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Background: First-generation (FG) college students have been a popular subpopulation to study within educational literature as these students experience many unique challenges in their academic careers causing them to drop out within their first year. This gives courses with high first-time freshman numbers such as introductory psychology courses a unique opportunity to reach many of these students. Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine new perspectives of FG students that may further explain hindrances to retention and achievement. Method: One hundred and ninety-three undergraduate students in an introductory psychology course completed surveys on task values in reference to psychology content at three different time points across the semester. Students’ exam scores were also reported as a measurement of academic achievement. Results: Analyses showed that FG college students reported higher levels of cost value and growth in cost value across the semester compared to non-FG college students. Conclusion: FG college students experience academic challenges that may be related to their valuing of their educative experience in psychology courses. Teaching Implications: Educators should actively attempt to alleviate academic obstacles facing FG college students by increasing access to the professor, ease of access to help, and assignment clarity.

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The current study is an initial exploration of the relationship of academic emotions and task values to first-generation college students and to explore the relation of these generational differences to a particular form of deep engagement represented by transformative experience (TE; i.e., transformation of the way students see and experience the world as a consequence of learning school content; Pugh, Educational Psychologist, 2011, 46, 107-121). Positive and negative emotions, along with task values, toward material have been shown to lead to different levels of engagement. Data were collected from undergraduate students in introductory psychology courses (N = 506). The results of this study suggest that intrinsic, utility, and achievement values positively predicted engagement in TE. We also found that first-generation college students experienced significantly more negative emotions than continuing generation students. The theoretical implications of these results and future applications are discussed.