Dispositional Hope and Action-State Orientation: Their Role in Self-Regulated Learning

Abstract

This chapter presents a study that examined the relations of the cognitive facets of hope (i.e., pathways thought and agency thinking) with action control and strategy use in self-regulated learning (SRL). Specifically, it was hypothesized that the effects of hope on strategy use (i.e., cognitive, metacognitive, and resource management) and course attainment would be independent from the effects of volitional person characteristics such as action orientation that involves disengagement, initiative, and persistence. A total of 275 undergraduate students participated in the study. The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (ADHS), the Action Control Scale (ACS-90), and the Learning Strategies Scales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) were used. Course grades were used as measure of course attainment. The results from path analysis suggest that the two components of dispositional hope predicted the use of almost all of the learning strategies. Disengagement and initiative were found to mainly predict time and study environment management and effort regulation. Persistence and pathways thought, in their turn, made an independent contribution to the variance of course attainment, whereas metacognitive and time and study environment management strategies mediated the effects of disengagement, initiative, and agency thinking. In conclusion, the study showed that trait-like person characteristics, which are central to positive psychology, impact university students’ SRL strategy use and course attainment.