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On the Consequences of Inaction
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by Michael D. Hall, PhD - Psi Chi Society President - James Madison University (VA)
Categories: Presidents' Messages
In my experience at several state universities, I am surprised how often students
who do the best academically also shy away from additional challenges and opportunities,
and may be the most poorly informed for it. This tendency is captured in a story
of a colleague who was carefully designing a class to include a hands-on laboratory
component. The laboratory segment would constitute a semester-long project that
would ultimately result in one or more publishable products for which all participating
students would gain authorship. Yet, several students vehemently complained about
the project, and when given the opportunity, instead opted for a traditional set
of lab exercises without any chance of authorship. Upon completion of the term,
it became clear that those who insisted on a simpler course approach were not the
students struggling with the material, but rather the strongest academic performers.
Ultimately, they avoided the chance at an early authorship because of the amount
of work that might be involved and fear of what poor performance in such new activities
might do to their overall GPA. As a result, they said goodbye to a rare opportunity
to get direct experiential knowledge in their chosen discipline.
It would be a mistake to think that Psi Chi students are immune to making these
types of choices. For instance, a chapter officer delayed inquiring about the broad
focus of the home institution’s graduate programs until after the faculty discussed
it at a chapter meeting. Unfortunately, it was too late in the student’s senior
undergraduate year to impact the submission decisions about other graduate schools.
Likewise, the Psi Chi Awards Committee has frequently recommended to the Board of
Directors that some portion of the money earmarked for a particular regional or
Society program go unawarded for lack of appropriate student submissions. (I had
the unfortunate position of being on one of those committees). In the past, even
my own chapter has failed to apply for many Society research awards, despite the
fact that more students are actively involved in research than any school where
I have previously attended or worked.
Such lack of initiative may be due to a common misconception held by new members
of Psi Chi—that membership alone will distinguish themselves from other colleagues
competing for similar positions in graduate programs (or optimal psychology-related
jobs in industry). Probabilities indicate that this is a false assumption. Membership
is reserved for the top 35 percent of psychology students (who make the required
GPA cut-off s and other requirements) at each active chapter’s school. Given the
relatively small percentage of those students seeking graduate training in psychology,
it is quite possible that the vast majority of applicants will already be members
of Psi Chi. Thus, those Psi Chi members who are not active serving as an officer
or on committees for chapter activities, or seeking any of Psi Chi’s numerous awards
for research or leadership, are potentially doing themselves a disservice.
Another long-term consequence of inaction is a slowed progression of growth in psychology.
Students of Psi Chi represent many of the brightest of the future generation of
clinicians, theorists, and (both basic and applied) researchers. Yet, if these students
choose to pursue the path of least resistance, they will delay involvement in research
and know less about their chosen sub-discipline(s) when entering graduate training
or joining the workplace. Should they continue not to seek out additional training
experiences and become the next generation of educators, they will have less experience
to draw upon and share with their students. A colleague even claimed that my field
(auditory perception) would soon die if standards were relaxed for even one generation
of students.
So how can we best address these potential problems? The answer is simple—get informed
and get involved. Seek out as much information as possible from your department,
your chapter, and published resources to find out in advance about career options
that potentially interest you. Share with chapter officers your ideas and interests
so that you can potentially talk with people who are already active in those careers.
Take repeated advantage of Psi Chi’s expanding list of award opportunities. Additionally
(and this is probably my most important recommendation), seek out an array of extra-curricular
experiences such as acting as a research assistant, interning or volunteering in
the community, or even serving on a department committee. Such experiences will
make you more knowledgeable in your targeted sub-discipline(s) and discover if you
are sufficiently motivated to pursue it as a career for years to come. By making
well-informed choices for your future and maximizing the chances of acquiring desired
positions, you will also serve psychology by putting yourself in a position to make
more meaningful contributions. Therefore, my challenge to you is that you continually
challenge yourself throughout your academic career. Do that, and we will all be
rewarded.
Winter 2011 issue of Eye on Psi Chi (Vol. 15, No. 2, p. 4), published by
Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (Chattanooga, TN). Copyright,
2010, Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. All rights reserved.