development. The brains of young people undergo significant changes. For instance, the limbic system, which drives emotions, intensifies during puberty. However, the prefrontal cortex, which manages impulses, doesn't fully mature until the 20s (Figure 1). This mismatch of development of these two brain areas can lead to an increase in risky behavior, poor decision-making, and weak emotional control during adolescence (Giedd, 2015). In this vulnerable time, young adults might need inadequate emotional support for the healthy development of this phase.
Figure 1. An illustration from Giedd, 2015, shows the position of the limbic system (which drives emotion) and prefrontal cortex, which manages impulses. The mismatch between the development of these two brain areas during the period from 15 to 25 years old makes it difficult for late adolescence and early adulthood to control emotions.
Simultaneously, with the development of the prefrontal cortex, they will develop more cognitive functions, such as problem-solving. According to Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development (1952), from ages 12-18, individuals enter the Formal Operational Stage. During this stage, they develop inductive and deductive reasoning, and abstract thought, and use general principles to form increasingly complex hypotheses. With this developmental perspective in mind, we can view young people as active participants in their own lives. Furthermore, from an identity development viewpoint, this period aligns with Erikson's stages of psychosocial development in 1950, specifically the stage of Identity Formation vs. Role Confusion. Young people might focus on their peer group, and strive to establish their own identity.
Understanding the experiences of first-year students, along with the challenges they face from a developmental perspective, highlights the importance of enabling students to actively perceive and address their problems. The need to find a way to assist students in establishing relationships within the community, providing them with a space to experiment and develop their personal identities. Additionally, these relationships can offer emotional support and facilitate access to essential information about academics and life, aiding students in integrating into their new environment.
In 2020, I developed a website to facilitate a space for the Fulbright student community to pose questions and share knowledge about effective spending habits while living in District 7. In three days, 8 students first-year students posed questions about spending tips, and 6 senior students offered useful advice on various aspects of spending, from ordering discounted food online, and cooking and meal preparation at home, to recommendations for affordably priced eateries (Figure 2).
You can access the English version of the website here: 🔗 Link
Figure 2. Snapshots from the website show the question of Fulbright's first years students and the answer of senior students about spending tips. 🔗 Link
This website serves as a testament to community knowledge, underscoring that collective wisdom within a community may often surpass individual knowledge. This phenomenon can be explained by the social capital theory, which elucidates the potential of community knowledge and the power of weak tie interactions in social networks.
Coleman (1988) introduce the concept of Social Capital, which has three aspects: