Relation of Academic Possible Selves and Academic Commitment: Investigating the Mediating Role of Academic Hope

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Master of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran Shiraz University

2 Professor, Department of educational psychology, Faculty of educational sciences and psychology, Shiraz university, Shiraz, Iran

3 Associate professor, Department of educational psychology, Faculty of educational sciences and psychology, Shiraz university, Shiraz, Iran

10.22084/j.psychogy.2025.27832.2584

Abstract

Objective: The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the mediating role of academic hope in the relationship between academic possible selves and academic commitment.
Methods: The method of this research was correlational and structural equation type. The statistical population was the students of different academic levels of Shiraz University in the academic year of 1401. The participants of the research included 253 male and female students of Shiraz University who were selected by available sampling method and answered three questionnaires: possible selves (Oyserman et al., 2004), academic hope (Simpson, 1999) and academic commitment (Human - Vogel and Rabe, 2015). In order to investigate the proposed research model, the structural equation modeling method was used, and to determine the mediating role of the academic hope variable, the bootstrap method was used in Amos software.
Results: The findings from data analysis showed that academic possible selves were a direct and significant predictor of academic hope (P<0.05). Also, academic possible selves were able to positively and significantly predict academic commitment both directly (P<0.01) and through academic hope (P<0.01).
Conclusions: In general, the results of the present study indicate the importance and effective role of academic possible selves in increasing academic hope and academic commitment. Therefore, considering the effective role of possible selves in increasing academic hope and commitment to education, it is necessary for educational planners and counselors to design the necessary interventions to develop academic possible selves.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Altintas, E., Karaca, Y., Moustafa, A., & El Haj, M. (2020). Effect of best possible self intervention on situational motivation and commitment in academic context. Learning and Motivation, 69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2019.101599
Azadianbojnordi, M., Bakhtiarpour, S., Makvandi, B., & Ehteshamizadeh, P. (2020). Can academic hope increase academic engagement in Iranian students who are university applicants? investigating academic buoyancy as a mediator. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 1-9.
Barani, H., Rahpeyma, S., & Khormaei, F. (2019). The relationship between academic hope and academic avoidance: The mediating role of academic self-regulation. Developmental Psychology: Iranian Psychologists, 15(59), 323–335. [in persian]
Bi, C., & Oyserman, D. (2015). Left behind or moving forward? Effects of possible selves and strategies to attain them among rural Chinese children. Journal of Adolescence, 44, 245-258.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.08.004
Carver, C. (2001). Self-regulation. In A. Tesser & N. Schwarz. (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology (pp. 307-328). Malden, MA: Blackwell Press.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470998519.ch14
Chishima, Y., & Wilson, A. E. (2021). Conversation with a future self: A letter-exchange exercise enhances student self-continuity, career planning, and academic thinking. Self and Identity, 20, 646-671. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2020.1754283
Dehghani, Y., Esmaeili, Kh., & Afshin, S. A. (2022). The effectiveness of hope training on academic engagement, academic burnout, and academic optimism in students with learning disorders. Exceptional Children Quarterly, 22(2), 19–36. [in persian]
Dortaj, F., & Mehralian, E. (2018). The effectiveness of hope therapy on academic procrastination among high school students in Qazvin. Quarterly of Educatinal Psychology, 14(48), 73–86. [in persian]
Dunkel, C., & Kerpelman, J. (2006). Possible selves: Theory, research and applications. Nova Publishers.
Ebrahimi, N., Sabaghian, Z., & Abolghasemi, M. (2011). Examining the relationship between hope and academic success among students. Quarterly Journal of Research and Planning in Higher Education, 17(2), 1–16. [in persian]
Esmaeili, L., Sohrabi, N., Mehryar, A. H., & Khayyer, M. (2019). A causal model of motivational beliefs with the mediating role of academic hope on academic Self-Efficacy in high school students. Iranian Evolutionary and Educational Psychology Journal, 1(3), 179-185.
https://doi.org/10.29252/ieepj.1.3.179
Frazier, L. D., & Hooker, K. (2006). Possible selves in adult development: Linking theory and research. In C. Dunkel & J. Kerpelman (Eds.). Possible selves: Theory, research and applications (pp. 41-59). Hauppaug: Nova Publishers.
Frazier, L. D., Hooker, K., Johnson, P. M., & Kaus, C. R. (2000). Continuity and change in possible selves in later life: A 5-year longitudinal study. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 22(3), 237-243. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324834BASP2203_10
