The freedom to excel: Belief in free will predicts better academic performance

Abstract

Increasing evidence supports the importance of beliefs in predicting positive outcomes in life. This study examines the performance implications of the belief in free will as an abstract, philosophical belief that views the self as free from internal and external constraints and capable of choosing and directing one's own path. In Study 1 (N = 116, undergraduates), belief in free will was associated with higher performance on an academic proofreading task. In Study 2 (N = 614, undergraduates), we examined performance in real academic settings, and the belief in free will measured at the beginning of the semester predicted better course and semester grades at the end of the semester. Importantly, we found support for the distinctive contribution of the belief in free will in comparison to well-established predictors of academic performance -trait selfcontrol and implicit theories. We conclude that individual differences in the endorsement of the belief in free will are a significant and unique predictor of academic achievement.Keywords: academic performance; belief in free will; beliefs; task performance The last two decades have witnessed the emergence of research that recognized the importance of beliefs as predictors of academic achievement (Hong, Chiu, Dweck, Lin, & Wan, 1999;Yeager & Dweck, 2012). Beliefs have been identified as essential components of selfconcept as they affect sense-making and shape the meaning given to all aspects of life, and therefore play a crucial role in guiding behavior (Dweck, 2008). People differ in their beliefs, and these differences hold the potential for predicting differences in behavior and outcomes (Dweck, 2014). This is especially true for undergraduates attending college because students often face difficult challenges and important choices under intense pressure to perform.Academic performance is dependent on the ability to change, adapt, make difficult decisions, and learn from mistakes, yet these are rooted in associated beliefs that change is controlled and choice is free.A promising direction in social psychology and experimental philosophy explores agency-related philosophical beliefs and focuses on views regarding free will and determinism.People differ in their beliefs regarding the human capacity for choice; some view their behaviors and lives as a consequence of their own agentic free choice, whereas others believe that they are deterministically guided by internal factors that are beyond their control, such as their upbringing, personality, or genetics, or by externals factors such as God, nature, science, or fate (Baumeister, 2008). This abstract philosophical belief in free will encompasses a broad view of the person as an active agent who is capable of choosing one's own path, planning for long-term

The Association Between Believing in Free Will and Subjective Well-Being Is Confounded by a Sense of Personal Control

“…A growing body of evidence has shown that believing in free will is associated with a variety of positive life outcomes, including feeling grateful for past events (MacKenzie et al, 2014), better job performance (Stillman et al, 2010), higher academic achievement (Feldman et al, 2016), passionate love (Boudesseul et al, 2016), satisfaction with life (Li et al, 2017), and lower levels of perceived stress (Crescioni et al, 2015). …”

“…In their work exploring lay understandings of free will, Monroe and Malle (2010, 2014) found that people’s definitions of what it means to have free will differed from philosophical understandings that typically view free will as the ability for our conscious minds (or a soul) to make decisions, regardless of brain states or prior causal events (Harris, 2012). Rather, people defined free will as their freedom to make choices and the ability to act without constraints—that is, their sense of personal control (see also Baumeister and Monroe, 2014).…”

Predicting Retention, Understanding Attrition: A Prospective Study of Foundation Year Students

“…Woodfield et al (2006) argue that the focus of attention has been on cognitive ability and personality variables, where the five-factor model dominated. More recently a belief in free will has been identified as correlating with better academic performance (Feldman et al, 2016). Identifying characteristic traits of the individual as an approach has many of the disadvantages of the demographic approach of Fowler and Norrie (2009).…”

Detecting uncertainty, predicting outcome for first year students

“…As with the studies using other psychometric measures (e.g. Feldman et al, 2016) we cannot assume causation. Unpicking the relationship between this lack of confidence and relatively poor academic performance would be a useful qualitative study that might help us tailor interventions.…”

“…Woodfield et al (2006) argue that the focus of attention has been on cognitive ability and personality variables, where the five-factor model has dominated. More recently a belief in free will has been identified as correlating with better academic performance (Feldman et al, 2016). A more specific measure relating to higher education is the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (Baker and Siryk, 1989) which has been shown to be an effective measure of adjustment to college (Credé and Niehorster, 2012) although its factor structure appears to vary with populations (Feldt et al 2011).…”