Frazier, L. D., Schwartz, B. L., & Metcalfe, J. (2021). The MAPS model of self-regulation: Integrating metacognition, agency, and possible selves. Metacognition and learning, 16(2), 297-318.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-020-09255-3
Ghadampour E, Heidaryani L, Barzegar-Bafroui M, Dehghan-Menshadi M. (2018). The Role of Academic Hope and Perceived Emotional Support in Predicting academic Welfare. Research in Medical Education, 10(3), 47-57. [in persian]. [DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29252/rme.10.3.47]
Grishutina, M., & Kostenko, V. (2021). Variety Of Possible Selves: The Role Of Agency And Empirical Evidence Review. Higher School of Economics Research Paper No. WP BRP, 126.
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3938051
Higgins, E. T., Roney, C. J., Crowe, E., & Hymes, C. (1994). Ideal versus ought predilections for approach and avoidance distinct self-regulatory systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(2), 276-286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.2.276
Horowitz, E., Oyserman, D., Dehghani, M., & Sorensen, N. (2020). Do you need a roadmap or can someone give you directions: When school-focused possible identities change so do academic trajectories. Journal of Adolescence, 79, 26-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.12.013
Human-Vogel, S., & Rabe, P. (2015). Measuring self-differentiation and academic commitment in University students: A case study of education and engineering students. South African Journal of Psychology, 45(1), 60-70. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246314548808
kiafar M S, Kareshki H, Hashemi F. (2014).The Role of Hope Components And Optimism on Academic Motivation of Graduate Students of Ferdowsi University And Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Iranian Journal of Medical Education, 14(6), 517-526. [in persian]
Lee, J. (2022). Unveiling the relationships among adolescents' persistent academic possible selves, academic self-concept, self-regulation, and achievement: A Longitudinal and Moderated Mediation Study. Self and Identity, 21, 474-498. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2021.1930578
Leondari, A., & Gonida, E. N. (2008). Adolescents' possible selves, achievement goal orientations, and academic achievement. Hellenic Journal of Psychology, 5(2), 179-198.
Levi, U., Einav, M., Ziv, O., Raskind, I., & Margalit, M. (2014). Academic expectations and actual achievements: the roles of hope and effort. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 29(3), 367-386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-013-0203-4
Li, Y., Du, H., Martin, I., Hidalgo, E., Jiang, Y., Xing, W., & Popov, V. (2023). Exploring adolescents' occupational possible selves: The role of gender and socioeconomic status. The Career Development Quarterly, 71, 189-205. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12331
Lord, R. G., Diefendorff, J. M., Schmidt, A. M., & Hall, R. J. (2010). Self-regulation at work. Annual Review of Psychology, 61(1), 543-568. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100314
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American psychologist, 41(9), 954. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954
Nabaei, S., Salahiyan, A., & Gharibi, H. (2021). Predicting academic procrastination based on basic psychological needs, academic hope, and academic identity in tenth-grade male high school students. Journal of Rooyesh-e-Psychology, 10(9), 103–114. [in persian]
Narimani M, Hedayat S. (2020). The impact of group education on students' grit and educational self-efficacy based on Snyder’s hope theory. Shenakht Journal of Psychology and Psychiatry, 7(3), 112-123. [in persian]. [DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.52547/shenakht.7.3.112]
O'Donnell, S. C., & Oyserman, D. (2022). Apt and actionable possible identities matter: The case of academic outcomes. Journal of Adolescence, 95, 354-371. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12118
Oyserman, D. (2013). Not just any path: Implications of identity-based motivation for disparities in school outcomes. Economics of Education Review, 33, 179-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.09.002
Oyserman, D. (2019). The essentialized self: Implications for motivation and self-regulation. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 29(2), 336-343. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1093
Oyserman, D. (2022). Possible selves citations, measure, and coding instructions (updated from January 2004). Mind and Society Center; University of Southern California.
Oyserman, D., & Fryberg, S. (2006). The possible selves of diverse adolescents: Content and function across gender, race and national origin. In C. Dunkel & J. Kerpelman (Eds.). Possible selves: Theory, research and applications (pp. 17-39). Huntington, NY: Nova.
Oyserman, D., & Horowitz, E. (2023). From possible selves and future selves to current action: An integrated review and identity-based motivation synthesis. Advances in Motivation Science, 10, 73-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.adms.2022.11.003
Oyserman, D., & James, L. (2009). Possible selves: From content to process. In K. D. Markman, W. M. P. Klein, & J. A. Suhr (Eds.), Handbook of imagination and mental simulation (pp. 373-394). Psychology Press.
Oyserman, D., & James, L. (2012). Possible selves: From content to process. In Handbook of imagination and mental simulation (pp. 373-394). Psychology Press.
Oyserman, D., & Markus, H. (1990a). Possible selves in balance: Implications for delinquency. Journal of Social Issues, 46(2), 141-157. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1990.tb01927.x
Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., & Terry, K. (2006). Possible selves and academic outcomes: How and when possible selves impel action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(1), 188.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.188
Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., Terry, K., & Hart-Johnson, T. (2004). Possible selves as roadmaps. Journal of Research in personality, 38(2), 130-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(03)00057-6
Oyserman, D., Destin, M., & Novin, S. (2015). The context-sensitive future self: Possible selves motivate in context, not otherwise. Self and identity, 14(2), 173-188. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2014.965733
Oyserman, D., Lewis, N., Yan, V. X., Fisher, O., O'Donnell, S. C., & Horowitz, E. (2017). An identity-based motivation framework for self-regulation. Psychological Inquiry, 28, 139-147.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2017.1337406
Pekrun, R. (2006). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: Assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational psychology review, 18(4), 315-341.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9
Pekrun, R., & Stephens, E. J. (2010). Achievement emotions: A control‐value approach. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(4), 238-255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00259.x
Pekrun, R., Frenzel, A. C., Goetz, T., & Perry, R. P. (2007). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: An integrative approach to emotions in education. In Emotion in education (pp. 13-36). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012372545-5/50003-4
Rahmani Daryasari, M., Yavarinia, S., & Sepehrian Azar, F. (2020). Predicting academic achievement based on spiritual intelligence, hope, and responsibility among third-grade high school female students. Quarterly of Educatinal Psychology, 16(58), 243–258. [in persian]
Rahpeyma, S., Barani, H., & Khormaei, F. (2020). relationship of academic hope and approach to learning: Investigating the mediating role of academic self-regulation. Journal of  Psychology, 24(1), 106–122. [in persian]
Rusbult, C. E., Martz, J. M., & Agnew, C. R. (1998). The investment model scale: Measuring commitment level, satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size. Personal relationships, 5(4), 357-387. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.1998.tb00177.x
Saadat, S., Davarpanah, S. H., Saeedpour, F., & Samiee, F. (2019). The role of psychological capital (ie, hope, optimism, self-efficacy, resilience) in student's academic commitment. Journal of Education Strategies in Medical Sciences12(3), 1-11.‏ [in persian]. [DOI: 10.22038/jhl.2019.36772.1019]
Sedikides, C., Hong, E. K., & Wildschut, T. (2023). Self-continuity. Annual Review of Psychology, 74, 333-361. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-032420-032236
Shegefti, N. S., & Samani, S. (2011). Psychometric properties of the academic hope scale: Persian form. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 1133-1136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.221
Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006). How to increase and sustain positive emotion: The effects of expressing gratitude and visualizing best possible selves. The journal of positive psychology, 1(2), 73-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760500510676
Snyder, C. R. (1994). The psychology of hope: You can get there from here. New York: Free Press of New York City.
Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological inquiry, 13(4), 249-275.
https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1304_01
Snyder, C., Irving, L. M., & Anderson, J. R. (1991). Hope and health. Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective, 162, 285-305.
Stokes, V. (2019). Self-efficacy and the future selves construct: Strategies in support of adult learners' academic performance. In G. I. Strohschen & K. Lewis (Eds.). Competency-based and social-situational approaches for facilitating learning in higher education (pp. 136-163). Philadelphia: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-8488-9.ch007
Sympson, S. (1999). Validation of the domain specific hope scale: Exploring hope in life domains. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Kansas, Lavi'rence.
Vasilevskaya, E., & Molchanova, O. (2021). Possible Selves and Academic Motivation in Russian and American College Students. Psychology, 18(2), 351-363. https://doi.org/10.17323/1813-8918-2021-2-352-365
Zeinalipour, H. (2022). School connectedness, academic self-efficacy, and academic performance: mediating role of hope. Psychological Reports, 125(4), 2052-2068.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941211006926
Zhu, S., & Tse, S. (2016). Possible selves, strategies and perceived likelihood among adolescents in Hong Kong: Desire and concern. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 21, 135-149. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2015.1031683